Shortly after his first son was born, plumber Ron Davis knew he needed a more stable job than sales. Recognizing the potential of a career in the trades, he swapped his headset for a wrench and got to work.

That was 1998. Now, Davis owns and operates Davis Plumbing in Burlington, New Jersey, with a second location in West Deptford, New Jersey. The company provides residential and commercial plumbing and drain services and covers Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.

A life of service

After he graduated from Burlington Township High School, Davis served three years in the U.S. Army in the 1^st Infantry and 82^nd Airborne divisions. After leaving his job in sales, he worked for another company for two years while learning the plumbing trade.

“Then I got a job as a plumber with the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” Davis says. “I did that for about 10 years and decided to start my own company. I bought a van and the basic equipment that I needed, and off I went.”

Davis’ primary motivation for starting his own company was to be able to spend more time with his growing family.

“I wanted more flexibility to help with my kids and be able to coach their soccer teams and other sports. I also wanted to start a business that I could pass on to my kids if they were interested.”

The company performs primarily residential work and specializes in plumbing service and repair, though they also do some remodeling work as well as drain cleaning sewer inspections and jetting, both hot and cold.

“We purchased all the equipment we need to take care of any problem that our customers may have,” Davis says. “We have trucks, cart jetters, a hot water jetter and cameras with locators. We are in the process of looking into adding pipe bursting and pipe lining to our list of services we provide.”

Most importantly, though, Davis says they specialize in making customers happy. In fact, their slogan is “The Potty Trained Plumbers.”

“It’s a slogan that puts smiles on faces,” Davis says.

Truly a family business

Davis Plumbing, which belongs to Service Roundtable and the South Jersey Master Plumber Association, now employs seven people — three office workers and four in the field — though Davis says he’s looking to add one or two techs in the field soon. What makes Davis Plumbing’s employees stand out is that they are family — literally.

“My cousin Tommy Spezzano is my go-to guy and top tech; my son Kyle is a jetter and drain specialist and plumbing tech; my son Ronnie works part time for me and full time for my brother’s HVAC company, Davis Heating and Air; my niece Victoria is my customer service rep and scheduler; my daughter McKenna works part-time doing marketing and promoting the Davis Plumbing brand through social media; and my girlfriend Wendy manages my office and keeps me on task,” Davis says. “We specialize in great service.”

Truck talk

Davis’ fleet includes a 2017 Chevy box truck, a 2017 Ford Transit 250, two 2016 GMC pickup trucks and one towed hot/cold water jetter. His favorite is the Ford Transit, which “has a great rack system, handles great, and looks just as good.”

This article was originally titled “The ‘potty-trained plumbers’” in the May 2018 print edition of Plumbing & Mechanical.