Hyett Refrigeration has been trusted expert for HVAC solutions for 25 years

For 25 years, Hyett Refrigeration Heating & Air Conditioning in Harbeson, Delaware, has been trusted by families and businesses to provide expert HVAC solutions.

The local, family-owned company continues to provide that same expert installation, service and commitment to the community under new ownership as of a year ago, when Jason Sakeley purchased the business from Ernie Hyett, the original owner, who had decided to retire.

Sakeley was seeking something more challenging, he explained. He wanted to do more, have more impact and have more say in the way customers are treated — in other words, “to do things my way,” he said.

Customers are pleased. One posted this review a month ago: “Hyett Refrigeration has been great. We had two systems replaced and they were reasonably priced and easy to work with. They are very responsive and get back to you quickly. Jason, the owner, is honest, fair and great to work with.”

Another wrote: “Hyett Refrigeration provides the best service and communication to their customers. The technicians are professional, on time, friendly and listen to the customer. The scheduler emails when it’s time for preventive maintenance and schedules at convenient times. It’s refreshing to work with a company that has skilled professional employees (and) provides quality work at affordable prices.”

Sakeley has been working in the industry since 1998. He learned the trade by taking post-high school courses at Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School in Glasgow and serving as an apprentice. He had also tagged along as a youth with his father, who still does HVAC work.

Born and raised in Wilmington, Sakeley left a position with another HVAC company and moved to Sussex County with his wife and kids to buy Hyett Refrigeration.

He and nine employees, among them three of the original team members, cover all of Sussex County and beyond, including Salisbury and Ocean City, Maryland.

“We’ve kept a lot of things the same,” Sakeley said, referring to the company’s services, including commercial and residential heating and cooling, air conditioning repair and installation, geothermal heat pump installation and commercial refrigeration.

Hyett Refrigeration also offers proactive care to prolong the lifespan of HVAC systems, improve efficiency and prevent costly breakdowns, as well as emergency service around the clock, seven days a week.

“I’m looking to grow the company, especially the commercial work,” Sakeley said. “I look forward to working with other small businesses, municipalities and government facilities.

“While our focus is on growing the business, this also means keeping up with the ever-changing HVAC world. While new codes, regulations, standards and even equipment continues to evolve, so do we. Our technicians and installers continually attend training to make sure we are on top of all these changes, which is reflected in our quality of service.”

Sakeley is working to build his business from within — to build an organization out of good relationships and trust within his own team first, and then with the broader community with like-minded people who share the same values.

“I have put a very large emphasis on our culture since I took over the business. More specifically, I’m trying to lead by example by showing everyone that we are here to build each other up, not tear each other down. It’s okay if you don’t know something. It’s okay if it takes longer to execute a task because you’re unfamiliar with it. It’s okay if you make a mistake! The important thing is that we learn and grow from it, that we constantly strive to do it better the next time. If we’re always honest and open to changing and improving, I think we should expect to see a significant amount of success in a pretty short order. Not just financially, but that rare success of actually liking your job and what you get to contribute to on a daily basis!

“My vision is creating a company where the team loves coming to work every day and our clients love calling us because everybody (inside and out) knows we’ve got a great group of people who are good to work with.”

One way to build a thing is to express appreciation. Last summer Sakeley chartered a bus and took employees to a ball game in Philadelphia. “There was some rivalry between the Phils fans and the New York Yankees fans,” he said, “and that just made it all the more fun and memorable.”

Sakeley also is looking forward to increased community involvement. He said, “There are many good causes out there that deserve the attention of us all, and as a local business, we feel it is our duty to contribute in any way we can. A recent example of our participation is the annual Polar Bear Plunge. Not only were we proud to participate and give what we could to such a worthy cause, we had fun!

“Our core values rest on principles of honesty, quality, trust and integrity. What better way to share those than to supply our customers with all of this and to help others? We look forward to continuing the great relationships we have with our existing customers and building new relationships as we move forward.”

Need service or a new HVAC system? Join the growing number of satisfied customers at Hyett Refrigeration. Service can be booked right from the website, www.hyettrefrigeration.com, or call 302-684-4600.