Shane Wyant, president of Allan J. Coleman, grew up in a family business very similar to the one he now works for. Selling and servicing drain and sewer cleaning equipment has been a part of his life from a young age.
“One night,” Wyant recalls, “my stepdad came upstairs and said, ‘I had to fire that new guy I just hired. He did not know the difference between a claw hammer and a ball-peen hammer.’ He stopped, looked at me, and said, ‘You are not going to grow up that way.’ So he put me to work in the shop at 9 years old. I started repairing machines and slowly started waiting on customers.”
Wyant would occasionally go out on sewer and drain cleaning calls with his stepdad. He also attended the very first Pumper Show — now the WWETT Show — held in 1981. By the time Wyant was 14, he was working in a booth at the show selling equipment.
“I went to work for RIDGID in my early twenties and moved around with them for almost 11 years before I partnered into Allan J. Coleman,” Wyant says.
Cleaner recently spoke with Wyant about the long history of Allan J. Coleman and what the company excels at within the sewer and drain cleaning industry.
Cleaner: Tell us a little about the history of Allan J. Coleman.
Wyant: Allan J. Coleman founded the company in 1905 in Pittsburgh. We know that from patents he filed. Sometime in the next 20 years or so he moved the business to Chicago. Allan J. Coleman Sr. passed away at a young age and his wife and Allan J. Coleman Jr. ran the business. Allan J. Coleman Jr. also passed away at a young age and Mrs. Coleman put a “business for sale” ad in the paper. My business partner’s [Marvin Frank’s] dad answered that ad and purchased the business. Marvin was 19 years old and went to work for his dad shortly after the purchase. Years later, Marvin’s dad had a heart attack, drove himself to the hospital and then passed away. Marvin ran the business with his mom and began to build a reputation for having equipment, repair parts and quick turnaround on repairs. My parents used to buy repair parts from Marvin, so we knew of each other. I met Marvin for the first time in February 1995 at the Pumper Show. RIDGID relocated me to the Chicago area because of my background with sewer and drain cleaning equipment and because their largest servicing distributor of sewer and drain cleaning equipment from a single location was in Chicago — Allan J. Coleman. Marvin and I developed a great working relationship, and ultimately he brought me in as a partner in January 2006.
Cleaner: What differentiates your offerings from the competition?
Wyant: We do our best to have the equipment and repair parts in stock. We are trying to focus our business on service. We want to be the best at servicing our customers’ equipment, and we constantly are looking for new training avenues that will grow and expand the knowledge of our technicians. We know that the end-user needs his tools and equipment to make money, so we focus on getting them back on the job with their tools. We also take an educated sales approach with our customers. Our goal is to help customers make the best decision for their needs — not just sell them what they think they want. That often leads to savings and better results, and it’s why our customers keep coming back.
Cleaner: What’s the most common problem you see your customers facing?
Wyant: Outside of finding good help, the most common problem we see is the need to get their equipment repaired in a timely manner.
Cleaner: What are some recommendations for customers shopping for sewer and drain cleaning equipment?
Wyant: Know that the equipment you are purchasing is the best fit for your needs and make sure that you will have the support for service when the time comes.
Cleaner: What’s the philosophy behind the service aspect of your business?
Wyant: Having repair parts in stock and quality repairs completed in a timely manner so our customers can get back on the job to make money.
Cleaner: What do you want your customers to think of when they hear the name Allan J. Coleman?
Wyant: I want them to think that we are a company they can trust and rely on.
