2016 Truck of the Month
PM has featured so many great plumbing service trucks! See plenty of them here in our Truck Of The Month Archives page. Are you proud of your truck? Go to our Truck of the Month page to find out how your service truck could be chosen!
January
While on the wait list for a job with the Chicago Fire Department, Michael Goode, then 18, worked as a helper at a small plumbing company, Garrity Plumbing. He found that while the owner made great money, he also worked for every penny.
“He was, and is, a very hard-working guy, which brought me a new respect for tradespeople,” Goode says. “I ended up liking the trade enough to stay in it, which I did not expect in the beginning.”
In 1999, Goode decided to open his own small plumbing service company. With just one apprentice to help run things, Goode found that his many, long work hours took a toll on his health and his relationships. He sold his business and went to work for a large plumbing company.
“I took what I learned from all the people I worked with,” he says. “My own desire to have a shop that stood out from the crowd grew, and a year later, at age 32, I opened up Goode Plumbing.”
To read the full article, Click here.
March
Like many plumbing contractors, Kasey Turner, a man from a small town in Oklahoma, dreamed of owning his own business since he was a young boy. His uncle, W.L. Turner, worked in the backflow business. As the years passed, the elder Turner taught the younger Turner what he needed to know about running a successful backflow testing company. At the age of 26, Kasey Turner struck out on his own.
He worked out of his home and hired various family members to help him with the fledgling company. Along the way he grew his business from residential projects to large commercial accounts. As the business grew, so did the customer demand for additional services. Turner knew he had the foundation of what could be a full-service maintenance company. It was then that he began extending his services to include plumbing, irrigation and fire protection.
To read the full article, Click here.
Truck of the Month: Tiger Plumbing, Collinsville, Ill.
Founded in 1993 and originally named AAA Aceco Plumbing, Collinsville, Ill.-based Tiger Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning & Electrical Services has gone through a few changes, but has remained strong. Owner Jeff Gamblin started as a plumber in the U.S. Air Force. At the age of 24, he started his own business, based on the values and beliefs the Air Force instilled in him.
Gamblin chose to embody the image of a tiger in his company name, logo and truck graphics because tigers represent strength — a subtle hint to his competitors — and their signature stripes are instantly recognizable. Click here to view the rest of this article.
Four Seasons Plumbing from Asheville, N.C.
Originally from North Carolina, Max Rose and his wife, Rachel Rose, moved to Colorado in the late 1990s. He started plumbing as an apprentice at Vowel Plumbing in Silverthorne, Colo., and attended plumbing classes in the evening at Red Rocks Community College in Denver.
“I had great teachers and mentors who taught me the value of quality craftsmanship,” says Max Rose, owner of Four Seasons Plumbing in Asheville, N.C.
The Roses spent five years in Colorado and decided to move back to North Carolina due to the declining health of their parents. After two years of working for a local plumbing company, they decided to take a chance and create their own company. “We choose the name Four Seasons Plumbing because it is one of the greatest things about living in western North Carolina,” Rose notes. “We wanted something that felt local and warm. In the business, we wanted to focus on high-quality craftsmanship and create an environment that people will enjoy working in.”
Truck of the Month: Petri Plumbing and Heating, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Known through various names over the years, Petri Plumbing & Heating started in 1906 in Brooklyn, N.Y., with the original name of Brancale & D’Amico Plumbing, Tin Smithing & Hardware. It was owned by Joseph D’Amico, great-grandfather to current owner and President Michael Petri, and Petri’s great-great-uncle, John Brancale.
Petri started working at the family business part-time when he was 13. In 1977, at the age of 22, he joined the company as a full-time employee. Shortly afterward in the 1980s, the company was rebranded Petri Plumbing & Heating, representing his surname. He was named president of the company in the early 1990s. Six years ago, he got the company involved in Green Plumbers USA because of his belief in the green initiative in plumbing. He also is involved with the CEO Warrior Group — a group of international businessmen who share strategies and ideas with each other.