Joe Villarreal’s wife and daughter help with marketing efforts for Joe the Plumber.[/caption]

Joe Villarreal has been known as “Joe the Plumber” by his clients long before the name took on political symbolism during the 2008 presidential election. With more than 40 years in the plumbing business, Villarreal decided to stick with the name, and today he says his company is stronger than ever.

“I had a lot of media people calling me, and I tried to make it clear that my business was not related and had no political leaning,” he said. “I did lose some clients because of it, but I was not going to give up the name after all those years.”

Villarreal, who earned his master plumbing certification in 1981, opened  his Jarvis Road office in Cy-Fair in 2009. Formerly situated along Hwy. 290 and W. Little York Road, his business has been servicing the North and Northwest Houston area for more than a decade.

While providing quality service is a top priority, Villarreal said he also emphasizes the importance of customer service to his employees.

“I live in the Copperfield area, so I know there are a lot of good people in the communities out here,” he said. “I’m very picky with the people I hire because it’s important to me that all customers are treated with respect.”

The business offers an extensive range of services, including plumbing repairs and remodeling projects, Villarreal said. His team is capable of working on faucets, toilets, water heaters, gas lines and water pipelines. A new service for commercial clients introduced this fall involves using hydrojets to power-clean sewer lines.

The Cy-Fair office also includes a showroom featuring faucets, water heaters, toilets and plumbing materials from a variety of brands. Customers can purchase materials and arrange to have the products installed at the same time, Villarreal said.

Business has grown month after month for Villarreal, who now employs 12 technicians and three office assistants. About 90 percent of his customers call back for repeat service, he said.

Hydrojet pipe cleaning technology was added to Joe the Plumber’s range of services in October.[/caption]

“It keeps us very busy and not just during the daytime” he said. “Very often, we get called out to address an emergency situation in the middle of the night.”

Villarreal said he is planning a second location in The Woodlands, but a specific site has not yet been chosen. The Clear Lake area is also being considered for a third location, he said.