Next Gen All Star: Sean Comerford

By Nicole Krawcke

Sean Comerford

AGE: 40

COMPANY: OATEY

TITLE: TECHNICAL APPLICATIONS MANAGER

How long have you been in the PHCP-PVF industry?

SC: 22 years in total. 19 years in the plumbing field and now 3 years at a manufacturer. Also was around the trades as a kid because of family and family friends that were tradesmen.

What drew you into the industry?

SC: Initially money and working with my hands. I knew from being around adults in the trades that good money could be made, and I knew I didn’t want to continue with school.

What is the most rewarding aspect of working in the industry?

SC: Variety. Whether it was my time in the field or at Oatey no day is the same. It would drive me crazy, and I would get bored doing the same thing every day.

What motivates you every day?

SC: My kids continuing to learn, and of course, money.

What is one thing you wish more people knew/understood about the PHCP-PVF industry?

SC: How important it is. People take for granted clean water, climate control and waste removal. It takes hard work and skilled people to keep those systems running and improves health and comfort for everyday life.

What has been the proudest moment in your career so far?

SC: When one of my kids said they wanted to be a plumber at their first-grade graduation.

What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

SC: I enjoy designing and building my own habits/decor for fish aquariums. Also, the sump filters with plumbing of course.

Why he was chosen as a Next Gen All Star Top 20 Under 40 winner:

“For the first 17 years of his career, Sean worked for the same Cleveland plumbing company where he apprenticed. He eventually served as the lead plumber for commercial/residential new construction, service, and fire-protection jobs. He subsequently moved to a second service company in Cleveland, where he was working strictly in commercial service settings. Sean holds a State of Ohio Fire Protection License for Sprinkler and Standpipe. Sean enjoyed working in the field but also wanted to explore career options that were less demanding physically while staying in the industry. In 2020, he joined Oatey Co. as a Technical customer service representative.

Sean was familiar with the 107-year-old, Cleveland-based manufacturer by using Oatey products as a plumber. Now, in his new customer service role, Sean answered phone calls and replied to emails from other plumbers to DIYers, answering technical questions and helping to solve their application problems.

“Then came COVID-19, and Sean experienced a year like none other, again assisting his fellow professionals to cope with the problems arising partly from the crisis. While still working in customer service, he saw his role expand dramatically, becoming the company’s leading subject matter expert on technical blogs and guest editorials. As such, Sean continues to help inquire plumbers understand how to use Oatey products best while ensuring technical proficiency with the correct step-by-step instructions on different projects and applications.

“Toward the end of 2021, Oatey promoted Sean to Technical Applications Manager. In this next career phase, Sean assists with Oatey's social media engagement to ensure that Oatey's content is technically accurate, conversing directly with tradespeople and answering customer questions in a timely, helpful, and engaging manner. Additionally, Sean conducts internal product training and works on new product launches, product testing, and customer training. With the latter, Sean shares the essential knowledge he has mastered throughout his career with Oatey's employees and its loyal customer base.

“Today, the most rewarding part of Sean's work is educating young professionals and tradespeople on the product and plumbing installation best practices. He enjoys helping others who start out — as he did — completely unfamiliar with the trades, only to develop into highly skilled product and application experts.” — Madelyn Young, Greenhouse Digital + PR

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Nicole Krawcke is the former Chief Editor of Plumbing & Mechanical and PM Engineer magazines. She covered the HVAC and plumbing industries for BNP Media. She has more than 15 years of writing and editing experience and holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University.