Geostar was founded in 2008 primarily as a mechanical contractor offering HVAC, plumbing, and refrigeration services throughout Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. The company now has a fleet of 24 vans operating within the education, healthcare, government, and hotel markets. In 2019, Geostar decided to start a controls division to align with their HVAC/R side of the business, and since that time, Jacob Blocker and Dave Baker have run that part of the business.
Dave Baker has over 20 years of controls experience, mostly with Johnson Controls, while Jacob Blocker moved from the mechanical side of Geostar, motivated by his knowledge and interest in computer science. Now under Dave’s guidance, the two are excited to be partnering with Computrols and growing the controls arm of the business.
Baker said, “We had tried another controls supplier but it didn’t go anywhere, so we started researching online and really liked what we saw with Computrols. It only got better once we made contact with their team who has been nothing short of outstanding! Instead of waiting weeks to get answers, it is now minutes. We cannot speak highly enough of the attention and service we have received from everyone we have had contact with at Computrols, in particular, Mike Clayton, who has gone above and beyond in helping bring us on board.”
Baker predicts that there will be a lot of opportunity for retro-fits and integrations within their territory. There is an exciting school district opportunity coming up that will require an integration to Siemens controllers and a library and government building in need of a controls upgrade.
Baker explains, “Because the support agent for these older systems is based out of the city, it is a long and very expensive process for those customers to get support. Now, with Geostar having our own line of direct digital controls, we are in a unique position to be able to integrate and then service our customers at a local level, saving them huge sums of money. We can’t wait to get started!”
When asked what features attracted him to the Computrols line, Dave said, “Software-programmable universal inputs and outputs is HUGE to me. Not having to hardwire points and manually configure them out in the field is a game-changer. The plain English language programming and the customization of the universal points is so simple, it should make the integrations we have planned extremely easy. The multitude of native legacy integrations and their lifetime warranty on their manufactured products give us so much confidence in the product. We know our customers are going to love their new systems.”
Mike Clayton, our Manager of Strategic Partnerships added; “It was clear from our initial conversation that the team at Geostar would be a great fit as our newest Distribution Partner. I am looking forward to what we can accomplish together!”
