Cleaning Drains Is Only Part Of The Job

Some businesses go way beyond a source of income and become a part of the family.

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Legacy. It’s a word that represents so much. It’s something we carry on to honor the generations who came before us. It’s what we leave behind - our successes, failures, rights and wrongs, and all the ripples that have traveled out from those events, distilled into something that carries on long after our days here are done.

Chris McNulty knows about carrying on a legacy. His great-grandfather founded Dippel Plumbing, featured in this issue of Cleaner, in 1945 and eventually passed it on to other family members. McNulty joined the company in 1995 and purchased it in 2010.  

Tough economic times had taken their toll on the company, but McNulty was determined to bring it back to greatness. Within four years at the helm, McNulty built the crew from three back to a healthy 11, including six plumbers and five technicians, with more growth expected.

There’s a certain pride in carrying on and building success in a family business, because it’s not just a business; it really is a piece of your family. I operated my mom’s business for a while after she passed away, and it was difficult to close the doors when it was time to move on. I still identify with it and it still comes up in conversation years later, so I’m familiar with the dynamics of a family business.

McNulty is carrying on a legacy his family built. Some of you are doing the same, and all across this industry so many of you are creating new legacies that your children will carry on. It’s really a great part of the industry. The mom-and-pop stores may have vanished from the retail landscape, but they are the backbone of this industry.

So many stories of family businesses and family legacies have been told in these pages in my three years with Cleaner. Hi-Tech Plumbing & Leak Detect comes to mind. Founder Jamey Mullin grew up in the plumbing industry. His father, Jim Mullin, owned a plumbing company in Tulsa, Okla., and Jamey eventually opened his own subsidiary before moving on to form Hi-Tech.

Sewer Duck in Aberdeen, S.D., is another. When Jeff Goldade was about 11 years old, he would reluctantly help out his father, Lyle, who owned the drain cleaning business. He eventually bought the business from his father in 1996 when he was just 19 years old and has since grown the business and made his own mark on the industry.

Michael & Son Services in Alexandria, Va., is another great story of family success. Six-year-old Basim Mansour tagged along with his father during electrical repair calls in the 1970s. After his father’s untimely death when Basim was only 19, he left school to dedicate his time to running his family’s business. He eventually grew the company from a one-truck operation to one of the nation’s largest privately owned plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling companies.

And of course, there’s Levine and Sons in Redford Charter Township, Mich. The family-owned business has been active in the Detroit area so long that when it first opened in 1927, technicians on plumbing service calls traveled by trolley with their toolboxes. Tom Levine, the son of founder Louis Levine, got into the business when he was 18 years old and made it his life’s work. Today, Tom’s three sons each play important roles in the business, which is well-known and respected in its service area.

These are all great stories of success, and they all cast a light on the value of family in this industry. It’s a great thing to be a part of.

Enjoy this month’s issue.



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