Page 25 - BusinessWest March 2, 2026

Air Time
HVAC Contractors Find Plenty of Opportunity
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
[email protected]
“The business
has grown a lot
— we were 24,
25 employees,
and we’re up to
55 now. And the
revenue has more
than tripled since
the first year.”
Scott Cernak recalls that, during the pandemic, the HVAC
company he had just started was doing a lot of work with
indoor air quality.
“But it certainly wasn’t a phase,” he said. “I’d say the pan-
demic probably escalated it a lot faster than it would naturally
have. But people valued indoor air quality even before the
pandemic — I just think we were paying more attention to it
during the pandemic.”
It’s just one way the HVAC field continually morphs — for
example, a recent shift toward heat pumps for people who
value renewable energy — but essentially has always come
down to keeping people as warm or cool as they’d like, and
breathing easier, in more than one sense.
Cernak’s first interest in vocational school was plumbing,
and he eventually got into HVAC as well. He started working
for M.J. Moran Inc. as an intern at age 16 and turned his stay
there into a career; he later spun his own company off that
firm, opening Western Mass Heating, Cooling & Plumbing in
2020.
“The business has grown a lot — we were 24, 25 employ-
ees, and we’re up to 55 now,” he said. “And the revenue has
more than tripled since the first year.”
He started the business in Haydenville but grew out of that
location and opened a new building in Deerfield. “I always knew
I wanted to grow the business. Maybe it was a little faster than
expected because demand is high,” Cernak explained, noting that
he’s made investments not only in new technology, but in training
Scott Cernak says customers have long valued air quality, but the
pandemic escalated that interest.
people who share his growth mindset in a field where there’s plenty
of opportunity.
Sam Pomeroy, president of Climates by Pomeroy, with locations
in Colrain and Deerfield, was also introduced to the HVAC industry
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