Truck of the Month: Continental Plumbing, New Port Richey, Fla.

A Leap Of Faith

Photo credit: Continental Plumbing.

Back in the mid-1990s, Chad Hart packed his bags and headed south in search of warmer climes.

“I was hanging out in Indiana and there was not a lot going on,” the 36-year-old Ft. Wayne native states. “I went to a warmer place and gave it a shot. It was a risk coming down here. There was no net to save me. I figured if it didn’t work out, I could go back. I’ve never been back.”

After working for several plumbing contractors, Hart took the Florida State Certified Plumbing Contractor Exam and purchased New Port Richey, Fla.-based Continental Plumbing six years ago.

Today, Hart and three technicians cover Pasco and Pinellas counties in the Tampa area specializing in residential and light commercial repair and remodel jobs.

The centerpiece of Continental is a 2012 Nissan NV 2500 HD cargo van.

“It was so new when I bought it I couldn’t drive it for a couple of days because my insurance company didn’t know how to insure it,” Hart says.

Hart is a huge fan of the van’s box height and storage space. He’s also not complaining about the van’s affordability.

“I can walk in the back of it,” he states. “I’m tired of crawling on my hands and knees to get things. You could be 6 feet, 3 inches and stand in the back. We can get a sewer machine and a jetter in there. You name it, I will get it up in there.”

The Nissan truck is not hard to spot on the road thanks to its distinctive red-white-and-blue patriotic wrap. Imagery of the U.S. flag blends perfectly atop a gush of water.

“The guy I bought the company from had little elements of the American flag already,” Hart explains. “I went a little further with it. The whole thing now is the American flag.”

David Yepes at The King of Wraps in Port Richey designed and applied the wrap.

“Wraps are done so much better now,” says Hart, who plans to wrap his other three service vehicles in the same design. “It’s like shrink wrap on the vehicle. I had to get a couple of repairs done on the wrap. They cut out exactly where the dings were and matched them up perfectly.”

Hart notes a good branding campaign is essential in the competitive service environment in the Tampa area. His stationary and water-heater stickers also match the wrap design on the Nissan van.

“About 700 or 800 contractors do business in the two counties here and it seems new guys pop up every day,” Hart says. “I’ve only had the truck on the road a short time and it gets a lot of compliments. It gets stares, which is exactly what I wanted. If somebody remembers the truck, that is even better. I always try and stay one step ahead.”

Show Us What You're Driving!

Think you have a vehicle worthy of PM's Truck Of The Month? Let us hear about it! Send us photos of your service fleet electronically by emailing us (Editor@PMmag.com), or mail us your prints to:

PM - Truck Of The Month
155 N. Pfingsten Road
Suite 205
Deerfield, IL 60015

PM's Truck Of The Month is sponsored by General Pipe Cleaners.

Links

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.