Hitachi’s heroes see bright future
Plum Heating & Cooling is the largest residential Hitachi Air Conditioning dealer in Australia. Temperzone News talked to founder Kyle Briggs about the Hitachi brand and where he sees it heading now that Temperzone is managing its Australian distribution.
Plum Heating & Cooling’s founder Kyle Briggs knows a thing or two about air conditioning. As soon as he’d completed his trade qualifications as a plumber, Kyle moved into the air conditioning industry. After working for other companies for more than a decade, he took the big step of starting his own business 18 years ago – and has never looked back. Operating from a head office in Point Cook and a second branch in Boronia, the family business has served over 15,000 satisfied customers, not only in Melbourne’s western and eastern suburbs, but also from all around Victoria. The company has maintained an impressive growth rate of 20% a year since its foundation, and now employs some 23 staff at its two outlets.
Kyle Briggs says that the company has always strived for customer satisfaction. He says, “A large part of that process has been strategically selecting the highest quality heating and cooling systems for each application. It’s the key to maintaining a consistently high standard of excellence.”
Profiting from Hitachi technology
Plum Heating & Cooling started recommending Hitachi domestic product over five years ago.
“The Hitachi product range offers the very latest Japanese technology in a product that works well in Australian climatic conditions... ...We’ve found that the Hitachi units are very reliable in service – and they represent excellent value for money too.”
The team at Plum Heating & Cooling finds that the Hitachi split systems are easy to sell because they are amongst the most efficient on the market, with the highest star rating of similar products available. With rising energy costs very much in the public eye, it’s likely to become an increasingly critical factor in every consumer’s decision making process. The 5-year warranty offers further reassurance to homeowners evaluating different proposals at the time of purchase.
The Hitachi ducted range also has a number of advantages. Kyle Briggs says that the 18kw single phase units are popular because many competitive units require 3-phase power. “This can be a real problem in some areas,” says Kyle, “particularly in those where 3-phase power simply isn’t available – a surprisingly common problem.”
Another plus is the advanced noise reduction technology which benefits homeowners and their neighbours alike – a very important advantage where people are living in urban areas in close proximity to their neighbours.
Bright future with Temperzone and Hitachi
An important aspect of plum Heating & Cooling’s business is its dedicated air conditioning service department, which helps owners of various different makes of air conditioning units, not just the products it sells.
“The changeover to Temperzone distribution is a very positive step... ...because we have the product and spare parts warehousing being controlled by a local company that fully appreciates the need to maintain good stocks of essential spare parts and popular products from a centralised Australian distribution centre.”
For all these reasons, Australia’s leading domestic Hitachi Air Conditioning dealer is very optimistic about the brand’s future. “Our mission is to always deliver quality advice, service and products,” says Kyle Briggs. “We see the Hitachi product range playing a key role in our future because it offers quality in manufacture, reliability in service, Japanese innovation in technology and now, distribution by an acknowledged leader in the Australian industry. It’s the best of all possible worlds for today’s domestic air conditioning consumer.”
