Meet Dave and Colleen Weltz
Owners, Dick’s Vacuum Service
Bismarck, North Dakota
Dave and Colleen Weltz picking up their new American Caddy Vac in Lewiston, Idaho On their recent trip to Lewiston, Idaho, we got a chance to sit down and visit with Dave and Colleen Weltz just before they drove their new American Caddy Vac back to Bismarck, North Dakota.The name of their Air Duct Cleaning business is Dick's Vacuum Service. The business was founded in 1979 by Colleen's dad, Dick Letteer. It's always been a family owned business, with Dick running the business and his wife, Janice running the office. Dave Weltz was working for Colleen's dad, and he and Colleen got married in 1993. In 1996, Dave and Colleen purchased the business and it remains in the family still today. Dick would always be available for advice regarding the business. Dave now runs the business and Colleen and her daughter Michaela manage the office even though they both have full time jobs elsewhere. Dave and Colleen's son, Aanders (16), even steps in and works in the business at times too.Along with the family, the business employs 4 full-time and one half-tme employees. Bismarck is right in the middle of North Dakota and they operate primarily in the western half of [...]
Meet Kurt Presley, President/Owner
Dalton Environmental Cleaning
Whitmore Lake, Michigan
Kurt Presley, President/Owner of Dalton Environmental Cleaning Dalton Environmental Cleaning was established in 1991 by the Dalton family as a Duct Cleaning business to go along with their well established Carpet Cleaning business. Kurt Presely ran the Duct Cleaning side of things for the Daltons and, in 1996, they offered to sell him that part of the business. Presley had been thinking about opening his own business, "but I had already worked for five years building this name up, and I realized back then how important a name can be. So I gave up wanting my own name on a company and stuck with this one." The business operates in the general area of southeastern Michigan. Dalton operates all year long performing both commercial and residential air duct cleaning. Presley has five employees he runs as two crews, with three American Caddy Vac trucks. "Back in 2001 we moved our business from Livonia out to Whitmore Lake which is halfway between Ann Arbor and Brighton. That's when we switched from portable equipment. We had portable gas-powered equipment, which was decent, but hard to move around. We would roll them around the backs of the houses [...]
Meet James Clark, Owner
Above All Duct Cleaning Services
Edmonton, Alberta
James Clark and his partner, Colin Korody have been in the Duct Cleaning business for about 20 years in Edmonton. Four years ago they decided to go into business for themselves and founded Above All Duct Cleaning Services. They have three American Caddy Vacs with a crew of six. Clark says Above All has historically emphasized commercial and industrial work: "We specialize in hospitals and health care. We're 95% commercial and industrial." But that percentage may change going forward... "We just had a third American Caddy Vac built to start into residential work as well. We just received it after Christmas!" Clark says they have used other powervac trucks in the past, but they just don't stack up to the American Caddy Vac. "Honestly, to me, it just comes down to quality. The maintenance work, the easy access to maintain all the metal parts of the cleaner, the ability to reach all the equipment without difficulty." Working in hospitals and other multi-story buildings, Clark says they need to use portables for some of their work as well. Still, the American Caddy Vac makes even that part of the business simpler: "We bring our American Caddy Vac to [...]
Meet Anthony Paterno
Owner, Anthony Paterno Air Duct Cleaning
Fairfield, New Jersey
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 [...]
Meet Tony Patania
Owner, Coit Services
Fort Mill, South Carolina
Tony Patania (center) with son Anthony (left) and son-in-law Hugh Bell Coit Cleaning and Restoration has been in the cleaning business since 1950. In the beginning, they were a dry cleaning business. They began franchising in 1962. By the 1970's Coit had 155 franchisees and had expanded their businesses to include carpet and upholstery cleaning. In the 90's that business grew to include HVAC cleaning, tile and grout cleaning and hardwood refinishing. In the 2000's, Coit added fire, smoke and water restoration accross the nation. Today, Coit has franchisees in the U.S., Canada, and Thailand. Tony Patania came on very early with Coit in California nearly 40 years ago when he was 17. He worked closely with the founder and family of the company. In 2007 he purchased a struggling cleaning business in Fort Mill, South Carolina (just across the border from Charlotte, NC) and established his own Coit Franchise there. Patania says, "We are a cleaning company and a restoration company. So we do everything. Carpets, upholstery, tile and grout, draperies, air duct cleaning, and dryer vent cleaning. We have 22 employees and a fleet several power vac trucks including two American Caddy Vacs." [...]
Meet Kent Mortensen, Owner
System Kleen
Meridian, Idaho
System Kleen of Meridian, Idaho is a business that covers a lot of ground. Their services include Carpet Cleaning, Emergency Water Damage Restoration, and Air Duct Cleaning. Their territory ranges from Ontario, Oregon to Twin Falls and Sun Valley, Idaho. Just traveling from Meridian to Sun Valley can take nearly 3 hours. It's critically important to get to the job with all the tools you need and a Power Vac that you can depend on. That's why owner Kent Mortensen chooses American Caddy Vac. "The storage is better, the air pressure is better, the vacuum is better. They're just a better unit all around". Kent has used other brands of Power Vac trucks in past, and he still uses some portables in some applications, but since he purchased his first used American Caddy Vac in the mid 1990's, he's never looked back. Right now he has five American Caddy Vacs in his fleet, including one that he purchased in 2001! "It still runs, and it runs well. I had to replace the engine on the truck, and then I think we had to replace an air compressor or something along the way, but overall, it's like they're [...]
Meet Mark Stephens, President
and Paul Peters, Indoor Air Quality Division Manager
Northwest Abatement Servies, Inc.
Lakewood, Washington
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 [...]
Meet Same Rowe
Owner/Manager HVAC Power Vac Duct Cleaning
Kalispel, Montana
If you don't work in the cold in Northwest Montana, you're going to miss a lot of the year! Sam Rowe works through it all from his headquarters in Kalispel. "Of course, we are in Kalispel, right by Glacier Park, so we have issues with the cold weather. But with our American Caddy Vac, it's really easy to keep things running. I put a heater on the compressor and just recently we were working a job when it was 7 degrees below zero outside. Everything worked great. We just added antifreeze to the lines, sealed up the house and everything worked great." Sam started cleaning furnaces in 1996 and bought his first American Caddy Vac in 2000. Over the years he built things up and was running two Caddy Vacs at one time with two employees. But he sold that business and now he runs HVAC Power Vac Duct Cleaning with one Caddy Vac as an owner/operator with one part time employee. Sam runs about half and half residential and commercial. "We clean just about any type of commercial building, from hospitals, to schools to banks... just about anything." Because of the commercial buildings, Sam also runs a couple of [...]
Meet Paul Welhouse
President and Owner Well-House Air Duct Cleaning
Oneida, Wisconsin
Paul Welhouse started his own Air Duct Cleaning Company 30 years ago with a Pringle Power Vac. It was small and hard to maintain, but it was a good start for Well-House Air Duct Cleaning in Oneida, Wisconsin, near Green Bay. As the years went by, Paul went to a couple of NADCA shows and ran into Mac Mattoon and his American Caddy Vac equipment. Paul and his brother from Denver, (in the same business) both really liked the equipment and Paul ended up buying his first American Caddy Vac. Since then he's purchased five more and he loves them because they work! Paul says, "They are a virtually maintenance-free truck in my opinion. They run and run and run and run. With age, of course, anything wears out, but the Caddy Vac that Mac builds, it doesn't seem to wear out. You may get a little rust, (and now they're making them out of stainless steel!) but it's the chassis that wear out, or the engine on the truck may wear out or the breaks... but the Caddy Vacs that he builds are really sound, durable pieces of equipment and I love them." Paul just purchased [...]
Meet Eric Farrell
Operations Manager, Stanley Steemer
Delmar, Delaware
Eric Farrell with crew member and friends Stanley Steemer is widely known as a high quality carpet cleaning and flood restoration business throughout the United States, but many of the franchisees have made the logical choice to add Air Duct Cleaning to their line of services. That combination suites Eric Farrell and Stanley Steemer very well in their service area of Delaware, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. When the remnants of Hurricane Michael blew through the area in October, 2018, it dumped a whole lot of rain in about 4 hours. Since the whole Delmarva Peninsula sits just barely above sea level, there simply was not anywhere for all that rain to go. There was a lot of flooding in basements of residential and commercial buildings. Of course, Stanley Steemer was immediately ready to help with their flood restoration services in the homes, schools, and hospitals that were affected. But with all of that extra water comes extra humidity, and that often means people will need their air systems cleaned as well. Eric says, "In about 70% of the business we do after flooding, whether it's a home or business, we always end up coming in [...]
Meet Jo Underwood
Owner, Mighty Ducts
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Jo and Steve Underwood Jo and Steve Underwood started their Air Duct Cleaning service, "Mighty Ducts", in 1999 without the benefit of ever running any kind of business before. In fact, neither of them had any air duct cleaning experience! Jo was in the banking business and Steve worked at the lumber yard. But they had done quite a bit of research into some business possibilities and decided that Cheyenne needed an air duct cleaning business. When they did web research on their old dial-up internet, American Caddy Vac was the first name on the list so they gave Mac Mattoon a call. Jo says, "We purchased our first cleaner from American Caddy Vac in1999. Mac is the reason we are still in business. We had no experience! So Mac and Donna (Mac and Donna Mattoon from American Caddy Vac) just absolutely took us by the hand. I can't tell you, that first few years, how many hours Mac spent on the phone with us, coaching us through different job scenarios because there wasn't anybody here who had that kind of equipment. So people started seeing that rolling billboard (the American Caddy Vac truck with [...]
Meet Matt Steenbeke
President, VacMan Air Duct Cleaning
Granger, Indiana
Matt Steenbeke (left) and his crew at VacMan Air Duct Cleaning Matt Steenbeke and his wife, Carrie started VacMan in Granger, Indiana back in 1995. Matt had been in the heating and cooling business for a while, and worked part time with duct cleaning. They sensed that they needed a change. Matt said,"the Lord really moved us to want to start our own company so we could make raising our four kids a priority, to be honest with you." They started with just the two of them working the business... Matt was running a Pringle Power Vac truck he had purchased from the old Pringle in Walla Walla, Washington, and Carrie was manning the phones and helping with scheduling. 23 years later, they have a fleet of three trucks and a portable unit. One truck is that old Pringle that they have carefully maintained over the years. The other two trucks are American Caddy Vacs. Matt remembers, "In 2012, that's when we bought our first American Caddy Vac. I had met Mac (Mac Mattoon, Owner of American Caddy Vac) and had been searching for some better equipment, a way to make the business a little more profitable [...]
Meet Mike “MJ” Palazzolo
President and CEO, Safety King Air Ducts Cleaning
Utica, Michigan
MJ Palazzolo with one of his 10 active American Caddy Vacs Mike "MJ" Palazzolo keeps busy running a business with 20 employees and a fleet of 12 Power Vac trucks, 10 of which are American Caddy Vacs. MJ says, "We're a family owned business. My dad established Safety King in 1969 and we're getting ready to enter into our 50th year in business. We have lots of family employees, along with a number of friends who have become family in our business. The Palazzolos purchased their first American Caddy Vac in 1999 and have purchased a total of around 20 since then, new and used. Safety King specializes in Air Duct Cleaning for residential, commercial and industrial customers and American Caddy Vac provides the power needed to work efficiently in all those applications. What sets American Caddy Vac apart from other cleaners? MJ didn't have any trouble with that question: "Much of what makes Caddy Vac so great isn't just new or novel concepts... a lot of the features on their trucks aren't new ideas... American Caddy Vac has just perfected the execution. So for example, the concept of a PTO driven vacuum, that's been around for a long [...]
Meet Daniel Busby
Operations Manager, Willard Power Vac, Inc.
Portland, Oregon
Daniel Busby with wife Karah Willard Power Vac has been in business in the greater Portland, Oregon area since 1975. Founded by Dan Willard, the company has been family owned and operated from the beginning. Daniel Busby became part of the family when he married Dan's daughter Karah. Busby is now Operations Manager with Willards and is scheduled to take over the business when Dan retires. Willards currently has 7 employees. They run four vacuum trucks and two portable units. In 2013 they purchased their first American Caddy Vac. Daniel remembers that purchase: "We purchased our first American Caddy Vac in 2013, but our interest in ACV goes back to when Mac Mattoon first started selling Caddy Vacs around 1997 and my father-in-law (Dan Willard) went to check them out. He had always used Pringle trucks and really liked them. When Pringle went out of business we kind of rebuilt our own for a while, but then we finally realized we actually needed a whole new truck. And so we did the research and it was clear that American Caddy Vac was the way to go." "We use our [...]
Meet Chris Pelino
Owner, Pure Ducts Air Duct Cleaning, Inc.
Clinton Township, MI
Chris Pelino and his crew had a lot of years in the HVAC industry, but air duct cleaning was new to them. In May of 2018 they made the plunge, and went into the Air Duct Cleaning business with a new American Caddy Vac. Pure Ducts Air Duct Cleaning offers commercial and residential duct cleaning services, dryer vent cleaning, deodorizing, insulation removal, chimney sweep services, and central vacuum cleaning services.The new business has taken off. Right now Chris has just the one Caddy Vac, but if things continue to grow, they plan to purchase a second in the beginning of 2019.Chris says they chose American Caddy Vac for a number of reasons. "We did research on other manufacturers, but we decided American Caddy Vac was the best choice. Along with all the great reviews, working with Mac (Mac Mattoon - Owner of American Caddy Vac), through the whole process of the build was a huge plus for us. With Mac's experience running his own Air Duct Cleaning business (B&F Power Vac, Lewiston, Idaho), it was extremely helpful to be able to ask him questions while we were doing a custom build. We could ask him anything and he was just straight up [...]