First and foremost, they’re drain cleaners. But Lane Post and Robert Williams each understood there was a larger piece of the pie waiting to be had, and an open seat was waiting at the table.

Arrow Pipeline Repair — with several divisions providing drain cleaning, relining, pipe bursting, jetting, CCTV inspection, lateral cutting, sewer and septic, SLC (service lateral connection) dig and replace — made the wise decision to include plumbing. The result has proven to be an astounding success and put the company in a dominant position in a major market.

“All those years when I was providing drain service to my customers, they couldn’t understand why I would call in a plumber to fix the faucet or install a water heater,” says Post, president of the San Diego County-based company. “I was constantly explaining, ‘Gosh, we don’t do that. I’m not a plumber.’ So we kept giving that business away.

“Adding plumbing has been a fantastic opportunity and we have seen this phenomenal growth.”

Post is particularly proud that the company has grown from nine employees in 2001 to nearly 50. He says they have a policy that all field technicians and plumbers are familiar with all the equipment and processes utilized in all departments. This has proven helpful in better serving the client but also in promoting the company and the many facets they are equipped to address.

He says over the years, he often considered adding plumbing before finally taking the leap. “I never imagined this would happen to this degree,” says Post, who adds he is not a plumber but still a drain cleaner. “Now I know I am in the market that wanted me. The opportunity was there all the time.”

Taking advantage of opportunity

Also based in Southern California, Williams Brothers Plumbing is perfectly positioned to capitalize on its expertise, which is trenchless pipe rehabilitation. But when a good friend of owner Robert Williams was ready to sell Oak Drain Service in 2006, Williams saw it as an opportunity to provide his clientele with basic plumbing services.

Oak Drain Service had operated nearby for a number of years, and Williams thought it would complement their flagship drain cleaning and trenchless sewer replacement firm. Williams is now available to step in when any of the plumbing contractors in his service area require CCTV and drain cleaning services, and most important, trenchless technology.

“Plumbers want to do plumbing,” Williams says. “We don’t necessarily want to do plumbing, although we can make that available with Oak Drain Service. Plumbers don’t want to be carrying around and buying all the equipment that we can provide. They do the plumbing. We do the drains. It has been the best of both worlds all the way around.”