Some coworkers become like family. For Dustin and Joe, they already were.
Dustin Gomes, Facilities Maintenance Tech Lead, and Joe Gomes, HVAC Technician II, are brothers, 9.5 years apart in age. Dustin grew up in Sedro-Woolley, where Janicki was already a familiar name in the community. Joe grew up in Southern California. For most of their lives, their visits were brief, a week or two each year. Despite the distance, they kept in touch, growing their relationship closer over time.
Building a Business
Dustin’s background was in home building construction and shipyards. Joe trained in HVAC at Brownson Technical School in Anaheim, California. The brothers started joking about going into business together, eventually becoming more serious about the idea. In September 2021, Joe made the move to Washington to make it happen. They launched Brothers HVAC, combining their skills and finally getting the day-to-day time together they’d never had growing up.
Dustin Gomes, Facilities Maintenance Tech Lead, unloading tools from his work truck.
When Joe’s family began to grow, the brothers decided the steadier income and benefits of traditional employment made more sense than running their own shop. They closed Brothers HVAC, but they didn’t stay apart for long.
Joining Janicki’s Team
“Our jobs are to do whatever we can to help production do their jobs and maintain our buildings’ integrity,” Dustin said.
Joe spotted an HVAC technician posting at Janicki, then noticed a facilities maintenance role open up shortly after. He told Dustin to apply. Joe joined the Sedro-Woolley facilities team in September 2024, and Dustin followed in November 2024.
Today, they both work out of Janicki’s Highway 20 campus. Dustin’s role covers building upkeep and maintenance across Janicki’s Sedro-Woolley facilities, along with construction projects tied to business needs and leading a team of maintenance technicians. They recently built two laser welding cells, completed an office area renovation that included constructing a new wall, and handles ongoing vacuum and airline work.
Joe’s role focuses on HVAC equipment monitoring, preventative maintenance and repair on ventilation fans, chillers, rooftop units and major HVAC systems, and orders materials to keep operations running.
“I enjoy working in HVAC, I like what I do and find it comes easy to me,” said Joe. “And I really like the team I work with; everyone gets along and helps each other out.”
Joe Gomes, HVAC Technician II, uses a lift to service HVAC equipment.
Family First
Their families are growing. Joe’s son turned two this year, and Dustin’s daughter is 18 and graduating high school, with her own interest in joining the Janicki team. Outside of work, the brothers camp and ride motorcycles together, get together for family dinners about once a month, and sometimes golf or spend time out on the boat. Joe plays guitar in a band and is on one of Janicki’s employee softball teams. Dustin spends time working on his house.
But every morning, regardless of what else is going on, they’re at the same 5 a.m. team huddle.
“My favorite part of my job is getting to work with this guy,” Dustin said, nodding toward his brother. “That was one of the hardest parts about deciding to close the doors to our own company. We weren’t sure how much we’d see each other. Even though we have our own busy lives and jobs now, we get to see each other every day still.”
For more information on our facilities and maintenance teams, visit our Careers page.