When TransAction Companies' Senior Vice President John DeClercq selected Marina Mechanical to design, build and maintain the HVAC systems for The Berkeley Center, a block-long renovation project in downtown Berkeley, both parties committed to the idea that cooperation and mutual trust are good business. John has nothing but praise for the result, "We let Marina handle HVAC under a full coverage Service Agreement. That's what they do best. Both the tenant and I take comfort for granted and go about doing what we do best. Marina is known and respected by our tenants. They have worked throughout the building, so they can quickly and easily make adjustments for energy savings and tenant comfort. For example, with their knowledge and presence in the building, it's easy to set up a special comfort zone to suit an individual employee. Usually it's a simple thermostat or register adjustment. I call and it's done. It's all covered so there's no bill, just an improvement in my tenant's productivity and employee relations."

An established relationship with Marina Mechanical has proven a big help in negotiations with current or prospective tenants. John gives this example, "As an economy measure a new tenant who closed at 5:00 daily asked to be taken out of the cooling cycle at 6:30 each day. Marina installed a special thermostat that accomplished this. All it took was a simple request and the tenant had lower costs and a feeling of being well served. That's the benefit of having a reliable partner, things become hassle free."

As a part of our maintenance responsibility, Marina also takes responsibility for regularly checking the building's air quality compliance. John sees this as a big advantage, "People will go to the textbook for personal zone comfort. It helps to have assurance that the building complies with accepted standards."

Ted Hussey designs Marina's Preventative Maintenance Programs. He points out the economies involved, "Real cost savings and marketing advantages come from our broad service agreement. Our objective as a company is to be the kind of partner that will make a maintenance agreement work to everyone's profit. When maintenance costs are covered in a maintenance agreement, we have a strong incentive to keep things running smoothly to avoid large repairs. The owner and tenants don't have to worry about budgeting or approvals that can strain relationships or delay preventative repair. The ability to fine-tune comfort zones is a valuable selling point when leasing office space. Also we use a discounted labor rate in pricing our maintenance agreements. That alone is a big saving."

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