BEHIND THE BIZ // Beaumont Air
Meet Eric Guilly, owner of Beaumont Air in the Illawarra
Things have definitely gone full circle for Eric Guilly, owner of Beaumont Air.
Having grown up in Figtree, he left the Illawarra to go to university in Bathurst before settling in Sydney until a few years ago. Now, he’s back having opened up a second office and warehouse for Beaumont Air – this time in Bellambi.
“It was all about the kids for us,” says Eric.
“We wanted to raise our three boys in a regional area, so we started making some business moves that would allow us to do that.
“It took a bit longer than expected but it’s all worked out well. We’ve had a really smooth transition with moving the family out of the city and growing the business in both the Illawarra and the Highlands.”
Let’s hear about how it all happened and what Eric’s plans are for Beaumont Air in the Illawarra.
1 :: So, let’s start by telling us about those business moves you made and how that led you to owning Beaumont Air.
I was CEO of an HVAC business in Sydney that was under-performing and not making money when I first started.
I worked hard over the following three years to improve the business to the point that it did make money and the owner, who was in his seventies, could sell it and retire.
I was at a bit of a loose end after that so decided to use those skills for my own benefit and we bought two companies in the Southern Highlands – Gaff Air and FYS Air – which I then combined to create Beaumont Air and Electrical, which services the Highlands, the Illawarra, Goulburn, Canberra and surrounding areas.
2 :: What role do you play in the business and how many employees are in the Beaumont Air and Electrical team?
A lot of what I do is making sure the team is supported with the right processes and procedures to provide the best customer service and technical support they can.
When we get extremely busy, I’ll help them out with estimates and sales, but I focus on the overall management side of the business.
Something that is really important is getting the right technicians. How we engage with our customers – what we do and how we go about it – is very important. 75% of our business is from the existing client base and the team of thirteen technicians we have on board is a big part of that.
My wife, Amberley helps out with the business too. Her background is actually in television, so she was able to manage some of the creative elements including the re-brand when we became Beaumont Air and Electrical.
3 :: You’ve just opened an office and warehouse in the Illawarra.
Yes, we now have two locations. Our Bowral office and we’ve just settled into a new location in Bellambi.
It’s a fantastic purpose-built industrial park and we’ve got one of the units there which is great.
We were growing so quickly in the Illawarra, we need to create a local base for our technicians and customers. We’re right near many of the trade wholesalers we use and it’s a nice central location in the Illawarra which makes accessing our customers’ properties more efficient.
4 :: What services and support does Beaumont Air and Electrical offer to locals?
There are two arms to the business – commercial and residential.
We do commercial installation of light industrial machines, ventilation, heating and cooling systems from air conditioning units to large scale VRF systems [that stands for Variable Refrigerant Flow for those playing along at home!!].
From a residential point of view, we install heating and cooling systems and offer service, repair and maintenance services.
It’s been a pretty busy time these past couple of years with the population boom in the Illawarra and the Highlands – we’ve been doing lots of renovations and new builds.
We also offer electrical services and have introduced solar into our product offering.
5 :: So what are customers asking for at the moment?
Environmentally friendly heating and cooling solutions are important to customers. They know air conditioning split-systems can have a significant impact on the environment [and their bills] so solar options are popular. I find the environmental impact of the system is what they begin their conversation with, followed by price and affordability.
We also provide a lot of guidance around what system [and installation solution] is going to be best for their existing home or current build. We’re always thinking about what is going to look best. We come up with creative, spatial solutions that don’t impact the aesthetic of the home.
Another trend is Wi-Fi capability – this is especially good for our clients who own Airbnb style properties. Quite often, they’ll have guests who leave the property once the rental period is done but they’ve left the air conditioning or heating on. We can set up a Wi-Fi adaptor on the system that allows the owner to turn the air con off as soon as their guests leave the building. This saves them lots of money.
6 :: What’s next for Beaumont Air in the Illawarra?
We’re excited about some key commercial accounts that have come on board recently – which was the impetus behind opening a second location in the Illawarra – and providing all our clients with a range of heating, air conditioning, ventilation, solar and electrical solutions.
The diverse range of buildings and the technically sophisticated type of work we do in the Illawarra lends itself to growing the skills and experience of our team, as they install, work and train across a variety of different build environments.
We’ll be bringing on apprentices and growing our team. The exposure to these different types of locations and services really rounds out the skills of our technicians, which benefits both us at Beaumont Air and our customers.
And we’re keen to make the Illawarra base the flagship of our group. There’s so much opportunity and talent here – things are looking up!!
Beaumont Air specialise in the service, maintenance and installation of commercial and residential air conditioning, heating, ventilation, refrigeration systems, solar and all electrical needs. The team focus on creative solutions, quality outcomes, competitive pricing, exceptional customer service experiences and new technology. Find out more information about this awesome local business here.
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