“On Aire Ep. 26 w/ Luke Chambers & Connor Smith – The Art of Industrial Real Estate Podcast” featuring Luke Chambers and Connor Smith from TempCon
⚡ Elevating Comfort: In-House Engineering, Cultural Transformation, and Scale with TempCon 🎙️ Episode 26 of On Air with Team Jensen
In the twenty-sixth episode of On Air with Team Jensen: The Art of Industrial Real Estate, the team sits down with Luke Chambers (President) and Connor Smith (Preconstruction Director / In-House Engineer) of TempCon. Tracing the company’s roots from a restaurant service provider founded by Jerry Bane in 1995 to a regional mechanical powerhouse on track for over $54 million in revenue, the guests unpack the operational shifts, cultural alignment, and high-profile wins powering their growth across the Kansas City market.
🏢 From Restaurant Service to High-Profile Mega-Projects
Founded nearly three decades ago, TempCon built its early reputation on grueling, round-the-clock maintenance and service calls for regional restaurant equipment. Recognizing the need for volume and sustained growth, leadership integrated a robust construction and design-build arm. That strategic pivot unlocked massive high-visibility regional wins, most notably mechanical installations for the KC Current Stadium and the massive $24 million American Royal project—expanding TempCon’s average project scale by over 5x.
⚙️ The Value of an In-House Engineering Mindset
Transitioning from a 12-year stint at consulting giant Branch Pattern, Connor Smith brought an immediate in-house engineering advantage to TempCon’s preconstruction operations. By bridging the gap between design concepts and field installation realities, TempCon cuts down on change-order friction, catches coordination errors early, and delivers streamlined value-engineering solutions directly to general contractors and developers.
👥 Cultivating Culture and Investing in the Trades
Managing organizational change during a post-pandemic growth curve required a deliberate shift from top-down directives to collaborative leadership under the core vision of “KLIEN” (Limitless Innovation, Integrity, and excellence). To combat labor shortages, TempCon actively partners with regional vocational programs like Herndon Career College and Pittsburgh State University while rapidly scaling its internal apprenticeship program—enrolling dozens of trade students to secure a self-sustaining talent pipeline for the future.
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