PM Truck Of The Month: Hassell Free Plumbing, Gun Barrel City, Texas

Becoming a 'green' plumbing contractor didn’t just differentiate David Hassell and his company from competitors - it made the company a leader in water conservation efforts in the communities surrounding it.

Bringing Green Plumbing To East Texas

Becoming a “green” plumbing contractor didn’t just differentiate

David Hasselland his company,Hassell Free Plumbing, from competitors - it made the company a leader in water conservation efforts in the communities surrounding the business in Gun Barrel City, Texas. For more than 20 years, the company has been serving the plumbing needs of commercial and residential customers in this small, tri-county area of East Texas. And now it’s serving the sustainable needs of the community.

“Texas has many rural areas, and most people who live in those areas don’t believe that recycling and water conservation apply to them,” says

Sandi Hassell, David’s wife. “We’re trying to educate our customers because we know what’s coming.”

The three Hassell Free plumbers - plus David - are certified by GreenPlumbers USA (training consists of five courses in environmental and technical issues), but other employees are just as committed to the green message the company has adopted. One salesperson took the GreenPlumbers training in order to become better educated about green products on the market, and one staff member is working toward LEED accreditation.

“We always advertise we are green, and we push our customers toward green products such as water-saving fixtures and energy-saving water heaters,” Sandi says. “We are the first plumbing company in the area with the proper green accreditation for our employees.”

Hassell Free Plumbing advertises its green credentials proudly on the drivers’ doors of its four Isuzu HD trucks. The company logo and design of the trucks were created by the Hassell’s son, who has a graphic design degree. He not only worked with the company installing the graphics on the trucks, he organized and sent in the paperwork needed to get the company name trademarked.

The trucks have Hackney P200 bodies with back-up cameras and GPS tracking systems, as well as door alarms. The trucks’ interiors are set up for plumbing vehicles so they can carry a full inventory of product, including water heaters and toilets.

This is a plus for the company, since the tri-county area it serves is rural and driving to the local supply house for a part can take a lot of time. Even with the amount of gas used to drive to customers’ homes or businesses, Hassell Free Plumbing saves money by having well-stocked trucks.

And the story behind the company name? “Well, we couldn’t have Hassell Plumbing,” Sandi explains. “Who would call that company? Hassell Free Plumbing is the only way it would work.”

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Kelly Faloon was a former editor of Plumbing & Mechanical as well as the BNP Media Plumbing Group’s Integrated Content Development Specialist. She also was a former editor of the Radiant Comfort Guide the Radiant & Hydronics Report — both official publications of the Radiant Professionals Alliance — and twice-monthly Radiant & Hydronics eNews, an enewsletter for anyone interested in the world of heating with hot water.

Her editorial specialties included women in plumbing, recruiting for the trades, green construction techniques, water conservation, water treatment, hydronic heating, radiant heating and cooling, snow melt, solar thermal and geothermal.

After a 3½-year stint at sister publication Supply House Times, Faloon joined the PM staff in December 2001 as senior editor. She was named PM’s managing editor in 2006 and editor in 2013.

Previously, she spent nearly 10 years at CCH, a publishing firm specializing in business and tax law, where she wore many hats — proofreader, writer/editor for a daily tax publication, and Internal Revenue Code editor.

A native of Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula, Faloon is a 1986 journalism graduate of Michigan State University.