Vetter Plumbing, that is. If you’re ever in the Pacific Northwest, look up Doug Vetter, owner of Vetter Plumbing, Longview, Wash., and successful plumbing and heating contractor who has worked with the tools almost nonstop since graduating from high school in 1990. We recently rain into Doug at the pipe-cutting ceremony for Uponor’s Experience Center Read more
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Vetter Plumbing, that is. If you’re ever in the Pacific Northwest, look up Doug Vetter, owner of Vetter Plumbing, Longview, Wash., and successful plumbing and heating contractor who has worked with the tools almost nonstop since graduating from high school in 1990. We recently rain into Doug at the pipe-cutting ceremony for Uponor’s Experience Center, and his passion for the trades is palpable.
Doug Vetter, right, has an infectious attitude, and enjoys living life like no one else.
In fact, you might say that young people searching for their true passion won’t likely encounter a more inspiring ambassador than Doug to a life in plumbing and heating.
There are, of course, a great many proud, highly accomplished professionals in this industry. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a tradesperson with a more robust and, at times, fearless outlook on life than Doug. He readily insists that much of this bring-it-on attitude derives from the sheer thrill of working as a service technician. “I just love my job,” he says over and over again.
For a small sampling of the sunny-side-up attitude Vetter brings to work each day, consider his morning routine of delivering doughnuts to the counter and warehouse staff at his favorite local supply house. Whoever heard of a plumber bringing free food to a wholesaler? “They have done lots of special stuff for me,” he cheerily reasons, “and, besides, it doesn’t cost that much.”
“My customers are always asking me, ‘Why are you in such a good mood today?’” he continues. “Well, when you contact me, we both know it’s not a social call. You have problems and fixing them may not be a ‘fun’ time for either of us. Why dump more stress on your situation by carrying a chip on my shoulder because I need to, let’s say, squeeze into your crawl space? Believe me, I hate crawl spaces. But being a plumber was my choice, and squeezing into crawl spaces is my job. That’s why you pay me.”
Doug willingly, happily, eagerly does his job 10 hours a day, seven days a week. But these are mere average—the actual totals could be much more in any given week. He would not have it any other way in a business that seldom lets him even slow down, let alone rest.
“I’ve never had a down time, even during the recent recession,” he says. “I just can’t say ‘no’ to people. That’s one of my downfalls and an issue with my significant other. But I love working.”
Back to the Uponor visit, Doug tells us that he is particularly proud of his tattoos, even the jaw-droppingly large U-P-O-N-O-R logo. Its six block letters span the full width of his back, left shoulder to right. Just as amazing: Every last ink mark strictly adhered to corporate style guidelines, right down to the correct shade of blue.
“I had a large blue Uponor sticker of the sort I put on my two trucks. I told my tattoo guy to put this exact thing on my back. He said, ‘Really?’ and I said, ‘Absolutely!’” Three grueling sessions over eight hours later, the tattoo was exquisitely in place and ready for show time whenever Doug decides to remove his shirt.
Why would he do something so “out there”? Why not? he shrugs. How better to express his unwavering loyalty to a brand he has supported nearly his entire career? “Uponor is the only brand I will put on my skin,” insists Doug, offering what is for him the ultimate compliment.
He fondly remembers his very first encounter with PEX more than 20 years ago, working for a Seattle plumbing wholesaler in the mid-1990s. Mark Walther — then a sales agent for the Portland-, Ore.-based Hollabaugh Brothers & Associates (still Uponor’s rep in the Pacific Northwest); and later a mentor for Doug when both worked at Merit Mechanical in Seattle—demonstrated the thermal memory of PEX with the familiar heat-gun demonstration that thousands have witnessed at countless trade shows over the decades.
Vetter’s work truck is radiantly heated.
“Mark said to me, ‘Watch this, Doug!’ After kinking the pipe in his hand, he used a simple heat gun to make that kink vanish in minutes. I will never forget that moment—it was the coolest thing, just incredible. Every chance I get, I love showing people the same demo with the heat gun.”
Doug readily embraces the problem-solving aspect of service work: “I love going into someone’s house, learning what’s wrong, explaining the situation in ways the customer can understand and appreciate, and then fixing the problem—and fixing it in the right way.
“I can’t just throw something together for a customer. I do my plumbing a certain way—the way I was taught all those years ago at Merit Mechanical, where I earned my journeyman’s license.”
As noted earlier, those young people you’re trying to steer toward a trade career won’t likely snag a first job with Doug, who has happily—defiantly even—worked solo for the vast majority of his professional life since starting his own business. Although, his wife, Liz, is going through her apprenticeship to join him as a licensed plumber in the business.
Vetter has a certain way of running his business. “I want my cords wrapped in a one-foot circle and put away in a particular spot. My truck, a big-box van, is spotless and organized a certain way, and I want to keep it that way. That one employee I had just couldn’t do it.”
Same thing for working with the tools, if not more so: “I’m not a hard ass, but my No. 1 job is to protect the health of my customers. If I fail to create a sewer-line joint properly, the customer will have a disaster. If I expand a pipe incorrectly, I’m flooding someone’s house. I do it right because my reputation depends on it, and my reputation is all I have.”
Another, equally critical facet of “Doug’s Way” is treating every customer the same—fairly and nicely. “Nobody, it seems at times, does customer service any more. For example: promptly calling someone back who has called you. I feel badly if a day goes by before my returning a call. Many don’t do it at all and think nothing of it.
“I was taught to treat people with the utmost respect, regardless of what they look like, where they’re from, or how much money’s in their pockets. I want to fix their plumbing, of course, but I also want to give them the best service they can get anywhere.”
Currently in his 50s now, Doug plans to work “until I just can’t do it any more”—before retiring to Puerto Rico, where he says the people are warm, the weather’s warmer, and the water’s warmest of all. Until then, he will stick to his 70-hour work week as a highly motivated service plumber who gladly shoulders more work than any one man should handle, despite doing no advertising or promotion other than word-of-mouth.
“I thrive on service work. I love the instant gratification of solving problems. I get up in the morning, hit the road to meet new people, and figure out how to help. Every job is different, and the days just fly by.”
https://youtu.be/MhqypPXJtxM?si=h-FhMaoiuUVe3c4w Frozen Tundra no longer. Mechanical Hub’s Hub on the Road series takes us to Lambeau Field. Lambeau’s mechanical contracting partner, Tweet/Garot, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Lambeau’s mechanical room, which serves as the epicenter for snowmelt, field heat, and HVAC, as well as its prefabrication facility in Wrightstown, Wis Read more
Frozen Tundra no longer. Mechanical Hub’s Hub on the Road series takes us to Lambeau Field. Lambeau’s mechanical contracting partner, Tweet/Garot, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Lambeau’s mechanical room, which serves as the epicenter for snowmelt, field heat, and HVAC, as well as its prefabrication facility in Wrightstown, Wis.
“It’s like Disney World for engineers and contractors,” said one visitor on the tour. The Mechanical Hub team made a quick visit to Apple Valley, Minn., to visit Uponor North America as the company celebrated the grand opening of its newly constructed Uponor Experience Center with a “pipe-cutting” ceremony. The team was treated to a Read more
“It’s like Disney World for engineers and contractors,” said one visitor on the tour. The Mechanical Hub team made a quick visit to Apple Valley, Minn., to visit Uponor North America as the company celebrated the grand opening of its newly constructed Uponor Experience Center with a “pipe-cutting” ceremony.
Andres Caballero (fifth from left) performs the pipe cutting for the new Uponor Experience Center.
The team was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the new 4,500-sq.-ft. customer experience center, which features hands-on displays, full-scale residential and commercial training areas, and cutting-edge innovation showcases, and a place to bring MEP students from the area to get a taste of the trades. The new Uponor Experience Center is a flexible education and discovery space designed to advance the technical skills of current and potential customers. In addition, it will help foster innovation within the plumbing and HVAC industry and provide an immersive experience for employees and visitors alike.
Some displays mimicked true applications.
The new Uponor Experience Center occupies the company’s previous customer training area, which was originally built in 2000 and renovated in 2010. It is at the center of the North American headquarters campus, surrounded by corporate offices, an R&D facility, and manufacturing space.
Andres Caballero thanks his staff for all of the hard work and dedication that went into planning and constructing the experience center.
“The opening of our new Uponor Experience Center signifies the importance we place on keeping the needs of our customers, employees, and key stakeholders top of mind as we continue our mission of becoming the global leader in sustainable water and energy solutions,” says Uponor North America President Andres Caballero. “The ‘X’, as our employees have begun to call it, is a culmination of our rich history and decades of innovation coming together to generate awareness and create enthusiasm for moving water more efficiently, effectively, and sustainably.”
With original concepts beginning back in 2020, the Uponor Experience Center was several years in the making. The thoughtful design, which takes into consideration the company’s rich Finnish roots, resulted from many months of internal team collaboration, as well as feedback from customers, partners, and industry influencers.
Mechanical Hub took the opportunity to record parts of the Appetite for Construction podcast with Des Clancy, director of training, Uponor, and the “architect” for the new center.
As guests move through the front doors toward the back of the space, they first experience displays depicting who Uponor is as a company along with the customers served and the unique value provided to key audiences and the industry.
Experience center visitors will get the full hands-on treatment as seen here with one of its gracious partners Milwaukee Tool and its PEX Expander.
Then, there are product showcases and interactive displays for plumbing, fire safety, radiant heating/cooling, hydronic piping, and pre-insulated piping system solutions for residential and commercial markets. Finally, there is an oversized training area, featuring both wood and steel structures, where professionals will learn proper hands-on installation techniques as well as how Uponor’s emphasis on problem-solving and productivity delivers results for their businesses.
Doug Vetter, center, and Brian Spjut, left, from Vetter Plumbing, came all the way from Seattle to get a first glimpse of the space. (Pictured right is Uponor’s Dan Hubbard.)
“We wanted the Uponor Experience Center to extend beyond simply training customers on our products and systems,” says Vice President of Sales Matt Bahr. “As a result, we’ve created a holistic experience that spans a broad spectrum of who we are as a company, showcasing the depth and breadth of our product portfolio and sustainable solutions as well as providing access to the best trainers in the industry.”
With the focus not only on customers but also employees and those in the community, Director of Training Des Clancy says the planning team was very thoughtful about creating an elevated experience for everyone.
“At any given time, we will have contractors, builders, engineers, owners, students, employees, civic leaders, and other guests coming through the doors,” he says. “From tours and training, to onboarding and education sessions, the Uponor Experience Center offers something for everyone, and we are proud to showcase all we are offering to the industry and our community.”
Mechanical Hub’s John Mesenbrink (l) and Tim Ward (r) complete the “Uponor sandwich” as they also toured Uponor’s Distribution Center in Lakeville, Minn., with tour guide and director of logistics and warehousing, Nate McIntosh.
Solutions will Equip Trade Contractors with Powerful Tools to Run and Grow Their Businesses Mechanical Hub was onsite last week at ServiceTitan Pantheon 2023, its annual user conference, and if there was ever any doubt or fear that artificial intelligence (AI) was coming to the trades, Pantheon 2023 put those thoughts to rest. More Read more
Solutions will Equip Trade Contractors with Powerful Tools to Run and Grow Their Businesses
Mechanical Hub was onsite last week at ServiceTitan Pantheon 2023, its annual user conference, and if there was ever any doubt or fear that artificial intelligence (AI) was coming to the trades, Pantheon 2023 put those thoughts to rest.
More than 1,500 service contractors, ServiceTitan team members and exhibiting partners spent three days exploring the “Journey to the Top” theme, which included more than 50 sessions to help contractors stay on track with next-level training, tools, and insights. In addition to the sessions, attendees enjoyed networking events, product plaza exhibit space, keynotes from industry VIPs and a closing fireside chat with tennis great Venus Williams.
“Over the past year, the world has seen a dramatic acceleration in AI advancements and ServiceTitan is making sure that the trades industry will be at the forefront of this technological revolution,” said Vahe Kuzoyan, president and co-founder at ServiceTitan.
To ensure Kuzoyan’s statement rang true, ServiceTitan introduced a suite of new products to empower residential and commercial contractors with groundbreaking technology to supercharge their businesses. Powered by Titan Intelligence, the company’s own AI solution purpose-built for the trades, these new cutting-edge solutions allow its customers to automate, predict, and optimize across their entire business.
Several of the new AI-powered products introduced at Pantheon include:
- Ads Optimizer maximizes the ROI of every dollar spent on an advertising campaign by educating Google Ads to focus on potential customers who are actively looking for service providers while avoiding users who aren’t. The feature also predicts which zip codes will have the most demand and automatically prioritizes ads for those specific locations.
- Dispatch Pro runs thousands of scenarios to get the right technician to the right job, allowing dispatchers to invest more time delivering a superior customer experience. Dispatch Pro’s algorithm also finds the best technician for every job based on the technician’s specific set of skills, recent sales performance, proximity to the job, and more – all to maximize profit.
- Integrated Financing gives contractors the tools they need to grow their business and protect their margins. The feature allows ServiceTitan’s customers to strategically control plans from multiple preferred financing providers on a single job, improving their customers’ approval rates. It also gives technicians confidence in offering plans that will ultimately win more high-value jobs easily.
- Second Chance Leads automatically detects unbooked phone calls from potential customers within minutes of the call ending, and specifically flags missed calls that the algorithm believes can be saved. The tool works in the background to identify missed opportunities, so ServiceTitan customers don’t have to.
“At ServiceTitan, AI means ‘Automated ROI,’” said Ara Mahdessian, co-founder and CEO of ServiceTitan. “We want to automate all the inefficient processes that steal precious hours away from contractors and their teams every single day, and at the same time provide actionable insights and powerful features to meaningfully grow their revenue. Our AI-powered tools allow our customers to focus their time and energy on what they’re best at, and most passionate about — solving problems for their customers and delivering the best quality service.”
While the session and networking was top-notch, Mechanical Hub was also selected as a session leader. They worked with Pfister Faucets and American Plumber Stories to present, ‘Building for Tomorrow: Recruiting & Retainment Tactics.’ The session highlighted Universal Plumbing’s Larry Jones, CEO and Shalanda Morris, Business Manager, and discussed their best practices finding, training and retaining employees. In addition, we looked for answers to address major roadblocks in recruitment, and shared some creative strategies to help contractors find their next rock star employee. A packed crowd of contractors also got to watch season four, episode one of American Plumber Stories.
Mike Prencavage Jr., owner of The Family Plumber, Los Alamitos, Calif., shared, “I attend pantheon for inspiration and motivation to grow my company. Being surrounded by great leaders and business owners in the industry does so much to rejuvenate my drive to succeed. AI will help streamline not only front office processes but also front line sales interactions. It’s important to never loose sight of the ‘customer experience’ and I feel that AI will only help to improve that high level of service. Servicetitans projected plans to incorporate these AI features are only going to help the industry and better the homeowners experience overall.”
For those that don’t use ServiceTitan and have never attened a Pantheon, it’s a learning and networking event for contractors of all sizes and experience in the home and commercial service industry. While most attendees are business owners, managers, IT professionals, or members of the finance team, all trades professionals are invited and encouraged to attend.
ServiceTitan was founded in 2007, and helps residential contractors manage a range of tasks including booking jobs, dispatching technicians, processing payments and overseeing marketing campaigns.
Mary-Anne Bowcott (@the_ladyplumber) is a testament to perseverance and hard work. In a male-dominant industry, now a successful business owner, she is blazing the trail for women to look at trades in a different light. Mary-Anne Bowcott has come a long way from the days of living on a farm— which housed a few hundred Read more
Mary-Anne Bowcott (@the_ladyplumber) is a testament to perseverance and hard work. In a male-dominant industry, now a successful business owner, she is blazing the trail for women to look at trades in a different light.
Mary-Anne Bowcott has come a long way from the days of living on a farm— which housed a few hundred birds, larger livestock, but mostly poultry—to the 4H program where she would show her chickens and ducks.
Born and raised on southern Vancouver Island, Mary-Anne Bowcott was a near straight-A student, who, by her own admission, was kinda awkward, a bit weird, and wasn’t one of the pretty girls in school, and she was bullied pretty hard. As a result, she dropped out in grade 11. Around the same time, her parents were mid-divorce and, “I decided that in my infinite wisdom at almost 16 years old, I would get a job at Wendy’s and move out on my own. I partied, got into a lot of trouble, struggled with addiction, and going for a doctoral degree went out the window at that point,” says Bowcott.
After a couple of years, Bowcott decided to smarten up. She went back to school and got her grade-12 equivalency—the youngest student in an adult class; they almost didn’t let her in because she was too young. “I slayed that with flying colors but still didn’t know what I wanted to do,” says Bowcott.
Bowcott recalls going on a date with a guy who owned a construction company and she mentioned how sweet it would be to get into construction, but at that time, it was an unrealistic option for women. “His response was, ‘Why don’t you?’ That got the wheels turning and I started handing out résumés at that time.”
It was a struggle to find employment at the time as being petite female teenager, says Bowcott, as employers didn’t exactly take her very seriously. She had no call backs on her résumés, and, in fact, she almost took her first name off of the resume so she would have a chance. Finally, Bowcott asked her friend’s uncle who owned a roofing and renovation company to hire her, and he did. She landed her first job in the industry as a roofing laborer. She worked that job, and a couple different companies for a few years, quickly working her way up to her boss’s lead hand on commercial and residential jobs. “I got bored of it after starting commercial, as we were stuck on the same jobs for months at a time. The spotty work during the winter months were hard too on the bank account so I started looking for other options at this point.”
Bowcott eventually, through more pestering, landed a plumbing apprenticeship and never looked back after that. “Honestly though, it was hard making the transition, as again, no one took you seriously even though you were in the construction industry. Yes, I had made a name for myself, but only in the roofing community, so switching out was like starting all over again.”
Now a 19-years veteran of the construction industry, a shingle roofer, Red Seal journeyman Plumber, Class B gas fitter and successful, award winning plumbing and gas business owner, “I hope that I can help pave the way for young women seeking a career in the building trades, showing first hand that you can do whatever you set your mind to with a little persistence, motivation, determination and a whole lot of pestering.”
It shouldn’t go without noting that Bowcott often times censors her career path story, leaving out the dropping out of high school and getting into trouble. She is not ashamed or shy about how she got into construction. “I just don’t want high school students to drop out because they see someone who did, and then become successful. On the other side, I’ve also done public speaking on the fact that one can hit rock bottom, be mixed up in addiction and bad situations and still come out on top,” says Bowcott.
Fast-forward to 2023 and for the past eight years, Bowcott has been the proud owner of Westcom Plumbing and Gas Ltd, as well as Westcom Roofing and Sheetmetal, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The plumbing company specializes in plumbing repairs, service, drain cleaning, renovations, gas service, repairs, retrofit and light commercial.
She finds the work particularly rewarding. “I really enjoy working with my hands and feeling like I’ve achieved something, helped someone, or made some sort of difference,” says Bowcott.
She always has been crafty, and coming from an artistic family, creating things has been something she’s done since she was a child. With plumbing and gas though—roofing as well—we are out there helping people, and she loves that. “Yes, the money is good, but it was never about that for me. It’s always been about helping and creating.”
Starting A Business
She knew she was ready to start her own company when she injured her back and almost went back to school to do hair. “But I couldn’t fathom going from my journeyman wage to minimum wage, especially with a mortgage,” says Bowcott.
“My husband and group of women I knew suggested why not start my own company? That way I could pick and choose the jobs I could do with the injury. I was at that time a new construction plumber and it wasn’t uncommon to do a full 7-10 days of straight groundworks. So, I quit my job and opened up my own company, and it was the best decision I have ever made.”
Nevertheless, as a woman-owned company in a male-dominated industry, Bowcott did have some anxious times, worried about work coming in. “I actually didn’t even put my name on my business card in fear that people wouldn’t hire me because I was a woman. I was wrong of course.
“There are people that don’t hire us because we are women, but we wouldn’t work for them anyway with that attitude. I kept the name of the business neutral as well to hide the woman factor. But honestly, I’m from a small town where everyone already knew me from growing up there, and as soon as I opened the company, like I mean day 1, I’ve been slammed busy. I didn’t advertise. I still don’t advertise. It’s all been word of mouth.”
Talking about being a female in this industry, Bowcott says she definitely tries her best to be a mentor for as many women as possible. Or men if they want, “but we don’t really get those calls lol.”
“I used to be more involved with non-profits and local groups, but I took a step back—as it was getting super time consuming and a lot volunteer work—to focus more on my business as well as social media as I seem to reach more women on social media than I did before.”
The Social Connection
And because of social media, many doors have opened, more than Bowcott thought imaginable. “Being able to go to the RIDGID Experience 2022, going to conventions and trade shows and hanging out and becoming friends with the plumbers that you have followed for years, the supportive messages and the messages of people needing mentoring or advice, or simply messaging to say that I made a difference in their life as an inspiration to them is truly heartwarming,” says Bowcott.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities that have been dropped at my doorstep for simply taking a video or picture of what I did that day. And not that I needed to advertise, but I know a lot of my clients have called because of what they have seen on social media. They get to see what type of work you’re putting out there which really helps.”
Personal Touch
As far as downtime, what does Mary-Anne like to do to decompress? ““I don’t decompress haha. I rock climb, do Crossfit, personal training, surf, park roller skating, and I also clean my van at any opportunity if there’s something out of place. I try and do as much as possible at home before its time to make dinner. My days are long and exhausting, I can’t sit still, I don’t relax, I’m always on the go, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
As well as hurting her back, she struggled with severe knee pain from, you guessed it, roofing and plumbing, and she actually thought she was going to need a knee replacement by 40. She met with a local athletic therapist and he said that if she didn’t do some sort of weight training to strengthen areas that needed it, her body would “implode by 40.” “S“So, I started at my local Crossfit gym, and shockingly after 2-3 months, I had zero knee and back pain. So, I am a believer. I now work out around 4-5 days a week depending on how busy I am.”
Though she already travels a lot, there’s a few items pending on her bucket list: going to Morocco, going to Turkey, skydiving, an Indonesian boating/surf trip, and a trip to Tahiti.
If you ask Bowcott about her tattoos, she’ll tell you she made a lot of poor tattoo choices in her younger days. “My first was a tattoo in a hotel room when I was 16 by a pretty dodgy character. Thank God I didn’t end up with a disease after that one. It was supposed to be a fairy, but ended up looking like a gremlin trying to bang itself with its foot. I got it covered up with a tiger on a waterfall landscape, but I hated that too as it was definitely too cartoonish. I ended up getting 12 laser treatments on it and finally found someone to cover it up, and that’s when I got the tiger on my back, which I’m super happy with.”
What’s next? Bowcott tries to live her life as each one is her last and she tries to experience as much as possible, “because you really don’t know when you’re gonna go and I want to make sure I do as much as I can before that day. My husband’s best friend passed away a few years ago at 50 and it really buggered me up. Ever since then, my life has been nothing but trying to do it all NOW!”
In the Tool Bag
RIDGID end 190” wrenches, adjustable wide mouth Crescent, RIDGID 154 quick acting tubing cutter, Stanley tape measure, Milwaukee flip knife, a Himor HVAC multi-tool, and a hacksaw.
In the Van
Milwaukee portable band saw, Milwaukee oscillating tool, Milwaukee Hackzall, grinder and Fuel Packout vacuum, and a Hilti jackhammer.