Let's Hear It For The Red, White & Blue

With a name like American Drain, the color options for your service vehicles can be pretty limited. But in a town with thousands of other white trucks, simple red and blue accents are just not enough.

“We hired a graphic designer to help us out. He created a more visual, dramatic logo and got us off the horizontal plane,” says Anthony Teele, the company's operations manager for the past 10 years. Owners Terry and Peggy Cope started in the plumbing and drain cleaning business in Colorado in the early-1990s, then moved to Arizona in March 1995. The company believes its new logo and image featured on this Chevy Utility G3500 will provide them a better clientele demographic, and present a more professional image.

“We got rid of the cartoons,” Teele says, but the graphics stick by the company's commitment to on-time and skilled performance.

American Drain's fleet of 12 vehicles all will eventually be wrapped in the new style, and four will be replaced entirely with the new utility vehicle, which offers a better layout design for storage and additional shelving, as well as outdoor bins for easy access to parts and tools to complete each service job.

Typically, a Phoenix service call involves replacement of orange berg pipe for sewers, which were installed in the 1970s. The booming housing market is also ripe for residential repairs and replacements, and American Drain stocks its trucks with all the copper and ABS fittings it needs, as well as its Spartan drain and sewer cleaning machines and pipeline cameras and locators.

Easy access to these materials also has become important to this company as it has recently forayed into the air conditioning side of the business, and needs to carry the proper supplies.

“Up until now, our business has been 60 percent plumbing, 40 percent drain, but this new business requires that we stock the right parts to be able to handle all types of calls,” explains Teele. To keep this new influx of calls in-line, the trucks are equipped with Teletrac GPS systems with a message display terminal. Nextels keep the technicians in touch with homebase.

Teele says American Drain has noticed a ticket average increase since the new logo appeared 18 months ago, but is willing to take its time with the complete transition.

“Updated uniforms are on our agenda,” Teele adds, “but it's not high on the list.” By paying attention to the budget and moving at a pace that doesn't overwhelm the company, American Drain will continue its progress toward a new image, without sacrificing its dedication to professional operation.