Irvine-based Bluon Inc. has taken another step in using tech to empower technicians who service heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
Bluon said Sept. 16 it had acquired XREF Publishing Co., known as the HVAC industry’s “encyclopedia,” and will be integrating XREF’s data into its app and support platform.
XREF, based in Port Townsend, Wash., provides replacement part and cross-reference part information used by local HVAC distributors in the U.S.
“Bluon will integrate the millions of replacement parts with its existing database. This includes an incredibly comprehensive list of parts for servicing HVAC equipment such as capacitors, motors, fan blades, compressors, etc.,” Chief Executive Peter Capuciati told the Business Journal on Sept. 15.
Bluon is a mobile app and support platform built specifically to empower HVAC technicians. The platform currently serves over 65,000 technicians every day, with more constantly added, according to the privately held company.
The platform will let local contractors and technicians connect with their local suppliers regardless of the brand.
Bluon said in a Sept. 16 announcement it is the first such “brand-agnostic marketplace.”
XREF’s cross-reference data lets distributors identify what replacement part is compatible with their customers’ specific needs and within their local inventory.
Long List
By adding XREF’s database and its list of existing distributor customers to Bluon’s platform—with its community of HVAC technicians— Bluon says it is becoming “well-positioned to enable local technicians to acquire replacement parts from their local distributors in a tiny fraction of the time currently required.”
Capuciati declined to say how much Bluon paid for XREF.
“Bluon is not planning to grow by acquisition. XREF was a very strategic acquisition that will give Bluon a substantial competitive advantage as it creates the first brand agnostic, distributor agnostic marketplace with the HVAC supply chain,” he said.
Capuciati says the company has 42 employees with 75 “full-time equivalents.” It was advertising for three positions, including HVAC senior lead technician, on its website as of Sept. 20.
With more than 150,000 downloads and hundreds of distributors already in the Bluon network, the company said last month it had become the largest and fastest-growing support platform and community in HVAC.
“Bluon is the first mobile app platform to aggregate detailed technical information on more than 40,000 unique HVAC models, further providing technicians with the information they need to be effective and efficient on the job,” the company says.
It’s one of several notable HVAC firms based in Orange County.
Brea-based CoolSys is the country’s largest provider of commercial HVAC services, and did more than $600 million in sales last year.
Fellow Brea-based Service Champions is one of the country’s larger providers of HVAC services for the consumer market.
More Revenue
Bluon said that starting in 2022 XREF customers “will be able to receive transaction requests, informed via the XREF data, from their local customers utilizing the Bluon app and support platform.”
Technicians will soon be able to interact with their local distributors and exchange real-time information about replacement parts, directly from within the Bluon platform, it said.
Faster transactions, better communication with technicians, and improved in-field independence will produce more revenue and higher margins for local distributors, the company says.
Bluon’s mobile app support platform also offers tools, training and 24/7 tech support to HVAC technicians in the field.
Also last month Bluon announced the promotion of Danica Bunnett to the post of chief operating officer.
While noting that the industry has been “traditionally male dominated,” the company said Stanford alumna Bunnett “has proven a fearless leader and dynamic innovator on a mission to redefine what it means to be a female executive in the HVAC space.”
