GROWING WITH IMBERT INTERNATIONAL
Imbert International, Inc. has been a leader in the Chicagoland construction industry since 1950. Clients throughout the city — including healthcare facilities, data centers, high rise residential spaces, offices, K-12 schools, higher education facilities and manufacturing plants — have enlisted Imbert’s expertise for innovative solutions to their most pressing HVAC challenges.
Representing 25 manufacturers, Imbert is staffed with a team of 30 professionals. These equipment, design and sales experts bring more than 300 combined years of experience in the mechanical engineering field.
“Not only are the people on our team experts in problem solving, they’re personable and really wonderful to be around,” said Jason Winter, vice president and partner. “These are the people you want on your job. We also have some amazing manufacturers and we’ve got the best products on the market, but at the top of it is the people on our team.” Winter, part of a leadership team that also includes Gary Stern and Bill Toth, came to Imbert in 2016 after 13 years as a project executive at SMACNA member F.E. Moran. Armed with nearly two decades of knowledge, he’s excited to continue Imbert’s legacy of innovation and help keep the company at the leading edge of the HVAC industry. Part of that involves keeping up with the changing Chicago skyline. A result of the pandemic, Winter’s team has seen countless offices reduce their floorplans as much of the workforce continues to be remote. Energy efficient and clean air solutions also remain high priorities among customers.
Winter’s team has also strategically begun pursuing clients in the commercial cannabis industry.
“In the short term, the future is in cannabis,” Winter said. “Pun intended, the cannabis industry is one of the fastest-growing across the country, and grow facilities need a very specific environment for their crops to thrive. Imbert is well suited to respond to the unique challenges of these growers.”
To meet the complexities of a high-yield growing environment sought after by large-scale commercial clients, Imbert is the single source for access to a full line of custom HVAC solutions. With consistent temperature and relative humidity, plus remote monitoring and control, growers are able to optimize grow potential. Existing facilities can also be easily retrofitted with solutions installed and maintained by the Imbert team.
To date, the company has helped execute more than 300,000 square feet of grow facilities throughout the U.S., which is on track to double in 2022. Their custom solutions can be found in active facilities in central Illinois, Nevada and West Virginia, with facilities in Michigan, Florida, New Mexico and Pennsylvania set to become operational in the coming year.
In addition to growing the cannabis side of the business, the Imbert team has a renewed focus on networking to boost other facets of the company. “I got us re-involved with SMACNA Greater Chicago about three years ago because nothing can replace that face-to-face networking with key customers,” Winter said. “The events put on by the association give us many wonderful opportunities to spend time with the members and learn about new topics and things happening in construction and business in general.”