Rotarian and Mineral Wells Industrial Foundation Executive Director Steve Butcher said while much is being made of the changes and improvements downtown – and rightly so – he wants people to know about other positive economic developments taking place.
"Brett Hobson is right in the middle of it," Butcher told Mineral Wells Rotarians at the club's weekly Wednesday meeting at holiday Hills Country Club.
Comfort Experts-Hobson Heating & Air, which started in Mineral Wells five decades ago and is based in Weatherford, is returning to Mineral Wells in a big way with a new and unique residential trade school at Wolters Industrial Park.
Rotarian and Mineral Wells Industrial Foundation Executive Director Steve Butcher, right, said while much is being made of the changes and improvements downtown – and rightly so – he wants people to know about other positive economic developments taking place.
"Brett Hobson is right in the middle of it," Butcher told Mineral Wells Rotarians at the club's weekly Wednesday meeting at Holiday Hills Country Club.
Comfort Experts-Hobson Heating & Air, which started in Mineral Wells five decades ago and is based in Weatherford, is returning to Mineral Wells in a big way with a new and unique residential trade school at Wolters Industrial Park.
Hobson has made a significant investment in the city through the purchase of the former Baker-Hughes property at the base, the former Fort Wolters PX and bank buildings on Hood Road and the former Beach Army Hospital, where Hobson has already made great strides in clearing the property of rubbish and overgrowth in preparation for its redevelopment as a campus-style trade school.
Called Perfect Technician Academy, Hobson hopes to have the former base hospital open in two years. In the meantime, he intends to start training and certifying heating and air conditioning technicians at the Hood Road property by the first quarter of 2019.
Eventually, he sees the school expanding its offerings to trades such as electrical and plumbing.
While there are many trade schools, one where the students reside at the school is uncommon. Hobson said he has students from across the country coming to learn how to be HVAC installers and technicians. He said he has students from as far away as Alaska and the Cayman Islands.
He said having the campus in Mineral Wells is a positive.
"There are so many things for the guys to do here," Hobson said, noting nearby Lake Mineral Wells State Park and other recreational and social offerings.
The HVAC school will teach residential unit repair and replacements, not new construction installations. The class lasts six weeks and costs $15,500 – leading to a job that can earn a person $50,000 to $70,000 annually.
"It's a six-figure opportunity for the right guy," Hobson stated.
Companies and contractors will pay for the class for their workers after exposing them to the job conditions for a short period to ensure their willingness to go forward with education and certification. That is opposed to trade schools that provide training and certification then try to place candidates in jobs.
"We've taken the reverse approach. Everybody in our school has a job before they show up," Hobson said. "There are a lot of people who don't want to do what we do. It's hot and dirty work."
Hobson said when fully operational, the school anticipates having 230-240 students at a time with about 75 instructors and other employees. He said the former hospital's top two floors will be dorms, with a typical student age range of 25 to 35 years.
He said his company is working with companies across the U.S. to train their employees as well as reaching out to military personnel looking to transition to a trade career after their service has ended, with the potential for GI Bill funding to offset some of the costs.
Hobson said HVAC work is complex and potentially dangerous.
"The thing about the AC industry is you have to understand the theory before you can fix the unit," he said.
He said he wants students who are "police, clean cut and reliable." He said while the industry is male-dominated, he said he is seeing a shift to more women entering the trade, which he said he likes since with the residential HVAC repairs and re-installations a technician is often interacting with a female at the home.
"If I could have all female technicians I would be happy," he said.
Hobson said he is glad to be able to take previously vacant properties at the industrial park and make them viable again.
"Anytime a city has derelict buildings you are going to have problems," he said.
Butcher said plans are for the Industrial Foundation to help Hobson secure grants and incentives for the project.