Background
Ciocca Automotive began as a family business, run by Gregg Ciocca out of his mother’s garage. Four decades later, Ciocca owns 56 dealerships that account for over $2 billion in annual sales, employ more than 2,000 associates, and have satisfied countless customers throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Ciocca’s extensive portfolio of facilities, particularly its numerous HVAC systems, posed a significant challenge for long-term asset management and financial planning. Dave Sampson, Corporate Facilities Manager, recognized the need for a more sophisticated approach to track asset age, maintenance history, and expected lifespan.
This need was further amplified by evolving environmental regulations, specifically the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2025 regulation, which requires replacing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in new HVAC/R equipment with A2L or low-GWP refrigerants. The new regulation necessitated proactive planning to avoid costly and disruptive emergency replacements.
To address these challenges, Sampson turned to Brightly’s Dynamic Data solution, which enriches asset information and provides the data insights needed for strategic decision-making.
Enriched HVAC data and documentation at their fingertips
Sampson's interest in Dynamic Data stemmed from a pressing need to provide his executives with comprehensive reporting on HVAC assets. He explains, "I was receiving requests from our executives about getting some kind of reporting together for the lifecycle of HVAC assets." The challenge was the manual data entry and reliance on HVAC service companies to provide model and serial numbers, a process that was cumbersome and often difficult.
Ciocca already leveraged Brightly’s Asset Essentials across all their facilities, so Sampson turned to Brightly once again for a solution for his HVAC data needs. It was in conversation with Brightly that Sampson learned about Dynamic Data, software that provides rapid access to critical HVAC data, accelerating repairs, reducing costs, and maximizing asset lifecycles. Sampson says the implementation of Dynamic Data for HVAC equipment has been seamless, noting how simple it is to align all HVAC assets and trigger the enrichment function with a single click.
“Dynamic Data makes it easier for technicians to obtain replacement values because they look at the enriched asset data right in front of them,” Sampson explains. They can take that card with all unit specifications and send it off to get the unit priced out.”
Sampson notes that a significant benefit of Dynamic Data has been the positive reception from their HVAC vendors. He received feedback that the vendors find the information valuable and that the asset documentation is more accurate than what they typically have access to.
Long-term planning made easier with enriched data
The "real meat and potatoes" of Dynamic Data, according to Sampson, lies in its ability to support long-term planning. His executives are looking for reports that detail "all the HVAC units, what their current age is, how much money they’ve spent on the units in maintenance and repairs, and what their expected life is."
Armed with these comprehensive insights, Ciocca can make strategic decisions, like allocating funds for HVAC unit replacements based on age and repair history. For example, a 15-year-old unit with significant repair costs would be prioritized for replacement over a similarly aged unit with minimal maintenance.
This proactive planning is crucial given the evolving regulatory landscape, particularly the requirement for A2L or low GWP refrigerants. Sampson highlights the challenge of obtaining the new gas and the obsolescence of older refrigerants, which could lead to a situation where he "can't get the gas for that unit to make the repair, and the lead time on the new unit could be weeks, or even months."
Dynamic Data enables Ciocca to plan for these refrigerant requirements, helping avoid financial risks now and in the future. Sampson emphasizes that if companies don't start "looking at this today, in 5 to 10 years from now, it's going to be a major problem."
Results
With Brightly’s Dynamic Data, Ciocca Automotive:
- Obtained critical information on HVAC unit age, maintenance costs, and expected life.
- Created a long-term strategic plan and allocated funds effectively to extend HVAC systems’ lifecycle.
- Prepared for evolving government regulations regarding refrigerants.
Vitals
Ciocca Automotive is a car dealership that owns:
- 56 dealerships
- 15 body shops
- Numerous ancillary buildings and properties