Terry Roberts knew he was in the market for a new combination sewer cleaning machine. He also knew he wanted a Vac-Con. What Roberts didn’t know is that the truck he ultimately purchased was the 7,000th manufactured by the company and this week would be featured on the floor of the 2015 Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport (WWETT) Show in Indianapolis.

“I’ve always wanted one of my trucks to be in the show,” says Roberts, who drove his new 12-cubic-yard combination machine equipped with Omnibus precision power system from Vac-Con’s plant in Green Cove Springs, Florida, to the Indiana Convention Center.

Roberts started Terry’s Plumbing Service in 1999 in Sarasota, Florida. Since then, Roberts has expanded into residential and commercial sewer cleaning, launching Total Pipeline Cleaning Service in 2001 when he purchased his first Vac-Con unit.

“I started jetting in the early 1990s,” says Roberts. “Then, in 2001, I decided to get more aggressive into vacuuming and jetting, and I wound up buying a 3.5-yard from Vac-Con.”

Roberts’ business — along with his 14-year relationship with Vac-Con — only grew from there. He eventually added a second Vac-Con combination machine with an 11-cubic-yard capacity in 2007. Roberts’ new rig will be the third in his fleet once it’s added to service upon his return to the Sunshine State.

Before purchasing his first truck, Roberts recalls going on a ride-along with Vac-Con President Darrell LeSage and asking, “So why Vac-Con?”

“[LeSage] pulled out a business card and wrote down his home phone number and cellphone number,” says Roberts. “He said, ‘24/7, 365 days a year. Once you buy a Vac-Con, you’re family.’ He said if you break down on Christmas Eve, if you’ve got a problem, and we can take care of it, it will be done.”

That level of customer service was an ideal fit for the Total Pipeline Cleaning Service business model, which is specializing in emergency service work, mainly hydroexcavating on water main breaks and private sewers.

“When I bring this equipment to a job, that means they have a problem,” says Roberts. “I’m the guy they call on a Sunday night, and I have to get halfway across the state of Florida to take care of an emergency. That’s the business that I’ve built.”

“Really, I think this story is all about our customers,” says Todd Masley, sales manager at Vac-Con. “Terry’s comment about who we are is dead-on. It’s a very critical component of our business. We listen to what the customer’s needs are, and we make things happen.”