January 16, 2025
ALAN MERCURIO RETIREMENT & DOUG ZERBE HIRING
(MIDDLETOWN, PA) — The Pennsylvania Petroleum Association (PPA) is announcing a series of changes to PPATEC technical instructor staff in 2025. The PPA is a not-for-profit trade association representing 450+ energy stakeholders. PPA operates PPATEC (Pennsylvania Petroleum Association Technical Education Center) which offers leading hands-on technical training solutions for the HVAC and energy industry.
Alan Mercurio Retirement
Alan Mercurio who has been an instrumental part of the development and growth of PPATEC has officially retired from his full-time role as Lead Technical Instructor effective December 31, 2024. Alan worked with the PPA as a consultant for years prior to officially accepting a full-time role to serve as the PPATEC Lead Technical Instructor in 2021. During Alan’s tenure as a PPATEC instructor, he has directly responsible for delivering oil heat training curriculum and NORA certification to over 1,000 technicians. His collective background includes over 35 years of industry experience in various roles including service technician, equipment sales, and service manager.
“Alan’s positive impact to PPATEC is tough to fully quantify,” said Ted Harris, PPA’s Executive Vice President. “Our trade school would not be at the point it is at today if Alan was not a part of our team. The PPA represents hundreds of full-service heating oil distributors who service the needs for hundreds of thousands of consumers who use heating oil to heat their home. Serving the industry’s need to train the next generation of oil heat technicians is a crucial part of the PPA’s mission and Alan has been in the forefront of ensuring we provide that service with the highest level of professionalism.”
Although Alan is retiring, he will continue to work with the PPA and PPATEC as a consultant in the future.
Doug Zerbe Joins PPATEC as Technical Instructor
The Pennsylvania Petroleum Association is excited to announce the hiring of Doug Zerbe as the association’s newest team member to serve in the role of PPATEC Technical Instructor.
In his new position, Zerbe will be responsible for continuing to expand PPATEC instructional capacity. This will specifically include instructional activities that will cover air conditioning, electrical, heat pumps, plumbing, gas heating, oil heating, and HVAC installation. Elmer will also work closely with Mike Elmer (PPATEC Technical Instructor) to add synergies to our current training offerings and expand into equipment installation curriculum.
Doug brings over 20 years of field experience. On the contractor side of the industry, he has worked as an installer and service technician before he moved into installation and service management. Doug also had the opportunity to work in technical support for an HVAC distributor and in sales for an HVAC manufacturer.
Zerbe joins PPA during a period of continued growth for the association’s technical training program. In October 2024, PPATEC announced the purchase of a new property opening in Q2 2025 which will triple the capacity of the trade school operation. The new space will significantly enhance current hands-on training offerings and allow for the introduction of new curriculum. The larger facility will also position the association enhance their state licensed and GI Bill® eligible 10-Week HVAC & Energy Professional Program. This gateway program was created to provide baseline skills needed to begin a career in the HVAC and energy industry.
“We’re excited to welcome Doug to the PPA,” said Ted Harris, PPA’s Executive Vice President. “Doug’s diverse industry experience and knowledge of equipment installation is a huge asset for PPATEC as we continue to expand our trade school operation. Having Doug as a full-time member of our team will also create more consistency as our core curriculum continues to develop beyond our traditional oil heat training offerings.”
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The Pennsylvania Petroleum Association, based in Middletown, PA., is a not-for-profit trade association who represents 450+ energy stakeholders. The PPA operates PPATEC (Pennsylvania Petroleum Association Technical Education Center) which offers leading hands-on training solutions for the HVAC and energy industry. For more information on the Association or its programs, visit https://papetroleum.org/
