In March of 2021, Astra partnered with Air Comfort, a leading commercial and industrial HVAC service provider. Over the past four years, the company has expanded into new service lines and nearly doubled in size while maintaining the same market-leading reputation it has built over the past 90 years in the industry.
“We’ve been in business since 1935, so we’re one of the founding mechanical contractors in the Chicagoland area,” said Mike Devito, Air Comfort President. “We’ve also been recognized as a ‘Top Workplace’ by the Chicago Tribune for the past five years. Our reputation in this market matters, and we’ve worked really hard as a team to build it.”
When the Air Comfort team first heard about the partnership with Astra, the news sparked some understandable trepidation.
“The stereotype people have about investors is that they bring a lot of uncertainty and change. We weren’t sure what the future was going to hold,” said Nicole Kuta, Air Comfort CFO. “We quickly learned that Astra keeps all of its companies running autonomously. They’ve built an infrastructure that supports their companies and helps us grow.”
“Astra spent the time to get to know our business. They talked to us and valued our growth goals for the future of the company,” Devito said. “A different buyer had previously looked into purchasing Air Comfort, and that was nothing more than a transaction. There wasn’t a lot of communication with our team. We felt much better about Astra because we had been able to build trust with them.”
As Air Comfort grew, Astra also expanded to provide increasing industry resources. Through new partnerships with dozens of market-leading mechanical service providers, Astra has connected HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing, and controls companies across the U.S. and Canada.
“We quickly went from being Astra’s fourth partner in 2021 to having over 30 companies within the network,” Devito said. “The speed and scale of Astra’s growth – and the focus on building a strong, collaborative culture – has given us access to industry relationships we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
By tapping into the expertise of other Astra companies, Air Comfort has improved its own service offerings, with their expansion into industrial refrigeration as just one example.
“When we started getting into ammonia refrigeration work, one of my technicians pointed out that we needed more training,” Devito said. “I remembered that Astra had just invested in a California company specializing in industrial refrigeration service, so I set up a call with them and explained what I needed. Within five minutes, a member of their team told me he would come to Air Comfort and host a week-long training session for us. It was that simple.”
Even as a leading provider with decades of industry expertise, Air Comfort has been able to improve its service offerings and operations with Astra.
“There’s no problem in the Astra network somebody hasn’t already fixed,” Devito said.
As a strategic partner, Astra provides its companies with a few foundational tools for growth – one of which Devito credits as a major driving force in Air Comfort’s expansion.
“One of the best things Astra introduced to us was the One Page Plan,” Devito said. “Every year, our team gets together to write our business plan. Then, every quarter, we review that plan to make sure we’re executing on it. We’ve almost doubled the size of Air Comfort since 2021, and when I look back, the One Page Plan, though it sounds simple, has really kept us focused on our most important initiatives.”
Air Comfort has also implemented Continuous Improvement (CI) practices through Astra’s CI program, which connects companies with process improvement experts and provides regular CI training. To spark some friendly competition, Astra hosts a quarterly CI contest where companies present on their projects.
“Astra’s focus on Continuous Improvement has been great for our team,” Devito said. “Initially, some of our team members might have viewed the CI contest as more of a homework assignment, but once they saw that they were actually improving significant parts of our business, they found it quite rewarding. We’ve won several CI competitions since attending the training Astra hosted on how to run a proper CI project.”
Beyond providing training and structure, Astra has maintained a hands-off approach to its involvement in Air Comfort’s day-to-day operations. As a team that champions autonomy, Astra understands that local leaders are best equipped to run their businesses.
“Astra gets out of our way,” Devito said. “We set goals with them, and we report financials, but they don’t stand over our shoulder telling us what to do. That’s probably the biggest advantage with Astra – the autonomy to do what we do best.”
Partnerships
Orion Group
June 9, 2025
