Bigger isn’t always better.

Just ask Thomas Ammons at EHC Environmental in Red Springs, North Carolina, a company that provides emergency response, dry and wet vacuum and drainline services.

With six vacuum trucks in its fleet, the company is well-equipped to handle a variety of customer needs. But Ammons, a senior project manager and vice president at EHC and the husband of owner Kim Ammons, still found it difficult to compete for certain jobs.

“We had the vac trucks, but the hourly rate for them was so high there were certain jobs where I couldn’t compete,” he explains.

The solution? A G7 trailer-mounted water jetter from GapVax that’s small enough to be more cost-effective for clients than a vacuum truck, but still provides the power needed to quickly handle clogged lines at plants and factories.

“We were already doing vac truck work for companies and this machine opened the door to do jetting work for the same clients,” Ammons says. “So it either expanded what we already were doing or opened the door to even more clients. We’re here to solve customers’ problems, just like a good lawyer or doctor. And the G7 allows us to do just that.”

INSTANT VALUE

Ammons says the company, which was founded in 1986 by his wife’s father, Bill Bright, and employs about 20 people, recognized the G7’s value after using a demo model on a job.

“We used it to jet some lines for a poultry-processing plant and it worked great,” he says. “The company was using another contractor at the time and we cleaned the lines better than the other contractor. The head maintenance guy commented that the G7 was working like a charm. So I asked him, ‘If I buy this jetter, can I do all your work?’ And he said yes.”

EHC Environmental took delivery of the jetter in November 2020. In 2023 alone, the company generated more than a half-million dollars’ worth of work for that client, which also opened up other opportunities, Ammons says.

Mobility and versatility were big selling points for Ammons. The trailer jetter is much more maneuverable in tight spaces than a large vacuum truck. Still, 800 feet of 3/4-inch-diameter hose plus a second reel that holds 200 feet of 1/2-inch hose enables his technicians to handle a variety of jobs.

When combined with the unit’s remote-control capability, a 500-gallon water tank and a water pump that generates 2,500 psi at up to 40 gpm, Ammons says the G7 equips the company to productively handle all manner of jobs, from cleaning stormwater and sanitary sewer lines to jetting factory process lines clogged with grease and other materials.

“One of my favorite features is the remote operation, which is huge when we’re working inside buildings,” he says. “And drivers don’t need a commercial driver’s license to tow it.”

TOUGH JOB? NO PROBLEM

The G7, which also features a triplex water pump, a hydraulically powered reel that rotates 180 degrees, durable stainless steel fluid lines and variable-speed controls, often proves its worth.

But one job in particular stands out in Ammons’ mind. Late one Sunday afternoon in 2021, he was called out to a job at a restaurant in Huntersville, North Carolina, part of a well-known national chain of eateries. The restaurant’s grease trap line was badly clogged, flooding the kitchen.

“It was a nasty, nasty clog,” Ammons says.

But the G7 powered through it. Later that evening, the manager of the restaurant called Ammons to compliment EHC Environmental for getting the job done.

“She told me we were the 11th company to clean that line within the prior two weeks and the first one to solve the problem completely,” he says. “It was a combination of the team we had there and the G7, as well as how we train guys to never leave a job until we solve a problem. The G7 made us look really good that day.”

SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY

The unit cost roughly $85,000. But it has provided such a great return on investment that Ammons says he is thinking about buying a second one instead of another vacuum truck.

“The economics work out so much better,” he says. “The profitability works out so much better. The time savings in terms of labor works out better. [The water tank minimizes the need for time-consuming tank refills.] And customer satisfaction is so much better. I want a piece of equipment that’s going to make me money, not sit in my yard and cost me money.”

Overall, the G7 has been a great fit for EHC Environmental’s operations, serving as a workhorse that adds to the company’s many capabilities. Where would the company be without it?

“We would’ve been handcuffed from doing what we wanted to do — more limited about the services we could provide and unable to do jobs as fast,” Ammons says. “It helps us expand our services and our business opportunities.”