search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!

Truck of the Month: A Gamble That Paid Off

By Mike Miazga
Photo courtesy of Art Plumbing & Air Conditioning.
September 1, 2010
Art Plumbing & Air Conditioning, Coral Springs, Fla.
Photo courtesy of Art Plumbing & Air Conditioning.
 

Back in 1983, Gregg D’Attile, at age 21, moved with his parents from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Florida.

“Things weren’t going so good in the late ’70s - there was no work for a union plumber,” D’Attile explains. “We had family in Florida and we decided to stake out fresher ground.”

And that ground has turned out to be quite fruitful for D’Attile, now the president of Art Plumbing & Air Conditioning in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs. D’Attile is in his fourth decade of providing plumbing and air-conditioning services to customers across a 50-mile radius in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The “Art” in the name refers to his father, who founded the company, and at age 85 still handles permits and takes care of scrap metal for the 25-employee operation, which includes 12 box trucks and a 5,000-square-foot warehouse. D’Attile’s 79-year-old mother, Marie, is the company bookkeeper. His nephew Art D’Attile also works for the company, giving the family four generations of plumbers.

“When we first started down here, we did a lot of new construction,” Gregg D’Attile notes. “Around 1992, we started to really specialize in service work, and in 1996 we added air conditioning. We’ll do anything involving plumbing in the house whether it’s re-piping, new installs, leak searches or water heaters. We seal up attics and do water treatment. We do a little bit of everything.”

D’Attile’s company has drawn quite a bit of attention on the streets of south Florida thanks to a creative design on the side of his Mitsubishi and Ford service trucks with Hackney Performer P-2000 service bodies (featuring D’Attile’s custom shelving). An artist-type figure wearing a beret and holding a paintbrush is depicted on the side of the trucks with the tagline: “The Picasso of Plumbing & A/C.”

“That was from an advertising designer (Mike Fagin) way back in the day,” the 47-year-old D’Attile explains. “He played off my dad’s name, Art, and the artist aspect. About five years ago, we updated his picture.”

The truck design has produced a steady stream of comments over the years.

“People love it or they say stuff like, ‘You work like an artist,’” chuckles D’Attile, a member of the board of directors of the Nexstar best practices group (he’s been a Nexstar member since 2003).

The truck’s design has even caught the attention of the big screen. A local production company cast it in the 2008 romantic comedy “Sex Drive.”

“It’s a tiny, quick shot,” D’Attile laughs. “We were on a service call over at the building and the art director loved the truck. The truck was gone for a week. I’ve had friends call me from all over the place saying they saw the truck in the movie.”

In addition to stressing punctual customer service, D'Attile also demands his service trucks be in pristine condition. Each Wednesday, he holds a truck-cleaning contest among his employees. The top three finishers each week earn cash prizes.

“We provide them the materials to clean the trucks,” he notes. “They get judged on 15 points of cleanliness, including things like getting bugs off the windshield.”

Looking back, D’Attile admits there was some initial trepidation in leaving his native New York behind.

“Sure,” he says, “we moved to a new state and didn’t have a job. It was kind of scary. It’s been an amazing transformation going from working out of a garage in our house to being in the position we are today - pretty darned close to being a debt-free company.”

 

Links

  • General Pipe Cleaners
  • Follow PM on Twitter!
  • Truck Of The Month Archive

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Mike miazga 2015

Mike Miazga (former group editorial director for BNP Media’s Plumbing Group) is now the vice president of sales/membership at the American Supply Association (ASA). Supply House Times is proud to be the official publication and brand of the ASA — a relationship that spans more than a decade.

Mike’s relationship with BNP Media and the Plumbing Group continues today. He now writes a monthly ASA-focused column for Supply House Times and acts as an editorial consultant to BNP Media’s Plumbing Group.

In his 10-plus years at BNP Media, Miazga was senior editor of Plumbing & Mechanical and PM Engineer before taking over chief editor duties at Supply House Times in 2011. In addition to his role as editorial director, Miazga continued as Supply House Times chief editor and the editor of the American Supply Association’s PVF Outlook eNewsletter. He also enjoyed three stints as PM Engineer’s chief editor, holding dual roles as Supply House Times and PM Engineer chief editor on two occasions.

Miazga started his career in newspapers at the age of 19 and has more than 25 years of newsroom, management, editorial and public/media relations experience, and is a former high-school baseball and golf head varsity coach. Mike and his family are still based out of the Chicago area (with ASA Headquarters in Itasca, Illinois). You can reach Mike at PlumbingGroup89@gmail.com.

 

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Green Plumbing and Mechanical
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

The interior of a government building.

President Trump signs executive order promoting skilled trades and apprenticeships

Figure 1 is a sketch of the flow problems of the current plumbing system.

Hydronic heating glitch solved: Why adding a circulator won't fix primary loop flow issue

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

PMCE Home-X April 29 Free Webinar: From Legacy to Leadership: Preparing Your Home Services Business for the Next Generation

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • PM0112_TOTM_AtoZ-sideviewROT.jpg

    Truck of the Month: A to Z Statewide Plumbing, Hollywood, Fla.

    See More
  • PM Truck of The Month-Plumbing Paramedics, Sunrise, Fla.

    See More
  • Daniel Cordova Plumbing

    Truck of the Month: Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Baldwin Park, Calif.

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • what hydronics taught holohan.jpg

    What Hydronics Taught Holohan: A Memoir of Life in the Heating Industry

  • 51CHeeKvw4L._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

    Hydronic Radiant Heating: A Practical Guide for the Nonengineer Installer

  • pocketfullsteamproblm.gif

    A Pocketful of Steam Problems (with solutions!)

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • October 15, 2024

    The Benefits of Light Cure and Becoming a Certified Installer

    On Demand The Bluelight LED Lining System is the most advanced light-curing system available for laterals and small drain pipes. This innovative, automated technology alleviates the time pressures of other CIPP systems, helping you complete the job on budget and on time – up to 5x faster than other methods.
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing