Meet the Aegis Heating and Air Team

When you call Aegis, you’re not getting whoever the dispatcher could find that morning. You’re getting a team that’s been working together for years — most of our field technicians have been with the company longer than the average tenure in this industry, and several have been in HVAC longer than that. Below are the people who’ll likely show up at your door.

We post photos and bios because we think you should know who you’re hiring before they’re standing in your driveway. If you have a preferred technician from a past visit, just ask for them by name when you call.

Leadership

Patrick Dugger — Owner & Founder

Experience: 18+ years in HVAC
Certifications: NATE Certified (Air Conditioning & Gas Heating), EPA 608 Universal, Utah S350 Mechanical Contractor License #11234567-5501
Specialties: Trane Comfort Specialist, Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Contractor, dual-fuel and inverter-driven systems, commercial rooftop units

Patrick started in the trade as an apprentice straight out of high school in Murray, working ductwork crews, service truck rotations, and commercial rooftop installs before earning his journeyman license. After a decade lead-installing for two of the larger contractors in the valley, he founded Aegis in 2017 to run an HVAC company the way he always thought one should be run — honest diagnostics, line-item quotes, no commission-pressured upsells.

Patrick personally reviews every estimate before it goes out the door, runs the technician training program, and still works larger residential installs and commercial rooftop projects. When he’s not on a job site or in the office, he’s usually on a fishing boat at Strawberry Reservoir with his wife and three kids.

Service Technicians

Mike Reyes — Lead Service Technician

Experience: 16 years in HVAC, 7 years with Aegis
Certifications: NATE Certified (Heat Pump & Gas Heating), EPA 608 Universal, Trane factory service training, BPI Building Analyst
Specialties: Heat pump diagnostics, refrigerant leak detection, communicating-thermostat troubleshooting, dual-fuel systems

Mike grew up in Sandy and came into the trade after four years in the Army as a generator mechanic. He’s the technician the rest of the team calls when an intermittent fault won’t repeat on the truck — he has a reputation for the slowest, cleanest diagnostic on the crew, which is exactly what you want when the easy fix already failed. Lives in West Jordan with his wife and two kids and coaches his son’s Little League team in the spring.

Jordan Whitmer — Service Technician

Experience: 9 years in HVAC, 5 years with Aegis
Certifications: NATE Certified (Air Conditioning), EPA 608 Universal, Mitsubishi Electric ductless service certified, Honeywell smart-thermostat installer
Specialties: Ductless mini-split service, older atmospheric furnace troubleshooting, indoor air quality systems, ECM blower motors

Jordan came up through the HVAC program at Salt Lake Community College and ran service trucks for a national chain before joining Aegis in 2020. He’s the team’s go-to on ductless work and on the older 80% furnaces still common in mid-century Salt Lake homes. Spends weekends skiing at Brighton with his wife.

Dani Alvarez — Service Technician

Experience: 6 years in HVAC, 3 years with Aegis
Certifications: EPA 608 Universal, NATE Ready (sitting for the AC exam this year), factory-trained on Bryant and Carrier residential equipment
Specialties: Furnace tune-ups and seasonal maintenance, condensate drainage issues, smart-thermostat installs and Wi-Fi setup

Dani worked diesel mechanic jobs before crossing over to HVAC, which shows in how methodically she works through a system. She’s bilingual in English and Spanish, which makes her a regular request for service calls on the west side of the valley. Grew up in Magna and still lives there.

Installation Crew

Travis Hollings — Lead Installer

Experience: 14 years in HVAC, 8 years with Aegis
Certifications: EPA 608 Universal, OSHA 30, factory-trained on Trane and Lennox install procedures, certified in sheet-metal fabrication, Utah journeyman plumber endorsement for gas line work
Specialties: Full system changeouts, custom ductwork fabrication and modification, gas line runs, rooftop unit setting on light commercial

Travis was one of the first hires when Patrick started the company in 2017 and has run lead on most of the larger installs since. Grew up in Kearns and is known on the team for taking pride in the things customers never see — straight lineset hangers, properly sloped condensate runs, sealed return drops. Restores old pickups on weekends.

Cole Bennett — Installer

Experience: 5 years in HVAC, 3 years with Aegis
Certifications: EPA 608 Universal, OSHA 10, Mitsubishi ductless install certified, factory-trained on Goodman and Rheem residential equipment
Specialties: Ductless mini-split installs, attic and crawl-space work, condenser pad and lineset routing on tight retrofit jobs

Cole framed houses for several years before crossing into HVAC, and the construction background shows up in how he routes lines and lays out equipment in retrofit spaces other crews struggle with. Lives in Taylorsville with his fiancée and two dogs.

Office & Dispatch

Rachel Chen — Office Manager & Dispatcher

Rachel is the voice most customers hear first when they call Aegis. She’s been with the company since 2019 and handles scheduling, invoicing, warranty registrations with manufacturers, and customer financing applications. Before HVAC, she managed a dental office for nearly a decade, and she brings the same systematic approach to tracking jobs from first call through final follow-up. Lives in West Valley City and plays competitive pickleball when she’s not at the office.

Marisol Castro — Customer Service & Scheduler

Marisol joined Aegis in early 2024 and handles incoming service calls, dispatch coordination with the field crew, and the follow-up confirmations we send after every job. She started her career in customer service for a property management company that ran apartment buildings across Salt Lake County, so she knows the housing stock in our service area better than most. Bilingual in English and Spanish. Lives in Magna with her husband and daughter.

How We Hire

Every technician at Aegis goes through a structured hiring process that includes a hands-on diagnostic test, a ride-along with Patrick or a lead tech, and a background check. We don’t hire on resume alone — we hire on whether someone can actually diagnose a system in front of a homeowner and explain it in plain English.

Once on staff, technicians complete ongoing manufacturer training every year. Patrick budgets continuing-education hours for each tech because the equipment we install today — variable-capacity inverters, two-stage gas valves, communicating thermostats, dual-fuel heat pumps — looks nothing like what was standard a decade ago. The training keeps our diagnostic accuracy high and our callback rate low.

Working at Aegis

We’re a small, locally owned shop where technicians aren’t paid on commission. Our pay structure rewards diagnostic accuracy and customer retention, not how much a tech sold on a service call. If you’re an experienced HVAC technician or installer in the Salt Lake Valley and you’re tired of working under a sales quota, reach out — we’re usually hiring for the right person.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I request a specific technician for my service call? Yes. If you’ve worked with one of our technicians before and want them back, just ask for them by name when you call (385) 250-0687. We’ll do our best to match the schedule. For emergency calls, we’ll send whoever can arrive fastest, but for scheduled service we honor requests whenever possible. Are all Aegis technicians NATE certified? Our lead technicians hold NATE (North American Technician Excellence) certification, the industry’s most widely recognized third-party credential. Junior technicians work toward NATE certification as part of our training program, and all field staff carry EPA 608 certification for refrigerant handling as required by federal law. How long have your technicians been with Aegis Heating and Air? Our field staff averages more than 7 years with the company. Several of our installers and service techs have been with us since the company’s earliest years after Patrick founded Aegis in 2017. Low turnover means the technician who installed your system is often the same one servicing it five years later. Does the owner still work on customer jobs? Yes. Patrick Dugger personally reviews every estimate, leads the technician training program, and remains active on larger residential installs, commercial rooftop unit projects, and complex diagnostic calls. Customers regularly meet him on job sites in West Valley City, Taylorsville, Salt Lake City, and across Salt Lake County. Are Aegis technicians background-checked and drug-tested? Yes. Every field employee passes a background check and pre-employment drug screening before they’re allowed on a customer’s property. We also carry general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage on every employee, so you’re never on the hook for an on-site incident.

Schedule Service with the Aegis Team

If you’d like to schedule HVAC service, installation, or maintenance with our team — or you want to request a specific technician you’ve worked with before — we’d love to hear from you. Same-day emergency response available during peak heating and cooling seasons.

Phone: (385) 250-0687
Email: info@aegisheatingandair.xyz
Address: 4454 Manhattan Ct, West Valley City, UT 84120

Office Hours

Monday – Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Holidays: Closed (emergency line monitored)