ACR Journal

October | November 2020 AIR CONDITIONING 16 Volume 6 No.6 It was back in September 1990 that Colin Burrows decided to leave his role as a service engineer with Comfort Cooling and go it alone. Three decades later, the CBAC Services is still going strong and Managing Director Colin has few regrets. “Of course, there have been some up and downs,’’ he says, “anyone who runs a business will tell you it’s hard going at times. But I still really enjoy this business… I wouldn’t still be doing it after 30 years otherwise.’’ Colin began his working life as an apprentice welder at the YORK chiller factory in Basildon. Then the opportunity to get out on service with Comfort Cooling was to prove the turning point in his career. He studied at college two nights a week when his working day was done and remains an ‘engineer at heart’. “I think that’s a big part of why the business works,’’ he says. “The people here know that I’m always around to talk about the jobs they are working on.’’ Colin worked on his own for the first six or seven years, occasionally calling in a favour when he needed help with a heavy lift. Then, in 1997, CBAC became a limited company and took on two engineers, one of whom, Robert Stahl, is still with the business. The company now employs six engineers, plus two sta in the Rochford oce. Colin says he has never actively looked to grow. “We’ve always had our feet firmly on the ground,’’ he says. “We have rarely advertised, the work has pretty much all been through word of mouth.’’ ‘Proper engineering’ That work, centred on London and the Home Counties, includes long-standing relationships with customers including Surrey Police and covers the full spectrum of AC contracting. Those days on the shop floor in Basildon may be a distant memory, but chillers are still at the heart of CBAC. “It’s definitely one of our key strengths,’’ says Colin, “although we don’t say ‘no’ to many things.’’ CBAC has been a Daikin D1 installer for many years and in 1998 Colin was invited by Lee Nichols for what he describes as the "trip of a lifetime" to Daikin Japan. "I still talk about when the opportunity arises as if it was yesterday,'' he recalls. Over the years, CBAC has widened its reach by teaming up with various business partners to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for building services. Yet it remains very much an air conditioning contractor. A recent project saw the replacement of condensing coils on a De’Longhi chiller on a rooftop in Hammersmith (see case study 2 on facing page), aided by mobile tower crane specialists City Lifting, who have worked with CBAC for over 15 years. Colin said: “After nearly 30 years of London’s dirty air and several repairs by dierent companies, it was time to breathe some new life into an old chiller. We successfully replaced all four condenser coils, which were badly corroded and struggling to maintain air flow during the summer season. “The job was led by our Supervisor, Ian Betty, who has been with us for 18 years, and it was a proper engineering project. The way the chiller is performing now gives us and the client real satisfaction. “Moving forward, CBAC has many more projects in the pipeline with key clients, and I look forward to many more years supporting the industry with the great team I have.’’ There has been precious little positive news around in recent months, so the 30th anniversary of Essex-based air conditioning specialist CBAC Services is definitely something worth celebrating. 30 years of CBAC Services