Tired of politely closing the door when potentially profitable drain-cleaning jobs came knocking, Brad Vines decided to invest in a business builder: a trailer-mounted Model 4018 water jetter from U.S. Jetting, LLC. It now generates jobs for his company, John’s Plumbing Inc., in Birmingham, Ala.
“Before I bought the jetter, I’d get calls from big shopping malls with large roof drains, but I wouldn’t even attempt jobs like that with my old jetter,” Vines says. “With the new jetter, I can do large jobs like that very efficiently. It’s helped create new business for me – opened up new markets.”
The unit delivers up to 18 gpm at 4,000 psi and has a 300-gallon water tank; a hydraulic-powered pullout and swivel hose reel; a quick-release mini-jet hose reel; and a Hatz Silent Pack 3-cycle diesel engine.
Smooth and quiet
“The pull-out, swivel hose reel is great,” Vines says. “Not all driveways line up directly with a cleanout or manhole. But we get as close as we can, then rotate the reel to line it up. Without the swivel, the hose would always rub or bind.”
Vines also touts the engine, which comes in handy when his crews perform maintenance at nursing homes or big-box retailers. “You don’t want something real loud running in the parking lots,” he says.
The unit is also versatile. “I can use it on everything from 2- to 10-inch lines, and can control the pressure from 500 to 4,000 psi,” Vines says. “That’s plenty of power. I don’t plan on jetting lines larger than 10 inches. It’s also very efficient. My old jetter can do laterals, but I can do them twice as fast with this machine. I can clean a 100-foot line in 10 minutes. That increases profitability, because I can do jobs faster.”
The company, named after Vines’ father who founded it in 1984, splits its work between commercial preventive maintenance contracts and cleaning residential laterals. The firm owns six service vehicles: three Dodge Sprinter vans, two Chevrolet 1-ton trucks, and a Ford LCF truck.
Bright colors
Each vehicle carries a Spartan 1065 heavy-duty, drum drain-cleaning machine from Spartan Tool LLC; a Mini-Rooter drain machine from General Pipe Cleaners; and a handheld Spartan 700 for cleaning sink and tub drains. The firm also owns two UEMSI color, self-leveling pipeline inspection cameras.
When paired with a bright yellow Sprinter van, the custom-painted yellow 4018 provides marketing punch. The company’s name and phone numbers share space with the slogan, “We repair what your husband fixed.”
“My mother, Robin, came up with the slogan,” says Vines. “You need a slogan that people can remember. Most times, it’s a woman calling asking us to fix something her husband worked on over the weekend. Between the slogan and the bright-yellow paint jobs, the van and jetter are highly visible. You can’t miss them.” It’s another reason the door at John’s Plumbing is now wide open for business.
