HVAC contractor Mark Buche, president: “You can have the newest equipment and the best- looking building and the best vehicles, but it all comes down to the people.”

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Companies that have successfully lasted as long as Tessier’s Inc. need to be built on a solid work force and an ability to adapt to changes in the marketplace. Beginning in 1919, Tessier’s has shown the abil­ity to grow both as a comp­any and to grow its employees, firmly plant­ing itself today as a leading cont­ra­ctor in the HVAC industry.

Originally Tessier Sheet Metal Works Inc., the company began as a roofing contractor. It was in the late 1940s that Tessier Sheet Metal Works began to do jobs in the HVAC industry. This shift opened up more business for the contractor, and the Mit­chell, S.D., company was able to expand to Sioux Falls and Rapid City, S.D.

In 1983, with the company performing more work in HVAC in more locations, its name was changed to Tessier’s Inc. Since then, the company has expanded into Rochester, Minn., and Omaha, Neb. In 2007, APi Group Inc. of New Brighton, Minn., acquired Tessier’s.

According to President Mark Buche, the key to Tessier’s longevity is definitely the people. “It’s nothing more than that; pretty simple,” he says. “Whenever I get together with another group, I let them know that’s what it is. You can have the newest equipment and the best-looking building and the best vehicles, but it all comes down to the people. If the people can’t do the job, then you have nothing.”

A company with the durability of Tessier’s must have employees who enjoy their work and are happy to stick with the company. Buche notes that at the company’s 90th anniversary party last year, it seemed that all the employees were receiving an award for their length of service with the company.

“I looked at the percentage of employees who have been with us [for] a number of years, and when you consider how much we have grown in the last few years, it’s pretty outstanding,” he declares.

What Buche found was that 83 percent of Tessier’s employees had been with the company more than two years, with 38 percent at 10 years or more and seven percent at 25 years or more. “Employees are happy to be with us, and they stick with us [for] a long time,” he states. “I believe it is because we give the opportunity to grow, and they believe in our mission statement. We treat them fair and they treat us fair.”

Separation from Competitors
The mission statement that Buche refers to – “Delivering a healthy and comfortable indoor environment through best-in-industry solutions every time” – is what guides Tessier’s work. Buche says the company’s ability to find the best solutions stems from the communication among departments.

“We have a service department that works closely with project managers and engineering staff,” he explains. “If there is a problem, we can sort it out and figure what the solution is. There is great communication between the parties.” Again, Buche cites the strength of Tessier’s employees. “It boils down to people, and we have people that understand the [HVAC] systems and how these systems come together and should work,” he says. “Between our service department, engineers and project manager personnel, we can solve any problem.”

Besides its people, Buche says the company breaks away from others in the industry by traveling to help a customer. “A lot of our competitors either are not willing or do not understand the need to travel,” he asserts. “With our four locations, it is not uncommon for us to go 200 or 250 miles from a location to serve a customer.”

Also, Tessier’s shop has the ability to manufacture materials and provides design/build capabilities. The company can tailor the design to the client’s needs and building codes, and reduces change-order potential and design interpretation conflicts. For example, Tessier’s provided a Southeast Asia power plant with design drawings, converting all mea­surements to metric units, and created manuals to walk the company through the construction of the duct work for the project.