SM Mechanical

7110 Golden Ring Rd # 116, Essex. 443-559-5314. smmechanicalhvac.com.

When SM Mechanical owner Sean Mallonee opened the Essex-based plumbing, HVAC, electrical and home performance business in 2009, he worked solo. Now, he has a team of close to 20 employees — and HVAC repairs and installations make up the bulk of their work.

“That’s the most amount of work that we do, and we feel that’s where we really excel,” Mallonee, 44, said. “We’ve done a really good job at growing our customer bases and keeping them happy.”

Mallonee grew up in Middle River and has been doing plumbing and HVAC work since he was 13 years old and got a job working at the same company as his grandfather, which he continued through the summers as a student at Calvert Hall College High School and the University of Miami. Starting his own business felt like a “natural fit,” he said.

At SM Mechanical, summer is the busiest season for HVAC work, he said, because “people are just far more uncomfortable when they have no air conditioning” than if they’re without heat in the winter, when they can bundle up or get by with space heaters.

HVAC installations can typically be done within a week or two, but the wait can be longer in the summer depending on variables like weather, Mallonee said. Service calls can be handled as quickly as the same day.

The business focuses primarily on residential work in Baltimore, Baltimore County, Annapolis, Bel Air and Columbia.

“We’re always going to be empathetic. We’re always going to treat the customer’s home like it’s our own,” he said. “Not only with the install and not only with the work, but also in how we approach what the work’s going to be, what we’re going to do. I feel like that’s where we shine.”

“The best part of the job is making customers happy,” he added.

— Abigail Gruskin

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