Lynn Shepard Jr.

The Treasure Coast is a region comprised of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties along Florida's Atlantic beaches.

Positioned directly in the center of this region is the city of Fort Pierce where PIRTEK franchisee Lynn Shepard Jr. has based his mobile hydraulic and industrial hose repair and replacement business. He aims to support the area's thriving marine, construction and manufacturing industries.

According to Shepard, he "recognized that there was a need for hydraulic and industrial hose repair and service in the area that was not being met by any other local businesses."

This need has continued to grow in recent years, prompting Shepard to open his new PIRTEK Treasure Coast franchise. His business provides hydraulic and industrial hose replacement service under the company's Tier 2 program.

PIRTEK's Tier 2 option enables entrepreneurs to start a franchise at a lower point of entry. Under Tier 2, a franchisee can keep the inventory in a small warehouse or storage facility and lease two vehicles. The standard Tier 1 model requires a franchisee to have a full service and supply center staffed with six team members and at least two mobile service vehicles. Tier 2 owners are expected to advance to a Tier 1 location in three years.

Shepard and his team expect to receive a lot of business from nearby Fort Pierce Harbor, which remains busy throughout the year as a distribution point for citrus, cement and other imports. On average, more than 350,000 tons of goods move through the harbor annually. This seaport will need hydraulic and industrial hose repair, maintenance and emergency services on everything from boats to the machinery on the docks that is used to load the vessels. The Port of Fort Pierce, and a slew of smaller marinas that dot the coastline also will require PIRTEK Treasure Coast's services.

The population in this area of Florida is rapidly growing. As more people and businesses move in, the construction industry strives to keep pace. Shepard said he has found it "very rewarding to be able to offer 1 hour ETA on-site service to keep the local manufacturing and construction businesses operating." He feels that the surrounding companies "have a real sense of how valuable his PIRTEK services are."

Shepard has recruited a skilled team of mobile service technicians, and said that he is thankful for the ongoing training that the PIRTEK USA network offers to them. He describes it as "a great program that ensures that all of his employees have confidence in their work." This confidence comes from knowing that they are staying up-to-date on the most current knowledge and procedures in their craft.

PIRTEK Treasure Coast will take advantage of this training in order to fulfill its commitment to have a trained technician on site quickly for its customers, and fix their machinery properly to get them back to work with minimal downtime.

Shepard, who accumulated seven years of experience manufacturing, installing and servicing hydraulic door systems before coming to PIRTEK, enjoys being a part of the franchise network. In fact, he has plans to grow his business in the future, and acquire more franchises to expand his service area in south Florida.

For more information, visit www.pirtekusa.com.

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