Barkley Plumbing Corporation Receives January Small Business Award

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Main News Photo

After five years of working for Nunns Construction, Craig decided to begin his own company, Barkley Plumbing Corporation.  With increased business, the need to hire more people, and needing a place to store equipment and vehicles Craig built his own building on Corey Road and his business has continued to grow every year since.

 

The company works with all types of residential jobs, including new construction and repair and replacement of systems as needed, as well as commercial jobs, both new construction and remodeling projects.  They are also able to work on septic systems, including replacements, and work with all systems, including water softeners.

 

Every day is a new day Craig explained and issues and challenges often come up overnight that must be addressed the next day. It can be very challenging for scheduling, so it’s crucial to try and remain as flexible as possible to meet the demands of the job.  The focus has to be on the service being provided to the customers and that’s one thing stressed with all employees.

 

Craig believes his employees need to make a decent wage to support themselves and their families, as well as needing benefits if they are going to stay with the company. Barkley Plumbing is a non-union shop and the employees do receive Holiday and Vacation pay, in addition to the company providing their uniforms and boots. In addition, the employees that have been with the company for two plus years are taken on a trip with their spouse once a year to provide some nice time away from work.

 

Barkley Plumbing has been involved with many civic and service organizations over the years. Sometimes they will do a job for the organization, such as plumbing at the Big Brothers Big Sisters office, put together a team for Bowl for Kids’ Sake, or donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Hutchinson, the local Food Bank, United Way of Reno County, and others. Craig feels it’s important to support those organizations within the community that are focused on the children and providing them with constructive activities and opportunities.

 

At Barkley Plumbing they truly believe you have to care more about the customer and the service you’re providing to them, than the money you might make. They want their customers to be happy and value the service they provide, as they work hard to be able to service not only the small residential customers, but also the large commercial customers as well.

 

Congratulations and thank you for all you do for our community.

 

If you know of a deserving small business, we encourage you to nominate them for this award.  Requirements for consideration are Chamber membership, in business for at least three years, and 40 or fewer employees. Call the Chamber of Commerce for more information.

Category: SBA