The International Certification Board/Testing Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (ICB/TABB) recently announced Matt Sano, owner of Fisher Balancing Company in New Jersey, as the 21st inductee into the TABB Hall of Fame during the annual ICB/TABB Conference, held April 30 through May 2 in St. Louis. Sano is the third member of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) workers Local 19 in Philadelphia, along with Mary Coffey in 2010 and Vince Del Vacchio in 2009, to be inducted to the TABB Hall of Fame.
Although his first response to word of his induction was to joke, “I guess they ran out of people (to honor)”, Sano has a storied career in testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) and a history of giving back to the industry that has been good to him.
“Matt Sano has been a stalwart supporter of this industry for decades, and he is greatly deserving of the TABB Hall of Fame,” said Lisa Davis, administrator for the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), TABB’s parent organization. “The inductee is determined by votes within the industry, so when you’re inducted into the Hall of Fame, you’re inducted by your peers. And his peers think very highly of him, as do we.”
Sano was introduced by Jennifer Lohr, vice president of Fisher Balancing Company, who has been with the company since she was an apprentice. She noted his passion for the industry, compassion for those around him and need to share his experiences in hopes to make life better for those around him.
“Matt is more than a mentor; he is a guiding light, a beacon of wisdom, and a source of inspiration to all who have had the privilege of knowing him,” she said. “With patience and grace, he has selflessly imparted his knowledge, shared his experiences and provided invaluable guidance to countless individuals, nurturing talent and fostering a community of empowered leaders… May his example continue to inspire us all to strive for excellence, uplift others and make a positive difference in the world.”
Sano was an instructor for 10 years, 1992-2002, and today he serves as a member of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) Technical Resources Committee. He was an integral part of Local 19’s success in the passing of fire life safety legislation. Sano served on the ICB Board of Directors when Coffey was nominated, and he’s known Del Vacchio for years.
That’s how it is in this business — it’s a close-knit community that spans the entire country.
Sano was introduced to TAB and indoor air quality shortly after he began his sheet metal apprenticeship, in 1980. The technical aspect of TAB is what caught his attention, and kept it for his entire career.
“TAB draws in those with certain skills. You have to have a propensity for math, and I enjoy that,” he said. “I just went to work, had to feed my wife and kids. I had some success. The ICB recognized what I did.”
In 2000, Sano started looking at his options, including opening his own business. At the time, Fisher Balancing Company was going out of business, so he took his clientele, purchased their instruments and kept the name. Nearly 25 years later, he has 10 balancers in the field — with four women and six men, Fisher is now one of the highest employers of female balancers in the country — who complete TAB, fire life safety and sound and vibration services.
Sano set out to recruit people for not just for the current skills they could bring to the company, but also for their potential. He attracted professionals, including mechanical and civil engineers, to join SMART and work for Fisher Balancing Company.
“They are people who probably wouldn’t have come into the trade at all,” he said.
He also works to nurture those who purposefully enrolled in the apprenticeship, and has had more than four apprentices stay throughout their educations and onto the journey level. Whether it’s engineers or sheet metal apprentices getting into the field, TAB is a specific type of work that connects with like-minded people.
“Part of it is opportunity. Part of it is the ability to work with their hands but not in a building capacity. It’s a good wage and benefits,” Sano said. “It’s remarkable to see people grow.”
The stronger his employees were, the stronger his company stayed, he said.
“It’s not always easy. The pressure of business is demanding,” he added. “You have to focus on the big picture. If they’re doing better, the business is doing better.”
But if the business is going to do better, and continue on after he retires, the next generation needs to be built up today. Sano is known for taking apprentices to meetings, paying journeypersons over scale and making sure the company feels like a work family. It’s not hard to see why Sano has employees who have been with him since the beginning.
“They understand the work, the structure of the process of work,” Sano said.
After 44 years in the industry, and nearly 25 running his business, Sano has a lot of advice to bestow. Always maintain personal integrity — the rest will follow, he said — and be fair to your employer. In the beginning of his career, he recalled working feverishly, racking up hours upon hours toward his pension credit, something he also doesn’t suggest to new apprentices and journeypersons.
“Don’t get 25 years of pension in 24 years,” he said. “Don’t miss time with your family.”
When Jack Webster was inducted as the second person in the TABB Hall of Fame in 2004, a friend leaned over to Sano and said, “That will you be you someday.”
At the time, Sano shook it off.
“I never thought that much about it. I don’t seek recognition,” he said. “I was very surprised.”
For additional information, visit www.nemionline.org or www.icbcertified.org.
