From Hoses To Flip Flops: Niche Franchising Continues To Add Fresh And Unique Players To The World Of Franchising
A broken hose can spell disaster for many businesses. A machine breakdown at a job site or factory can cause work to grind to a halt. And sometimes it can take days or weeks until the proper replacement hose can be obtained and the machines repaired. In purely economic terms, a $20 broken hose can bring a $3 million crane to a standstill - not to mention the paid employees who are idly standing by.
This is where Pirtek, a 24-hour, on-site hose and assembly replacement service comes in. The franchise, founded in Australia, offers hoses and fittings for machines in industries like construction, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and engineering among others.
Ken Adair can handle any of those hose needs in the Chicago area.
Since 1998, Adair has been operating Pirtek O’Hare in Elk Grove Village. In 2003, he opened a second Chicagoland location in South Holland. He’s served clients such as Walsh Construction and Tyco Healthcare as well as various car haulers and forklift companies.
“We bring the hoses to the customer, usually in under an hour,” says Adair, a former commodity broker.
He says each of his 12 fully equipped mobile service vans is staffed by qualified, trained technicians. The vans are stocked with a full range of hoses (1,000 feet each of variable sizes) and more than 700 different fittings and adaptors (as many as 2,000 parts), along with a crimping press and cut-off saw to manufacture hose assemblies on site. More.
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