GREENBROOK-- Returning to New Jersey to be closer to family after getting out of the Air Force was a good move for Chuck DeTorres, owner of Green Brook-based, King George Plumbing & Heating.
“I read up on plumbing, studied the code book, and took the code test in 1981 to get certified,” DeTorres said.
“Making $25 an hour in the late ‘70s,” wasn’t so bad, added DeTorres, a Wyoming resident at the time.
He recalled jobs like one at a Uranium Mine out in the middle of nowhere on government owned land, and work at a state penitentiary, smiling.
“They used to mine the prairie,” he said.
First, he worked for a Garden State-based plumber before launching his own business in ’81, using the name “Chuck D’s Plumbing.” He set up shop in his house on King George Road in Warren. A strong residential real estate market along the Route 78 corridor helped buoy business well into the ‘80s, more than supporting one of his first showrooms in Warren. New construction jobs were not hard to find, he noted.
People frequently stopped by and asked for quotes on all types of jobs. (The new housing boom provided all types of work.)
His sons, Andrew and Aris, have been involved in the business more than 30 years ago, while nearly all his employees have been at King George Plumbing & Heating for about two decades.
DeTorres also recruited his brother, cousin, and sons’ buddies as business grew rapidly.
King George Plumbing & Heating does both residential and commercial work. Take tenant fit outs in strip-malls, reconfiguring office building walls, bathrooms, and the many heating/air conditioning jobs that require new rooftop units, which King Georges is known for.
“We just did the Bobcat dealer on Route 22, replacing a 10 ton roof top unit the amount of cooling,” said DeTorres.
His secret sauce? “Answering the phone,” being there when you say you will, and “treating people fairly,” DeTorres said.
While King George’s competes with outfits that are many times larger, it brings in nearly two million a year in bathrooms alone, said DeTorres.
DeTorres owns the King George’s present location on Route 22 in Greenbrook where he has many recent improvements including the construction of the building and installation of a beautiful sign.
The showroom in Green Brook features things you do not typically see at the big box stores such as models of high efficiency heating, cooling and the newest plumbing eco- friendly.
Sitting back in his chair smiling in an exclusive interview with www.NJnewsjersey.com reporters Chuck mentions “Sometimes they put us in an Air Force helicopter to fix a faucet,” said DeTorres of his days in the service.
I wanted to be a photographer, and I joined the Air Force to do so. But they didn’t need any photographers: When I got my orders it said law enforcement. Had to guard nuclear missiles, which are still there in the ground.
“There’s no way I’m going to guard a missile silo for 4 years, what am I going to be qualified to do?” So I kept going back to the boss and saying you should give me something I can use when I get out of the Air Force.
“They made me a plumber; gave me the worst, dirtiest job you can imagine to try to get me to move on.” Fast forward and here I sit today looking up at my beautiful new sign!
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