Truck of the Month: Modern Plumbing Industries, Winter Springs, Fla.
Family-owned Modern Plumbing Industries is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
Family-owned Modern Plumbing Industries is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Frank Bracco started the company in 1975 at the age of 24 out of the trunk of his car. He has since passed ownership on to his two sons, Anthony and Charles Bracco. Today, the company is headquartered in Winter Springs, Fla., just northeast of Orlando, and covers 40 cities in central Florida with 90 employees and 30 trucks. Ten trucks focus on service and repair for both residential and commercial customers.
MPI’s service department began as a warranty component for its contracting division but has grown over the years. “It wasn’t until five years ago that we really started investing more in service,” says Charles Bracco, vice president and general manager. “We joined various organizations and learned as much as we could by attending meetings and doing our due diligence. One key component was definitely the vehicle wraps.”
The company began wrapping its trucks in 2011. Seven of the 10 service trucks are wrapped and all future trucks will be as well. The fleet includes a 2011 Isuzu NPR chassis with a Tool Pro body, a 2012 Isuzu NPR chassis with a Hackney body (pictured), two 2011 Sprinters, one 2012 Sprinter and two 2014 Sprinters.
“Our favorite is the 2012 Isuzu,” Bracco says. “The Hackney body is the Cadillac or the Rolls Royce of all bodies and it is probably the best warehouse on wheels that you will ever see. The inside comes standard from Hackney and its bodies are awesome. Ray Diaz, our technician who drives that truck, takes tremendous pride in his vehicle.”
Diaz is MPI’s longest tenured service technician at 18 years. “Taking pride in your truck is key,” he says. “It is my office — when people see I keep a clean office, they have no doubt I will treat their homes the same way.”
As a member of Quality Service Contractors, Bracco heard that wrapping your trucks was a “big thing in the service world.” In coming up with the design, Charles Bracco contacted a friend who works in graphic design, Oscar Genel, owner of Oscar Genel Design. The logo on the top right-hand corner of the truck has been the company’s logo since 1989. Part of what Bracco wrestled with was the idea of a complete rebranding vs. incorporating the existing logo and color scheme into the new wrap.
“Oscar has a very unique talent for listening to what somebody is trying to create and visualizing it,” Bracco says. “He came back with a few different options that we discussed. When he sent the final design, all we could say was ‘Wow.’ The wrap is really great — clean and simple while still representing us. We believe our truck wraps give us the look of a modern plumbing company and that’s something we’re very proud of.” The trucks themselves were wrapped by Wraps For Less.
“We do quality work, we perform well and we believe that creates value,” Bracco says, emphasizing the attributes of the company slogan — “Quality, performance, value.”
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