Calgary Founder Applies Automotive-Grade Identity Framework to Buildings and Infrastructur

April 18, 2026

CALGARY, April 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Every vehicle manufactured carries a unique identifier assigned at production. That identifier follows the vehicle across every owner, every service visit, and every resale – creating a continuous record that informs diagnostics, protects warranties, and supports informed decision-making across decades. The built environment has never had an equivalent. Harmelo is changing that.

Harmelo, a Calgary-based infrastructure technology company founded in 2025, has introduced HMIN™ (Mechanical Identification Number™) and HEIN™ (Energy Identification Number™) permanent identifiers assigned to mechanical and energy systems at the point of installation or registration that follow each system across every contractor, ownership transition, and software platform for its full operational life.

BUILT FROM TWO INDUSTRIES. SOLVING ONE STRUCTURAL PROBLEM.

Harmelo’s founder and CEO, Brad Pettes, began his career in the automotive industry before founding and operating an HVAC contracting business across residential and commercial buildings.

“What became immediately clear is that the continuity that exists in automotive does not exist in the built environment,” said Pettes. “Equipment is installed, serviced, and replaced over decades, but the underlying system-level record fragments across contractors, ownership changes, and disconnected platforms. Decisions around maintenance and capital planning are based on age and assumption rather than actual system condition. Harmelo applies what the automotive industry has understood for a century to the infrastructure operating inside every building across North America.”

More than 150 million homes and millions of commercial and institutional buildings across North America each contain multiple mechanical and energy systems operating for 15 to 30 years — yet none carry a persistent system-level identity. As contractors change and ownership transitions, the history that should inform future decisions becomes fragmented. Capital planning defaults to assumption. Failures surface without early visibility.

“Every major asset class that operates at scale has eventually developed a persistent identity layer,” said Pettes. “Vehicles have the VIN. Properties have land title registries. Aircraft have tail numbers. Mechanical and energy infrastructure is the largest asset class in the built environment that still lacks this foundation. That changes with Harmelo.”

ACTIVE DEPLOYMENT ACROSS BUILDER, OPERATOR, AND CONTRACTOR MARKETS

Harmelo is not describing a concept. It is deploying one.

Second Nature Design and Development has signed on as an early builder partner, establishing Persistent Infrastructure Identity™ across its residential developments at the point of construction. Harmelo is in active discussions with provincial housing operators, national builders, and institutional portfolio managers across Canada and the United States. The company will attend the SelectUSA Investment Summit (May 3–6) and is engaging with several U.S. states on market entry through the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service.

Harmelo has launched the Founding Contractor Program, opening 1,000 spots across North America for HVAC, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical contractors. Onboarding begins August 2026. Applications are open now at www.harmelo.com

ABOUT HARMELO

Harmelo is a Calgary-based infrastructure technology company founded in 2025. Through HMIN™ and HEIN™, Harmelo establishes Persistent Infrastructure Identity™ for mechanical and energy systems – enabling lifecycle continuity, capital planning intelligence, and long-term infrastructure governance across housing, commercial, institutional, and government portfolios across North America. Persistent Infrastructure Identity™ trademark application filed April 7, 2026.

Media Contact

Brad Pettes

Founder & CEO, Harmelo

www.harmelo.com

Harmelo, HMIN™, HEIN™, Persistent Infrastructure Identity™, Infrastructure Identity Intelligence Registry™, Persistent Operational Intelligence™, Asset History Report™, Mechanical Identification Number, Energy Identification Number™, and Infrastructure Financial Intelligence™ are trademarks of Harmelo Inc.

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