At Pipe Wrench Plumbing in Knoxville, Tenn., owners Tom Cambron and Trent Eidemiller have two overriding principles. One is to provide service that is ahead of the competition. Pipe Wrench is forever exploring innovations, in the office and in the field. “We want to be on the cutting edge in service, in the products we provide, and in our operations,” Eidemiller says.
The other is the way they run their business. “I believe in a systematic approach to a business,” Cambron says.
Being on the cutting edge means taking on technologies like pipe bursting, trenchless water line repairs, and even a computer-based system for dispatching workers and invoicing customers. And systems mean making sure that everybody who works for Pipe Wrench Plumbing does things the same way.
Cambron compares his operation to the giant of fast foods. Customers at McDonald’s, he notes, can count on a highly predictable experience whether they eat in Knoxville or San Francisco. His goal is to do the same for his company’s customers.
“No matter who we send out, we want the customer to have the same experience, time after time after time,” Cambron says.
Cambron and Eidemiller believe that helps explain why Pipe Wrench has stood out among competitors in the greater Knoxville area, achieving double-digit growth annually since the company’s founding in 2001. Cambron says the biggest challenge ahead may be keeping the pace of growth manageable.
Joining forces
Cambron first set his career goals when he started college at the University of Tennessee, intending to be a nuclear physicist. “I got kind of distracted,” he says. He decided instead to train as a plumber. From there he went to work for Union Carbide, criss-crossing the country building nuclear power plants in the early 1980s.
But the travel got to him, so in 1984 he started his own plumbing business in Cary, N.C. A decade later he moved back with his family to his hometown of Knoxville. In 1998, he bought Kingston Pipe Plumbing, a local plumbing business.
Business was good — growth was on the order of 60 to 70 percent a year — but Cambron had bigger goals. And that’s where Eidemiller came in. Eidemiller had worked in procurement for government contractors. When contracts ended, he’d get laid off. “After going through that a couple of times, I began to look for something more stable,” Eidemiller says. “That’s when I met Tom.”
The two met through their church. “I knew where I wanted to take my business,” Cambron says. “And I knew I’d have to surround myself with good counsel. Trent had good character. He was ambitious and intelligent.”
In January 2001, the two established Pipe Wrench Plumbing. Cambron’s aim was to build a company big enough and with strong enough standards so that it might one day be able to go public, selling its stock to investors. Cambron serves as chief executive officer, Eidemiller as chief operating officer.
On the cutting edge
The pipe bursting service embodies the company’s dedication to innovation in the trade. A couple of years ago, Pipe Wrench acquired its pipe bursting technology from TRIC Tools Inc.
The timing was good. In 2005, the Knoxville Utility Board embarked on a project to inspect the private sewer laterals of all its 64,000 customers: as many as 12,000 are expected to require repairs over a 10-year period.
“We went before the Knoxville plumbing board in December 2005 and asked them to consider this process,” Eidemiller says. After reviewing specifications, the board gave its approval. Since then, Pipe Wrench has been busy collecting testimonials from satisfied customers.
“We can replace their sewer line without taking out their yard,” Eidemiller says. “If you have a lot of asphalt, such as at a commercial building, we can replace your sewer line without digging it up. That’s going to save the customer thousands of dollars.”
That wasn’t the first time Pipe Wrench tried something new — far from it. For several years, Pipe Wrench has been offering trenchless water line replacement. Cambron was inspired by watching cable TV installers at work. Without ever digging up existing pavement, “They went under driveways and parking lots,” he says. The key is a machine that bores underground.
Opportunity knocking
Cambron quickly saw the oppor-tunity for his own business. “We’re thinking, pipe’s pipe,” he says. To carry out the installation, crews first send the borer through from the water main to where the service line connects to the building’s water system.
“After we get from Point A to Point B, then we attach the pipe and we pull it back through the hole we just bored,” Eidemiller says. Adds Cambron, “It’s working out very well for the homeowner and for us.”
Until recently, the company offered an innovative in-home water repair system that uses technology franchised by ACE DuraFlo. The system sends compressed air through the piping. The air drives an abrasive through the pipes to clear out scaling and corrosion, then blows epoxy through to seal pinhole leaks. Eidemiller and Cambron remain big believers in the program and have held on to their ACE DuraFlo franchise, but decided to sell their equipment because at present demand is lacking.
Being innovative is an old story for the company. In its first year, Pipe Wrench designed a new service truck that is now its standard. Based on the Isuzu NPR model with a short-wheelbase chassis, the vehicle has a tight turning radius. “You can make a U-turn on a two-lane road,” Cambron says.
The truck, customized to the company’s specifications by Eddie’s Truck Bodies in Knoxville, includes ample room for supplies and equipment. “We wanted our plumbers, when they rolled up to a customer’s house, to have about 95 percent of the parts they need,” Eidemiller says. Pipe Wrench has eight such trucks and two other service vans. Every vehicle has a GPS unit.
Systems thinking
What really makes the company work, the two believe, isn’t just technological bells and whistles. Instead, it’s thinking about the company in systematic terms. Cambron and Eidemiller believe in the ideas of consultant Michael Gerber in his book, The E-Myth. “It talks about having a systematic approach to everything you do,” Cambron says. It has become a guiding force in the way they run their company.
Gerber’s basic message, they say, is that the skills it takes to run a business are much different than the technical skills tradespeople bring with them when they set up shop. He also preaches the importance of standardizing how a business does things.
“With systems in place, the people aren’t running the business — the systems are,” Cambron says. “A system could be as simple as a script for the customer service rep.” Pipe Wrench people are trained to answer the phone on the second ring. A mirror by the phone reminds the person answering to smile when greeting the customer.
“A person can tell if the person on the other end of the phone is smiling or not,” Cambron says. And customer service people get a script so that they handle calls as uniformly as possible. The company also employs a sales system taught by motivational speaker Matt Smith of The Contractor’s Friend and plans to host training workshops for Smith’s group in 2008 as part of The Contractor’s Friend’s “Circuit Club.”
Daily get-togethers
Pipe Wrench employs 16 people: 10 plumbers, two apprentices, a warehouse inventory specialist, two customer service representatives, and an accounts manager. Employees meet daily at 7:30 a.m. sharp, for 30 minutes. Mondays start with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by a “loosening up” activity, such as a game.
“Tuesdays, we focus on cleaning the fleet and organizing the trucks,” Eidemiller says. “Wednesday’s focus is on sales and life lessons.” Those lessons can range from looking at how business works or specific sales skills to more personal matters, such as helping employees manage personal finances or reflecting on integrity on the job.
Wednesday meetings begin with the recognition of service techs who have achieved weekly and monthly performance goals. Those whose performance reaches or exceeds designated levels qualify for annual bonuses.
Thursdays focus on technical training, and Fridays are for winding up loose ends and looking ahead to the next week. Cambron and Eidemiller say that organized approach to employee relations is part of the systems-thinking they believe will help Pipe Wrench prosper over the long haul.
“As a business owner I want to help create a successful business,” Eidemiller says. “But I realize one of the best investments I can make is to make my guys successful in life. If I can do that, that will help me be successful in business.”
It seems to be working. Pipe Wrench, serving four counties around Knoxville, has been growing steadily and projects annual revenues of $1.8 million in 2007. In 2002, business grew 39 percent; 2003 saw 23 percent in growth; and growth topped 50 percent each of the next two years. In 2006, business was up another 38 percent.
“I’m hoping to hold the growth down to 20 percent this year,” Cambron says. “If you grow too fast, you can take your eye off the squirrel in one area and actually lose money. We’re not greedy, but we want to make money.” With the plan in place and the track record built, chances for continued success seem strong.
