PM Truck Of The Month — DrainPro Plumbing, Phoenix, Ariz. - Feature Article

I had a lot of misconceptions about this month’s Truck Of The Month. But here are some facts about Phoenix-based DrainPro Plumbing:

It’s a strictly plumbing service company that’s been in business under the DrainPro name since September 2007.

DrainPro currently employs five staff members.

It runs three service trucks: one Chevy 3500 box truck; a Chevy Silverado; and one Ford Econoline.

Owner Don Paz is only 24 years old.

At such a young age, Paz is enjoying his role as entrepreneur. But he understood early on that a successful business needs a solid marketing team. He found a proper promoter at PlumberMarketing.com, a niche advertising agency that offers strategies to plumbing businesses around the world.

“If we didn’t have them, I don’t know what we’d do,” Paz tells me. Through his exclusive relationship with Plumber Marketing and its rep Grant Harris — who Paz calls “a machine” — DrainPro is able to compete with much larger and established drain cleaning companies in its area.

Plumber Marketing handled Paz’s complete marketing package: from truck wrapping to logo branding to the company’s professional Web site. “They’ve made us look like a million-dollar franchise, when in actuality it’s a small but growing family-owned operation,” Paz says.

Paz believes his company name alone allows him to compete with the area’s other big-name drain cleaners. He hasn’t limited himself with his logo or name choice, and he feels his brand is gaining recognition.

Plus, being a smaller company, his overhead doesn’t nearly match his larger competitors, so his initial charges for drain clearing and camera work can be done inexpensively.

As for other niche markets to monitor, Paz is staying ahead of the game. He informed us of his training through GreenPlumbers USA’s Metro Challenge, which took place at the end of May. The three-day course allows plumbers to get certified and licensed in green plumbing practices. His company also promotes recirculation pumps and environmentally friendly water softening.

DrainPro trucks may also be upgraded soon to run on biodiesel or changed to other fuel-conserving models.

“We’re growing steadily,” Paz says happily, and his optimism leads him to address the current economy and his place in it. “When the market’s down, people don’t rush to buy new water heaters or do remodels, but there will always be drains to clear.”