Three metro Atlanta area PIRTEK franchises — PIRTEK Alpharetta, PIRTEK Dobbins and PIRTEK Norcross — have been owned and operated by Janice and Mike McCarthy for close to two decades.
The McCarthy's built these businesses from the ground up and dedicated much time and effort to establishing relationships with customers and creating a beloved team of employees. When they began considering retirement, finding the right person to take over was a sizable task.
Enter Clay Caldwell into the picture.
Judging by his extensive background and experience in the related fields of customer service, sales, and business, it would seem that he has been preparing to fill this role for most of his professional life.
Caldwell has spent much of his career within the Doosan and Bobcat family. He started at Bobcat of Atlanta, where he earned the role of branch manager and was involved with equipment sales, service, parts and rental. He also worked at Bobcat's parent company, Doosan, leading their parts business for North America until the end of 2019. It was then that Caldwell decided to pursue his dream of owning his own business. He recalled PIRTEK's strong market position and sent an inquiry.
Knowing that Janice and Mike McCarthy were looking to retire in the near future, Pirtek USA reached out to Caldwell to see if he would be interested in taking over the business. Caldwell said owning his PIRTEK franchise thus far has been challenging but rewarding.
"Every day I'm drawing on my previous experience to propel the business. So far, it's been rewarding to know that my experience is relevant and will make an impact on our employees, customers and community-at-large."
The benefits to the surrounding communities cannot be understated. The metro Atlanta area continues to see rapid expansion and growth. Several long-term infrastructure projects, coupled with many new-construction and revitalization initiatives, fuel Atlanta's need for heavy equipment support. In addition, Georgia is a very business-friendly state, which encourages new corporations and industries to move into the area.
Caldwell's two Service and Supply Centers, PIRTEK Norcross, located at 2600 Pleasantdale Rd., Suite 1, Atlanta, GA 30340, and PIRTEK Dobbins, at 1400 South Marietta Parkway, Suite 110, Marietta, GA 30067, are both are conveniently located along Interstate I-75 and I-85 in north Atlanta for quick and easy access to on-site mobile repair work. His third franchise, PIRTEK Alpharetta, is currently a Tier 2 franchise centered around mobile service. Caldwell plans to eventually transition that business to a brick-and-mortar Tier 1 franchise.
Caldwell said he is impressed with the support provided by PIRTEK USA.
"Coming from a corporate environment, authenticity means so much when you risk everything to buy into an existing franchise. What separated PIRTEK USA from other franchisors was their commitment to their franchisees.
"PIRTEK has demonstrably stepped up to help their network, especially during the pandemic."
Caldwell has big plans for the future, envisioning a highly efficient, multi-unit service center operation that is considered the best enterprise in PIRTEK's global network. He is confident that with hard work and dedication, he will achieve this goal. He said he is "dead-set on becoming the best hydraulic and industrial hose service provider in the world."
"It's all about the customer experience. It's all about being easy to do business with. If you can't deliver quality and service, people aren't going to come back to you. My team knows that we're only as good as our last interaction, and we have to be on top of our game each and every service call.
"I grew up in a family of community service. I feel it's our duty to give back to the places where we live and work. Our organization will do our part as we continue to grow and evolve our brand here in Atlanta."
For more information, visit www.pirtekusa.com.
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