Anthony Paterno and Crew
Anthony Paterno has been making things clean since 1984, starting his business in Mechanical Cleaning with boilers, water chillers, coils, industrial ovens, and other industrial cleaning. When he first got interested in duct cleaning, he tried a variety of options, but then he and Luigi, his co-worker for 24 years, found out about American Caddy Vac.
“We were at a NADCA convention and Mac was there (Mac Mattoon, owner of American Caddy Vac). Mac started up their truck and Luigi and I, we just started laughing. We knew this was the way to go. The strength of the truck, the durability, the service… and these trucks are fun!”
“Let me put it this way… the theory of duct cleaning is, “If my vacuum’s stronger than your vacuum, I will be better than you in six months.” So what happens is, your ingenuity and your experience is great, but suction is what you need. You need Gone with the Wind! The stronger the vacuum, the less muscle the laborers have to use.”
“So I buy the best equipment for my customer, for my employees, and for me. If you don’t buy the best, you’re wasting your time!. Research it, buy the best equipment you can buy for your company, and that’s it, that’s the key.”
Paterno is situated in New Jersey, just about 15 minutes from New York City. His business is split about 50-50 between residential and commercial cleaning. He runs two crews and has three American Caddy Vacs. He says that having the Caddy Vacs works well not only for cleaning, but also for advertising!
“There’s lots of guys running around with portables and other weaker options than the Caddy Vac, but when I pull up in one of these trucks, that settles the question. Customers want the truck! Plus everywhere we go, we have all of our branding right on the side of this big unit. I get jobs all the time just because people saw our trucks working, wrote down the phone number on the side of the truck and gave us a call! Plus the word of mouth from our customers brings in lots of business.”
Paterno is a huge fan of the staff at American Caddy Vac. “When I first met Mac, I picked his brain, asked lots of questions. He was more helpful than anyone I ever met. When we call American Caddy Vac, the service is extremely good because whoever picks up the phone has the answers you need. If you need tools, they know the tools and can help you out. If you have a servcie question, they know the answers.”
“And the reason they know my trucks so well is because they run a fleet of their own trucks and have for decades (the owners of American Caddy Vac also run an Air Duct Cleaning business in Idaho, B & F PowerVac). So if I have a question about the operation or maintenance of one of my trucks, they know the answer because they have already had the same experience, they’re walking the same mile I am. That makes a huge difference when you call. They don’t just make these trucks. They use these trucks.”
Paterno has established himself as a leader in the industry in the six counties he services in New Jersey. His crews and his trucks make his business the one the other guys are trying to catch and he’s pretty proud of that position.
“If someone wants to break into this business on our turf they’re going to have a hard time if they’re running inferior equipment. Because customers ask, “If Paterno can buy a truck like that, why can’t the other guy? Why would you let that guy come into your house without having the right equipment?”
Paterno is a big fan of American Caddy Vac and he looks forward to visiting with Mac and the American Caddy Vac crew at annual NADCA conventions. He’s looking forward to talking shop, looking at the newest American Caddy Vacs, and maybe just one more thing: “I think Mac should be buying everybody a cheeseburger and a beer at this year’s NADCA convention”.
Ok Mac, at least you know what to expect!
