By: Dan Nichols - CTD cooling tower sales director

In today's business world it seems that in many cases the bottom line takes precedence over everything else. Owners issue requests for pricing and send them out to as many as a dozen or more bidders. Or, in many cases they invite several companies to inspect their cooling tower and have each one develop a scope of work and provide pricing to execute it. Prices and scope tend to vary considerably in the latter case making a decision more difficult.

More and more often the low bidder is not licensed to perform the work. Most states require by law that construction industry contractors hold a valid license and be registered to do business in their state. In most cases performing repairs or erecting a new cooling tower without a license is punishable by a fine. Often the fine is in the tens of thousands of dollars depending on the magnitude of the project and applies to both the Owner of the cooling tower and the cooling tower contractor.

Some states require that a contractor's license number be written on the outside of the sealed bid envelope. In those states it is illegal to even offer a bid without being properly licensed. Those contractors that are licensed believe this should be the case in all states that require a license. This procedure costs the Owner nothing. The benefits to the Owner include having the knowledge that the bidders are all technically capable of performing according to the specifications and local codes but also that the bidders are financially responsible. Some contractors have lost their licenses in the past due to poor financial history or unacceptable work practices. The major benefit to the Contractors is that being licensed levels the playing field. None of us are afraid of competition. We all believe the benefits greatly outweigh the perceived cost savings that may be seen by awarding projects to unlicensed contractors.

In recent conversations with state inspectors I have learned that the states are very serious about investigating claims of unlicensed activity. When a claim is made the state's investigator follows up as soon as they receive the file. They take the investigation seriously and ask questions in order to gain as much insight as they can. They welcome any input on specific claims and they encourage us to make those claims when they are warranted.

If you would like to learn more about the rules, regulations, and to find out if a certain contractor you are working with is licensed, please visit:
http://www.contractor-license.org/
http://www.nascla.org/

Or you can contact my office with Cooling Tower Depot: (352) 503-9407

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