NW Abatement Services President Mark Stephens picking up his new American Caddy Vac in 2014 with American Caddy Vac Owner Mac Mattoon
Northwest Abatement Services was established in Lakewood, Washington (near Tacoma) in 1994. They are a specialty contractor with a diversity of services in five divisions:
- Specialty Division with expertise in asbestos, lead, and mold abatement.
- Fire and Water Restoration Division for emergency insurance claims.
- Container Division providing boxes to collect and haul away demolition debris for their own needs and for the hauling needs of other clients.
- A full-service Construction Division that builds custom homes, commercial buildings, and does restorative work for several of the major insurance companies.
- An Indoor Air Quality Division that specializes in duct and furnace cleaning, featuring an American Caddy Vac.
The owner and president of Northwest Abatement Services, Mark Stephens, says that the five divisions work independently, but they also complement one another.
“As I continued to add divisions at a rate that, probably some would say was a little insane over the years, that diversification has really saved us,” Stephens said, “Especially when the economy wasn’t going well.”
Even with the uniqueness of all these divisions, he says that there have been numerous times when every single one of his divisions were involved in a project. He recounted one example, “Say the Northwest Abatement team goes to start a new custom home project and has to level the old, existing structure. The abatement crew will go in and remove the asbestos containing material, the demolition crew comes in afterwards, the container driver takes debris away, the construction crew builds the house, and then the indoor air quality crew finishes the project by cleaning the air system when all is said and done.”
The work within each division can be quite diverse as well. Paul Peters is the Indoor Air Quality division manager and he explains that the variety of work doesn’t stop at the division level.
“We do a variety of residential, commercial, and industrial cleaning projects,” Peters said. “We have clients like Boeing, the United States Navy, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a lot of medical facilities, school districts, along with cities and other municipalities.”
Peters says they use portable units for jobs that are in multi-story buildings, but their American Caddy Vac offers far more power than the portables so it has become a cornerstone of their operation.
Stephens says they even take the Caddy Vac on marine vessels, “If it’s a ferry and we can drive the truck on, then we’ll use it.” The Northwest Abatement team has used their American Caddy Vac on ferries while they have even been in motion on the water. Peters and Stephens agree that the vessels are a fun way to switch up the mundane stuff of being in buildings. But they say it’s all about feasibility. If the truck can get access to the air handling units on a job, then they prefer to use it.
“We prefer to use the American Caddy Vac if we can, because it produces a lot more CFM than portable units and it is a great marketing tool for us,” Stephens said.
Part of the reason they both consider their American Caddy Vac a good marketing tool is because they have their branding clearly visible, and they have it outfitted with strobes for safety. They often draw a crowd when the truck is running!
One of Peters’ favorite features on the Caddy Vac is the Quincy 370 air compressor. “It gives us 240 psi and it reloads at about 200 and the crews love working with that consistency of air flow.”
Stephens loves the Caddy Vac for its overall quality.
“As a company, we’re all about quality from every side of what we do, whether we’re building, restoring, or environmentally if we’re cleaning up something,” he said. “The quality that Caddy Vac kicks out is a good fit for us, because their company is all about the same principles on which Northwest Abatement operates as a company. I feel very comfortable with the quality that American Caddy Vac has produced. I’d have no problem recommending Mac (Mac Mattoon, owner of American Caddy Vac) to somebody else. I have no issue going back and continuing to make further investments in their equipment and Mac’s operation. I have found them to be a company that has a lot of integrity.
They seem to be an honest group of guys. They take pride in what they do. Those are some of the same values that we have as a company and it is refreshing to work with people of such a high caliber.”
Peters also adds, “Let’s put it this way. I could call Mac on a Saturday morning, and he’ll take my call on the second ring. He can answer almost any question, without even seeing what I’m talking about, because of his own understanding of his business as well as ours. At the same time, I can call during the week and talk with Steve or anybody in the office to order parts or pose a question to them about something that has arisen, and they’ve got answers and solutions right away.”
So next time you’re on a ferry in Puget Sound, keep an eye out for the American Caddy Vac wearing the Northwest Abatement Services brand… it’s making the air on your ferry cleaner!
