About Haakon Mechanical Services

HVAC/ Mechanical Services in Metro Vancouver and Sea-to-Sky Corridor

Celebrating 40 Years in Business!

Since 1983, Haakon Mechanical Services has been servicing, maintaining and retrofitting heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in Metro Vancouver, including Richmond, and the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, including Squamish and Whistler. Although our geographical service area hasn’t changed, the diversity of services we offer has greatly expanded over the years.
The buildings under our care include a wide range of commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-unit residential stratified buildings. From complex mechanical systems, including hydronics, boilers, pumps and piping, to refrigeration, air conditioning and ventilation, our scope of work encompasses most HVAC and mechanical needs.
Our expert technicians are equipped with the highest level of training, and our friendly, courteous and professional service is what defines us. It is our exceptional customer service that continues to be Haakon’s core strength.

Client Services

Haakon’s customer service experience meets the unique needs of every customer we serve.
Our ultimate goal is to exceed expectations in all aspects of our service.
For optimal service, we have designed our ServAce System to provide customers with real-time information.
Our Customer Experience Team, with a designated primary service technician, is dedicated to anticipating our clients’ needs.

“The Haakon Way”

Our entire team is committed to going above and beyond expectations.
“The Haakon Way” includes leaving a job site cleaner than we found it, wearing Haakon-issued apparel and updating ServAce in real time.

Affiliations & Awards

Affiliations Haakon is proud to have maintained over the years:

Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)
Professional Association of Managing Agents (PAMA)
UA Local 516 Refrigeration Workers Union
Whistler Chamber of Commerce
Mechanical Service Contractors of America (MSCA)

Haakon has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

2020 BC Pinnacle Award for Customer Service awarded by BOMA BC
2019 Kiwassa Neighbourhood House Corporate Good Neighbour Award
2011 Supplier/Contractor of the Year awarded by BOMA BC
2009 Consumer’s Choice Award for HVAC Services
2008 Consumer’s Choice Award for HVAC Services

Education & Expertise

Since 2017, we have held annual Customer Summits to educate our customers on various topics, and we have held additional educational sessions where warranted.
These have included seminars on Legionnaires Disease and its mitigation following an outbreak in Surrey and the risk of carbon monoxide exposure after an incident in Vancouver.
Since 2014, a Haakon Team member has chaired the Quality Building Team (QBT) which has monthly educational sessions for BOMA BC members.
Haakon regularly engages guest speakers to educate our whole team on various aspects of soft-skill training.

Haakon: A Green Company

We are committed to protecting the environment, and our operations are consistent with good corporate stewardship.
Since we first designed our ServAce platform, we have significantly reduced our carbon footprint. We have eliminated the use of paper in field reporting and quotes are sent directly to the client.
Our partnerships with vendors also feature electronic invoicing.
In total, Haakon has reduced our paper consumption by over 75,000 sheets annually.

Community Engagement

As good corporate citizens, Haakon works with the following organizations to give back to the communities we serve:

Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)
- Guest attendance at The Canadian Mental Health Summit
- Company-wide health and wellness education and seminars
- Participation in Mental Health Week #getreal
Whistler Healthcare Foundation
Kiwassa Neighbourhood House
Honour House Society in New Westminster has recognized Haakon as their preferred HVAC and Hydronics contractor
- We provide mechanical service and maintenance at no charge and ask vendors to assist with equipment costs

Our 24 Hour HVAC/ Mechanical Services Team

At Haakon, we believe that it’s the people in our organization that set us apart from the competition, and our team is what makes Haakon a leader in the mechanical industry. We have dedicated time, energy and resources to developing each member of our company on an individual and team level.

Teamwork

Haakon Mechanical Services employs roughly 50 individuals with a broad range of skills and expertise.
Our service teams are structured into pods of 7-10 technicians. Each pod includes a field leader and a team of experts with a diverse range of skills.
We recognize each individual’s strengths and pair them with team members who have complementary skills.
This system fosters a small company feel for our field teams, and this extends to the personalized service we provide to all of our clients.

Promoting from Within

Our management team consists of individuals who each bring a unique skill set to the day-to-day and big picture management of Haakon.
What makes us unique is that each member of our management team was once an entry-level employee.
Our goal is to provide a solid foundation of top-quality service.
Our support staff includes service coordinators, service managers, and customer service specialists who support the work of field staff and ultimately the experience of our clientele.

Consistency

Consistency makes a difference, which is why we seek to assign the same team of technicians to each worksite.
It’s better for our teams, who become experts at a building’s system operations.
It’s also better for our customers as they develop long-term relationships with the technicians who get to know them as well as the peculiarities of their mechanical equipment.

Our History

2023

Haakon Mechanical Services celebrates 40 years in business!
Since 1983, Haakon Mechanical Services has been servicing, maintaining and retrofitting heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in Metro Vancouver, including Richmond, and the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, including Squamish and Whistler. We proudly celebrate 40 years in business this year!
2023

New ServAce Platform Is launched!
The transition onto the new ServAce platform is a pivotal point in our evolution and we look forward to using it as a powerful tool to help us provide the best service level possible. This system will have many additional features and enhancements, influenced by the learnings that we’ve experienced over the past twenty years along with our software partners.

The transition to the new platform follows a time-consuming two-year period of data clean up, testing, revising and more testing. The platform provides us with an opportunity to return to the cycle of constantly improving and enhancing our system to make us more efficient and, more importantly, help us to provide a superior level of service to our customers.
2020

Commercial Plumbing Division is available for customers
Haakon broadens its service offerings by opening up its Commercial Plumbing Division.

Kris Genest takes on Customer Retention, Sales and Business Development as part of our Customer Experience Team. Jack Hole continues in his role as Managing Partner of our Service Division.
2019

Cam Eggen promoted to management team
Cam Eggen, our Installations Manager and Lead HVAC Estimator, is promoted to the management team.
2016

Graham Unwin retires after 33 years in the HVAC business
Kris Genest continues Haakon’s tradition of promoting from within our organization by moving from our technicians’ team to his new role as Service Manager.
2013

30 year anniversary
Haakon celebrates 30 years in business and Simon Miller is promoted to the Management Team. Simon goes on to become Human Resources Manager, in addition to developing the Installations Department. He is currently Director of Operations.
2010

1StepAhead approach is developed
Jim Baston’s “Beyond Great Service” manual becomes part of Haakon’s employee onboarding system, and the “1StepAhead” proactive approach to service is born.
2009

"Technician as trusted advisor” business model is introduced
Jim Baston’s session at the MSCA Conference on Strategic Business Planning inspires Haakon to introduce its “technician as trusted advisor” business model.
2003

ServAce is launched
Learn more about this ultimate solution for building managers here.
1995

Purchases Beacon Mechanical and A&A Air Conditioning
Haakon purchases Beacon Mechanical and A&A Air Conditioning and hires father and son team, Larry and Clay Scott.

Larry develops the installations department & Clay becomes head technician. Clay was key in the development and implementation of the ServAce information system as well as setting the organization on a positive path for the training and mentoring of apprentices.
1990

Recognized by Telus as early adopters of new cellular tech
Haakon embraces cell phone technology. Telus recognizes Haakon as early adopters of the new cellular technology. Our first hand-held “brick” type phone was installed in a vehicle at a cost of $5,000!
1988

Acquires Alco Air Conditioning
Haakon acquires Alco Air Conditioning and hires former owner, Al Mogus, as a technician.
1984

Jack Hole joins the Haakon team
Jack Hole comes on board with a mandate to expand the preventative maintenance contract base.

Jack’s early success includes being awarded annual maintenance contracts for several Surrey School Board Schools.
1983

Haakon Manufacturing adds HVAC division
Graham Unwin and his partner, Bob Hole, go into business together starting an HVAC Division to complement Bob’s Haakon Manufacturing business. Graham is the Service Division’s first Managing Partner.

Our Goals

Our Mission

Haakon prioritizes a healthy, vibrant corporate culture in which employee education is valued.
As a result, our team is capable and confident in diagnosing mechanical equipment and making proactive recommendations before repair issues arise.
We help reduce the possibility of emergency breakdowns, avoiding downtime and the hassle of unnecessary repairs.
Haakon seeks to establish strong partnerships between clients and their designated service technicians. We achieve this by assigning one dedicated service technician to each site.
We strive to elevate education in our industry through collaboration with industry associations.
Our partnerships have fostered better-educated clients who have a clearer idea about what to expect from vendors and their mechanical systems.
Haakon is an inclusive company and all members of our team are valued for their unique set of skills. This contributes to making Haakon a great place to work.
As our company grows, there are more opportunities for all of our employees.
We are committed to filling vacancies first from within and everyone at Haakon has opportunities for growth and advancement.

Our Difference

“Our technicians are our product.”

At Haakon, our technicians are our customers’ trusted advisors, and they have the skills and autonomy to make quotes without wasting time on needless management approval processes.
We stay in direct communication with our clients using direct one-on-one communication channels.
Designating a Primary Technician to each building we maintain allows our clients to develop a relationship with their trusted advisor.
Over time, this technician will come to know a building’s mechanical equipment inside and out and clients can depend on them to assist day-to-day operations and mechanical equipment maintenance tasks.

1StepAhead

Haakon has been dedicated to our 1StepAhead approach in the commercial, industrial and mixed-use residential market since 1983.
Our 1StepAhead approach was created so that we can anticipate what our clients need in advance of a breakdown which reduces downtime and increases productivity.

ServAce

ServAce is a web-based system that keeps track of mechanical equipment information for easy access by both clients and Haakon staff in real-time.

Benefits of ServAce:

View all equipment and maintenance information in real-time, including current reports, outstanding quotes, equipment lists, multiple sites under contract and financials
Technicians respond to service requests on the fly
Use internet to access Mechanical systems information anytime by computer, laptop or smartphone
Available to all of Haakon’s preventive maintenance contract clients at no additional cost
Minimizes environmental impact by replacing paper field reports with electronic documentation to reduce needless paper consumption

Cultural Norms

Providing a positive, productive and fulfilling work environment for everyone at Haakon has led to excellent employee retention.
Many of our employees have been with us for decades, one of whom recently retired with over 30 years of service at Haakon.
We seek to be transparent with our employees and we shun the usual hierarchical structures that keep management separate from workers in most businesses.
We hire from within, and many of our managers started out as technicians or administrative staff.

The following cultural norms guide us in our day-to-day interactions with colleagues and the clients we serve:

Everything can be improved upon
Trust is our most valuable asset
Encouraging others leads to fulfillment and opportunity
Communication takes effort, but we love the challenge
Think. Execute. Own.
“1 Step Ahead”
We create healthy environments for people to thrive in
We raise the bar for the mechanical industry by educating our customers and ourselves

About Haakon Mechanical Services

HVAC/ Mechanical Services in Metro Vancouver and Sea-to-Sky Corridor

Celebrating 40 Years in Business!

Client Services

“The Haakon Way”

Affiliations & Awards

Education & Expertise

Haakon: A Green Company

Community Engagement

Our 24 Hour HVAC/ Mechanical Services Team

Teamwork

Promoting from Within

Consistency

Our History

2019

2016

2013

2009

1995

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1988

1984