Members of the Par-Troy Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning LLC team outside their shop in Fairfield, New Jersey.

Par-Troy Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning LLC installed a solar wall on this PSEG building in Sewaren, New Jersey.

Some things, like salt and pepper, obviously go together. Other pairings, like salt and chocolate, seem unusual at first, but in the end, they work. Lino Rocha adopted the unusual option, combining air conditioning and sheet metal services. The combination has proven to be a winning recipe for longevity and success.

Lino is president and owner of Par-Troy Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning LLC (Par-Troy), a business founded in 1981 by his father, also named Lino.

“My dad was a heating and air conditioning contractor for union shops back in the 1960s and ’70s,” Lino says. “When they downsized in 1981, he decided to go out on his own and start his own shop doing what he knew—heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Around 1984, there was a customer of ours who was a roofer who suggested we start making metal roofing. From then on, we were doing both metal roofing and air conditioning.”

For the next decade, the metal roofing fabrication side of the business grew in prominence, eclipsing the air conditioning side. One of the first things Lino wanted to do when he took over for his father was bring the two sides back into balance.

New Generation

“When I came into the business in 1993, I was an air conditioning technician,” Lino says. “Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) was always special to me because that’s what I grew up in. Currently, our business is about 70 percent sheet metal fabrication and 30 percent HVAC. Our goal is for both to continue growing, but to double or triple our air conditioning work. We’ve just added licensed electrical work to our offerings to help the air conditioning side.”

Par-Troy has been a business fixture in its hometown of Fairfield, New Jersey, for 37 years now, but the scope of Par-Troy’s services—and the contracts and projects it pursues—have grown dramatically since Lino took over.

“Ever since I came on board, I was able to look at the future and was never set in one way of doing business,” Lino says. “I never had tunnel vision. I always adapt to whatever is changing in the industry. Whether it’s high-efficiency units in air conditioning, changes in technology, changes in architectural metals, whatever is the leading edge in the industry, we will provide that for our customers. If we can provide for our customers, we won’t be limiting our growth. I’m always willing to try new stuff and bring new technology in to provide our customers with the best possible service.”

The Plasma-Cutting Edge

Some of the new technology Par-Troy has adopted in recent years includes plasma cutting, a process that uses an accelerated jet of plasma to cut through electrically conductive metals, such as steel, stainless steel, brass, copper and aluminum, with high speed and pinpoint precision; and the ATAS InSpire solar wall system, which uses heat generated by the sun shining on specially designed metal cladding to heat the interior of a building. Par-Troy also uses a duct-sealing method called Aeroseal, which lets technicians seal ductwork from the inside. Earlier this year, Par-Troy installed Aeroseal on an 11-story building in Trenton, New Jersey. Using Aeroseal, they were able to seal all the ductwork throughout the building.

“In years past, we would always do small and medium jobs,” Lino says. “Now we’re doing everything—small jobs to large jobs. We recently did the PSEG administrative building in Kearny, New Jersey. That was an $850,000 job. We installed a solar wall on that building.” That PSEG job led to other projects for the utility company as well as the Westchester County Airport in New York.

“Other areas where our metal fabrication side has really been growing are in seamless gutters and architectural roofing materials,” Lino says. “And at the same time, our air conditioning division is still going strong. I’ve got multiple crews doing service, installation and maintenance on HVAC systems in commercial buildings. Over the last few years, we’ve increased the size of our shop and warehouse from 4,000 square feet to 8,000 square feet and increased the capacity of our machines.”

“We go over and beyond for our customers, no matter the situation. Par-Troy has earned an outstanding, excellent reputation for service in the field. We’re always fabricating at a faster rate to serve our customers as fast as possible.” Lino Rocha

Lean and Mean

Par-Troy has accomplished all this while still keeping a lean workforce. Lino has 12 employees, most of whom are cross-trained to do multiple jobs in the shop.

“We like to teach our employees to do a little bit of everything,” Lino says. “It makes them better mechanics in the long run. We do all sorts of different things, from copper to stainless steel. We do wall panels, coping, gutters, lots of different fabrication and installation. We use plasma cutting to make our own custom ductwork and seal it tight with Aeroseal. We’re pretty unique because we’re not a one-thing company. We do a lot of different things, bringing more to the table for our customers.”

Most of Par-Troy’s customer base is commercial, with services including manufacturing specific metal parts for local contractors and subcontracting on HVAC jobs. Lino is especially proud of the company’s record of service to its customers.

“We go over and beyond for our customers, no matter the situation. Par-Troy has earned an outstanding, excellent reputation for service in the field. We’re always fabricating at a faster rate to serve our customers as fast as possible. We have no major lead times, and we take a lot of pride in that. We’ve had a few crazy overtimes for our customers. But we want them to feel special,” Lino says. “Our culture in the shop is very old school. It’s demanding but laid back at the same time. I’ve always taken care of my employees. All I ask for is the effort. Sometimes there’s downtime, sometimes it’s time to work. When the workload is heavy, they’re ready to handle it.”

Par-Troy has been a fixture in the community for years, and Lino is glad to be able to give back to the local community through charity efforts. Par-Troy is a regular contributor to causes such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Make-A-Wish New Jersey, Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Warrior Hike and Snowball Express.

“We’re proud to be able to support local charity efforts,” Lino says. “We’re still a family atmosphere company, and our family is part of the community. It’s a good work environment. We take care of our employees and our community, and they take care of us.”