Axis Mechanical: Building Relationships Qhile building the Bay Area
In 2012, three coworkers left their jobs at one Bay Area mechanical contracting firm in favor of starting their own company. Tom Best, Jonathan Diaz and Mike Herrera piled into a Ford Ranger and started a new chapter together as owners of Axis Mechanical.
Each of the co-founders got started in the trades at different times — Herrera as a truck driver-turned-apprentice in 1979, Best in the early 1990s as a sheet metal apprentice (after a brief stint with an electrical contractor) and Diaz in 1998 with the encouragement of his father. But their combined experience across a variety of positions within the industry has allowed them to navigate countless opportunities for growth in their nearly 12 years of business. In fact, the core team of three reached nearly 30 employees by 2017, and hiring ramped up once the team secured a plumbing license in 2018 and began expanding into piping.
“Now, we’re running 100+ employees,” Best said. “Things have grown pretty aggressively in the last three years.”
“We started from ground zero, but we’ve experienced some good times in the Bay Area and have grown every year,” Diaz added. “One thing we’ve learned about the business and the industry is that it’s relationship based. When we maintain the relationships with the people we work for and do the best we can for them, it makes for a nice, successful project outcome.”
Axis Mechanical is a full-service mechanical contracting firm known for delivering the highest quality and service on some of the Bay Area’s most complex and unique projects. Their range of services includes design-build, BIM, sheet metal fabrication for custom ductwork and piping, and start-up commissioning of HVAC and plumbing systems. From cleanrooms to corporate campuses, the Axis team thrives on taking on new challenges in the commercial space.
Recently, Axis created and installed the ductwork at the Olympus Surgical Technologies of America San Jose campus and replaced two aging cooling towers and chillers at Kaiser Permanente San Jose. Another high-profile undertaking for the Axis team is currently happening at the University of California San Francisco — a project that requires upgrading and replacing the air handling systems in two buildings with an epoxy coated, stainless steel system to better withstand the Bay Area elements.
“The most interesting thing about sheet metal, to me, is we’re almost like artists, if you will,” Diaz said. “Everything above that ceiling is custom. With larger commercial projects requiring large ducting, that’s all custom fabricated. You can’t go into Home Depot and buy it off the shelf.”
Throughout their decades of experience, Best, Diaz and Herrera have witnessed significant changes in technology. Where things used to be done the good old-fashioned way (with a tape measure), things are increasingly digital, and Axis makes it a priority to change with the times.
“Back in the day, we used to use pencils to draw something up. There was no AutoCAD. We used copy machines,” Herrera said. “From that to where we are now is beyond me. I never thought this day would be here, but here it is.”
“We’re making laser scanning the norm for our larger projects, which allows us to accurately measure, fabricate and install all ductwork,” Best said. “There’s so much savings regarding duct waste on the job and being more efficient with our labor.”
In an ever-changing industry, the leaders at Axis maintain their core company values of responsiveness, workmanship, quality and fairness.
“As owners, we’re really hands-on with our customers,” Diaz said. “At the end of the day, we’re at the helm of this ship and we’ll always work with the customer — and sometimes jump through a few hoops — to get it done, and get it done right.”
Axis Mechanical has been a proud and active Bay Area SMACNA member since the company was founded in 2012.