NEW COMMERCIAL TOILETS & ECOPOWER® FLUSH VALVES

HIGH-PERFORMANCE MEETS EASY MAINTENANCE Available at NEXT has full stock of all TOTO products for residential, institutional and commercial spaces. Contact us and ask to speak to one of our TOTO experts for more information.

TOTO’s revolutionary new commercial toilet features its market-leading TORNADO FLUSH® system, which provides a powerful nozzle to create a forceful centrifugal, cyclonic rinsing action that reduces waste buildup and keeps the bowl cleaner.

Martin Rego has accepted the role of director of product management at Rheem Canada . He has previously worked within the air and water industries and holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto. He is also a licensed professional engineer. Over the years, he participated in the development of codes and standards with the Canadian Standards Association and technical committees with the TSSA.

Armstrong Fluid Technology has named John Doughty as its new director of global sales enablement. Based in the United Kingdom, he will work with Armstrong sales teams around the world. Prior to joining Armstrong, he was the global director of sales excellence for the electrical products business within Honeywell.

Uponor North America announced that Jon Sillerud will take on the additional responsibilities of leading the supply chain function of the company in addition to his role as vice president of operations, effective immediately. He has been filling the supply chain leadership role on an interim basis for several months. His new title is vice president of integrated supply chain.

In addition, Uponor North America has announced that Anna Picchetti will take on the role of vice president of marketing and strategy, effective May 8. In her role, she will oversee channel marketing, portfolio, analytics, sustainability, segment, engagement, brand, and communications. She will report to Andres Caballero, president of Uponor North America.

Watts Water announced that Chantel Cassel will join the team as the customer service and inside sales manager. She has over 10 years of experience in management and a background of customer service and sales.

King Heating Products announced that Wayne Kucharchuk will be the company’s new sales and marketing specialist in the prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). Kucharchuk comes with 38 years of experience in heating and hydronics.

Sonnhalter announced that Nibco will be added to its client's list. Founded in 1904, Nibco manufactures valves, fittings, and flow control products for commercial, industrial, and institutional construction, marine markets, as well as residential and irrigation markets. The company’s headquarters is located in Elkhart, Indiana.

Synchrony and LG Air Conditioning Technologies announced a new multi-year partnership offering LG’s independent Pro Dealers, a financing program to help homeowners purchase smart heating and cooling products. The private label credit card program will feature competitive deferred interest, fixed payment, and equal monthly payment promotion options.

Fujitsu partners with Intelligent Mobile Support to offer contractors Sales Builder Pro professional HVAC sales software. The app includes all Airstage H-series and Fujitsu unitary products.

Daikin Applied announced that it has acquired Carroll Air Systems, a Tampa, Florida-based company that provides heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and services for commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities. Carroll Air Systems has a long history within the construction and building management industry, having been involved in the development and renovation of airports, hospitals and clinics, offices, schools and other facilities across parts of Florida.

U.S. Boiler Company introduced its new USB-Connect smartphone application. The app, which interfaces with all models of Alta, Aspen, Alpine and K2 boilers through a Bluetooth adapter, allows technicians to access the boiler control via smartphone or mobile device rather than the boiler display.

Wolseley Canada donated a portion of sales to support clean water initiatives in Canada. To celebrate World Plumbing Day on March 11 and World Water Day on March 22, Wolseley Canada announces a portion of all sales from Proflo products will be donated to Water First, an organization dedicated to working collaboratively with Indigenous communities in Canada. The campaign ran the entire month of March.

Johnson Control released its 2023 Sustainability Report on May 4. The company reports accelerated progress in its own sustainability journey and in the reduction of customer emissions. To accelerate its own net zero journey, Johnson Controls is looking at the smart building trifecta of energy-efficient equipment, clean electrification, and systemic digitalization.

By Ron Coleman

When exiting your business, there are several choices that can be made — sell the business to a third party, sell to employees or family, or wind it down. Selling to a third party is the most desirable outcome, with less risk financially and less risk of the business failing. However, it is often difficult to find a buyer for the business; with fewer than 40 per cent of listed businesses selling, you would need to have a very attractive business to find a buyer. We have explored this topic in previous articles.

Selling to family or employees is fraught with risk. You will likely have to finance most of the purchase price and the working capital, plus you don’t really know if they have the businessacumentorunasuccessfulbusiness On that note, the federal government recently announced a new Employee Ownership Trust Program (EOT). It is something to explore if selling to employees. Usually, a transition period over a few years is the least risky approach. I often recommend a gradual buy-in approach.

If there are no suitable employees or family members, you are likely left with no option other than winding down the business You can’t just walk away from it. Unfortunately, it is easier to get into the plumbing and HVAC businesses than getting out of it.

If your work involves new construction or major retrofit projects, it becomes even more difficult.

Dipping into savings

As we wind down our business, we have to maintain a relatively high level of overhead and have little sales to support the overhead. As a result, most of the ongoing overhead is covered by previous profits that are already in the business. That means you are going to erode your retirement fund. On projects with holdback, you must ensure you collect your holdback. Warranties are also a major issue. If your customer knows you are shutting the business down, they are more likely to want to hold back funds in case of warranty issues. You will have to carry that financing and ensure you do any warranty repairs.

What about your rented premises? When is your lease going to expire? Have you done modifications that have to be reversed under the lease terms? Do you have the right to sublease? When do you start selling your equipment, vehicles and surplus inventory? When do you tell anyone that you are closing down the business?

Jumping ship

I have already mentioned some of the issues with customers and here is one more – they won’t award you any future work if they know you are not going to be around to have met all your trust responsibilities. Don’t leave the Canada Revenue Agency out in the cold, they don’t like it! Close down all your CRA accounts, payroll, GST/HST and corporate taxes. Remember to keep your records for six years in case CRA comes looking. Also, shut down any provincial tax accounts. Clear everything that has a personal responsibility and close all supplier accounts and get any personal guarantees to suppliers or other parties cancelled. Cancel all credit cards that were used for the business to ensure that no purchases are made by former employees or others who might have accessed the card numbers. Also, close all contracts and leases, don’t forget to cancel cell phones and annual subscriptions. If you have software on a lease program, cancel it but back up your data first. provide the warranty. Once your employees find out, they are more likely to go and seek a job elsewhere and in this market, that is easy. Your supplies may also cut back on credit terms or preferred pricing and rebates. You are definitely going to need to retain some key employees to help wrap things up. A promised bonus at the end of the day will help retain them while further eating into your retained earnings.

One option for getting paid out on holdbacks or where extended warranties are involved is to get your bonding company to issue a bond to cover the holdback or the warranty period. Insurance policies can also be used to cover warranties. If you can’t get a bond, get a letter of credit from your financial institution in order to have holdback released. While the client may not be legally entitled to hold monies back, it can be expensive and time-consuming to use the courts. Do read your contracts to see what rights you have.

Service work and small projects are easier to handle in a winddown. Less money in each project and shorter timelines help a great deal.

You also need to look at exposures you may have in other areas. Are you liable for any severance pay? You need to take legal advice on this to ensure you meet federal and provincial standards. Laying off longterm employees can be very expensive. There are many instances where employees receive severance packages equal to 12 to 18 months of remuneration.

Eventually it will be time to quit. All the money has been taken out of the company and it now becomes a shell. Should you decide to deregister it, you will need to get a lawyer to do this and make sure you get a quote as it is not cheap. I recommend that my clients stop filing annual reports. In British Columbia, if you don’t file annual reports for three years, your company will automatically be struck off. It’s simpler to file a simple corporate tax return with no activity for those three years.

Closing down accounts

To wrap up your business, ensure that you

Finally, we have closed down the operations and have some money in the bank. Usually, the company invests that money and pays a high tax rate as you won’t qualify for the small business tax rate any longer. This is a topic for discussion with your accountant as each province has different rates. If you are going to be involved in another business, maybe you decide to become a one-person part-time business. If so, run that through the corporation.

This entire process is very emotional. You have likely spent many years making the business part of your everyday life and now you are walking away from it. It is tough and you need to have good support both professionally and personally. Stay strong and practical. :