Roto-Rooter, of course, needs no introduction to readers in the industry. It is, as you know, the largest drain cleaning and plumbing repair company in North America. Roto-Rooter professionals respond to approximately 1.5 million plumbing job requests per year.
The company currently operates about 51 corporate-owned service locations, has 361 franchisees operating in 400 territories, and 72 independent contractors doing business as Roto-Rooter. Not including the franchises, the company generates almost a billion dollars per year in revenue.
Paul Abrams, the Roto-Rooter Services Company Director of Public Relations, is based at the company’s national headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Here, he tells the story of Roto-Rooter’s history and talks about the future plans of this amazing American institution:
Growing an Industry-Leading Corporation from Nothing
Back in the 1930s, Sam Blanc, the founder of Roto-Rooter, was humbly working on new solutions for clearing obstructed drains. In those days, people would stick rods down in the drain pipes or dig them up and reinstall the pipes in the ground. He figured out a better way.
In 1933, he finished the prototype for the Roto-Rooter sewer cleaning machine, which he had put together with wagon wheels, a reel of steel cable, a sharp blade on its tip, and an old motor from a Maytag washer. The invention worked and he got a patent for it.
He started the sewer and drain cleaning company in 1935, during the great depression. His business model was selling the new sewer and drain-cleaning cable machines to people who wanted to provide drain services in their hometowns. The arrangement was that if you bought a machine, you got control of the service territory around you.
Then, as long as you continued buying your replacement cables and blades from Roto-Rooter, as needed, that was your exclusive territory. To succeed in the business, Sam Blanc was concerned about selling new Roto-Rooter machines, cables, and replacement parts, not about the service delivery side, which he left up to the franchise owners.
Decades later the patent expired on the Roto-Rooter machine, and the industry then started seeing competing machines manufactured by others that were close copies of Sam Blanc’s original design. He died in 1964, and his sons and family kept the business running and growing. By then, Roto-Rooter was a national brand and a household name.
The Blanc family sold the company to Chemed Corporation in 1980. Chemed realized there is more money to be made on the service side than in making machines and selling spare parts. So, they started buying Roto-Rooter franchises and running them directly as company-owned service locations under a new division they named the Roto-Rooter Services Company.
Roto-Rooter Equipment Manufacturing
When the Blanc family sold the business to Chemed and moved the Roto-Rooter headquarters to Cincinnati, the company continued manufacturing the Roto-Rooter drain cleaning machines, and the blades and cables for those, as well as other parts at its Iowa factory in West Des Moines.
Roto-Rooter continues to build its machines, cables, blades, and replacement parts for its machines, which range from mainline machines designed for sewer mains 4, 5, and 6 inches in diameter, down to 1½ inch diameter interior drain lines for kitchen and bathroom sinks, toilets, laundry and floor drains. Roto-Rooter manufactures both upright and sled-type machines.
For many years, Roto-Rooter also manufactured giant machines designed for municipal and heavy industrial use. We no longer make those since high-pressure water jetting is more effective for those oversized pipes. But, our factory in West Des Moines, Iowa keeps expanding its scope by manufacturing a variety of other equipment for Roto-Rooter locations throughout North America and beyond.
The Roto-Rooter National Team
We estimate our total number of workers under the Roto-Rooter brand, including company-owned branch employees, franchises, and independent contractors is around 6,000 people. That includes the national corporate office administrative staff, which is about 200 people. The franchise system is a large and important part of the Roto-Rooter business model, and it is a very strong system that reaches from coast to coast. The franchisees are fellow stewards of the brand.
We work well with the Roto-Rooter franchisees, striving collectively for the good of the brand. I was recently out of town in San Diego speaking to the Roto-Rooter Franchise Association (RRFA). They talked about their goals as franchise owners. I was there as a guest of the RRFA. to put on a presentation of current marketing and social media programs and ideas that benefit the entire Roto-Rooter system.
The corporate goal of Roto-Rooter is to have a service location in every population area with over 30 thousand residents. There are several franchises and company-owned branches that have dozens of service trucks, whereas others have only 1 or 2 trucks out in the Dakotas, Arizona, and other remote areas.
Our company-owned branches are models of efficiency and sophistication. They incorporate high-tech services like trenchless pipe relining and brush coating systems for residential and commercial customers. Some of Roto-Rooter’s largest branches are in NYC, L.A., Chicago, Atlanta, and Baltimore/Washington D.C., but suffice it to say there’s a Roto-Rooter service in every major city in the U.S. and most of the larger Canadian cities. Roto-Rooter also has master franchises in Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Paul Abrams, Director of Public Relations
Asked about his choice to come aboard with Roto-Rooter, Paul reflects on how his relationship with the company began. This is my 21st year with Roto-Rooter. I had been considering a career move when I got a call from Roto-Rooter’s corporate headquarters in Cincinnati asking if I would be interested in just coming in to talk. It was just kind of an exciting opportunity to work with an industry-leading company.
Abrams’ extensive TV news background as both a producer and reporter ideally qualifies him to oversee media relations for the national industry-leading Roto-Rooter Services Company and serve as the brand’s public relations director. He holds a degree in Broadcast Communications from The University of Texas at Arlington and an impressive management track record in Public Relations, Social Media, Corporate Communications, marketing, and Broadcast Media Relations in two different industries.
A Winning Company Culture and Employer Brand
When I took the job with Roto-Rooter, I expected to contribute well to the company, though I didn’t see myself here for more than a few years. But it’s one of those companies that treats its employees well. They say what they mean and mean what they say, and I noticed most people stay at Roto-Rooter for a very long time, with some spending their entire careers here.
During the 1970s and ‘80s, and even through The Great Recession of 2008, when downsizing companies was so widespread, Roto-Rooter endured and grew stronger. It was because the company values the institutional knowledge of its staff so much. They’ve been careful to keep people, even during those difficult periods, who possess that technical know-how. It isn’t easy to replace people like that. So, I continue to be impressed with the kind of working environment we have at Roto-Rooter.
Spencer Lee, Roto-Rooter’s longtime CEO, has a great philosophy. He says, “I hire nice people to work with other nice people.” That’s just so simple, yet so effective. Everybody in every department, even as large as the company has become, is so welcoming. Everyone is very approachable and eager to work toward the same goals together.
Marketing and Branding the National Corporation
About 80% of our business is residential and the other 20% is commercial. From home plumbing to retail store calls, to industrial facilities, we do all of it. We perform plumbing and pipeline repairs for industrial customers and institutions, hospitals, schools, older buildings, etc. Some needs are especially interesting, such as repairing or replacing underground pipelines below slabs, behind walls, etc. It requires lots of specialized tools and training, and our customers know we invest in all of it to serve them more effectively.
Roto-Rooter does a lot of trenchless pipe repair and replacement. Our professionals can remotely rehab drainage systems with minimal or no digging. Modern technologies allow us to extend the life of the plumbing infrastructures and make them almost like brand-new.
The process is usually fast and can be completed without serious interruption of the normal flow of operations during the day. For instance, we don’t have to cause disruptions to patient care at a hospital. We try to complete repairs overnight during the less hectic hours of operation.
Social Media Launch at Roto-Rooter
We started using social media in 2008-2009 when Facebook became popular and as the marketing landscape changed. The public always expects better and more frequent content. Then, all these other platforms came along, like YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and eventually TikTok, evolved and matured into social networks with viable adult audiences. We wanted to make our brand known not just to current homeowners but also to younger people – future homeowners. We began to create useful and entertaining content that works for each social platform.
We were used to doing straightforward “How To” videos, but through the years, there’s been an increasing need for more creative output. I stay very involved in the creative process. We have a talented marketing department in-house, and we work with a social media and advertising agency that helps us develop most of our content. We keep our eyes and ears open to new trends and changes in the social media environment.
…And Away Go Troubles Down the Drain!
Roto-Rooter has one of the most iconic jingles in advertising history. Introduced on radio in 1954, the jingle turns 70 this year. The Roto-Rooter jingle is still featured in most Roto-Rooter TV commercials. It goes like this: ♪ Call Roto-Rooter, that’s the name, and away go troubles down the drain. Roto-Rooter. ♪
Roto-Rooter Water Quality Program
We’ve increasingly been getting into water filtration and softening, helping customers with their water quality concerns. Many of our residential and commercial customers worry about lead and harmful chemicals in their tap water. What’s in the government standards might not be as high as some customers’ personal standards.
Before the end of the year, we will have water quality programs at all 51 of our corporate branches. Those will feature whole-house filtration, under-sink reverse-osmosis filtration, and water softening options. We want to make sure we have solutions for almost any household budget. It’s a proven successful concept. People are very receptive to water filtration solutions, and we’re excited about expanding our services to feature those important systems.
Future Growth Goals for the Roto-Rooter
The trenchless pipe replacement is a big program for us. We’re getting better at it and the technology keeps improving. That we can reline a pipe underground without digging offers big benefits for our customers. Just some years ago, the curing time for a relined pipe was the better part of a day. Now, using blue light, we can cure the new liners in a matter of minutes.
The liners can span gaps and cracks in old pipes. It’s an extremely versatile method for rehabilitating a variety of pipe diameters and lengths. And because it’s trenchless, there is little or no collateral damage to landscaping, sidewalks, driveways, and trees.
We use a video camera snake to inspect the finished work. It’s like an arthroscopic tool used for surgery but on a large scale. This kind of restoration is reliable. It’s as good and as strong as a new PVC pipe and is expected to last decades, maybe 50 years. It’s a fascinating option.
We always have something better to offer our customers. Being available 24/7 has also always been a major advantage for our customers and our competitiveness. We’re the plumbing company people can reach 24/7/365 to get assistance.
The Extraordinary Rise of Roto-Rooter
Sam Blanc, who had no formal education beyond high school, became the great inventor of the timeless and conceptually unsurpassed drain-cleaning cable machine still universally used today. Because of his remarkable invention, the little plumbing services business Blanc started from scratch almost 90 years ago has grown to become the largest in its enormous industry today and the most successful plumbing services company in the history of the United States.
The company-owned Roto-Rooter branches and independent contractors are together closing in on a billion dollars in sales per year. That doesn’t include the franchises. Since they don’t have to report job counts or revenue totals, we don’t estimate those figures into the corporate sales totals. For perspective on the total revenues generated by the Roto-Rooter brand, the franchises serve about 88.8 million people in the US and Canada. Our company-owned branches serve around 163.5 million, and our independent contractors serve about 55 million. That means the franchises account for about a third of the company’s service calls each year. It also means that Roto-Rooter serves over 90% of the US population and approximately half of the Canadian population.