DHE Plumbing marked its 20th anniversary this year in a big way by transitioning to full employee ownership, all the while maintaining a tradition of exemplary work. Based in Grandville, Michigan, near Grand Rapids, with another office in Kalamazoo, Michigan, this plumbing and mechanical contractor has tackled everything from schools and sports facilities to special projects in the Middle East. A quality mindset and team spirit have helped guide the company over the past two decades.
“I think the key to some of our success was not just copying what others in our market industry were doing; we wanted to do something different. It wasn’t just a cut and paste operation. We wanted our employees to be able to take ownership and pride in their projects,” says CEO Nate Heyboer.
Employees aren’t just taking ownership of their projects, either; thanks to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), the firm itself is now fully owned by its team.
DHE primarily serves the commercial, industrial, and multi-family markets, with the commercial sector bringing in the most revenue. About two-thirds of the company’s work consists of plumbing, with HVAC constituting the remainder; it also offers service for HVAC and plumbing. Its core service plumbing competencies include back-flow testing, camera inspections, high-pressure jetting, preventative maintenance, drain cleaning, grease trap maintenance, and lift station maintenance, along with 24-hour emergency drain cleaning. HVAC service work includes retrofits and energy upgrades, preventative maintenance, heating/cooling unit replacement and new installation, hydronic piping, and more. As with plumbing service, DHE is available around the clock for emergency HVAC duties.
“We do everything in-house except for controls and insulation,” says CEO and Co-founder, Nate Heyboer.
DHE was founded in 2005 by Dale, Eric, and Nate Heyboer. “Like any company starting up, you have your hurdles, you trip and fall over things. There were sleepless nights, chasing work—all the things any company starting from scratch faces. The best thing we always had were our employees. They were our asset,” recalls Nate Heyboer.
When the recession of 2008 – 2009 hit, DHE was able to “grab a lot of great talent” from the ranks of job seekers, “and a lot of that great talent is still working with us today,” he adds.
Dale Heyboer eventually sold his share of the company to another son, Josh Heyboer, and around three years ago, brothers Nate, Josh, and Eric decided to start a transition to employee ownership as a way to both thank and motivate their staff.
“When it came time to look at maybe a transition, ESOP made the most sense to us… There wasn’t anybody better to take over the reins than those standing right next to us at the time,” recalls Heyboer. About 200 people currently work for DHE; since June 1st of this year, the company has been 100 percent employee owned.
“It’s been fun to watch it take off with the employees—they’re talking about scrap, they’re talking about efficiencies, and things like that. It’s really starting to take off and the conversations in the field have changed because of it,” notes Mike Miner, COO, of the ESOP and the ownership employee-owners are taking because of it.
Teamwork, which has been an integral part of the company’s culture since the beginning, became even more firmly entrenched once the ESOP came into effect. Cooperation, collaboration, and efficiency have helped DHE stand out over the years. “We work faster, we’re more responsive,” says Miner. “We continue to try to set the bar higher for ourselves, whether it’s in the field or in the office, and the whole team breathes that. Nate tells a great story: if you were to lean down the hallway and yell for help for anything, anybody from the accountant to the office manager, project manager, and foreman would raise their hand and volunteer to assist.”
As part of its pro-employee focus, DHE puts a huge amount of emphasis on safety. Training in HazCom (Hazard Communication—understanding chemical labels and identifying potential hazards) and Safety Data Sheets (SDS—guidelines for the safe handling of chemicals) is offered, and instruction in First Aid and CPR is also on the agenda. A safety committee scrutinizes projects to ensure dangers are minimized while the company strives to provide “the latest and greatest” in PPE, tools, and other equipment, adds Miner.
This safety focus reflects the company’s family-oriented roots, says Heyboer. “One of the things we feel liable for, is that anyone who walks through the door is going home safe. We don’t want to make those calls that someone cut their hand or had something else happen,” he says.
DHE is also a strong believer in community involvement. “We’re very philanthropic in all the communities we work in, whether it be school t-shirts for fundraising, turkey trots, you name it. It’s a long list and something we’re proud of,” says Miner.
Interestingly enough, beyond its website at dheplumbing.com, DHE doesn’t do a huge amount of promotion. “It sounds counterintuitive, but we really don’t do much advertising outside of our philanthropic and sponsorship activities; we recently sponsored a local soccer team and we got to get on their jerseys/kits, so that was fun. Our employees and our clients have created the growth, and we are so thankful for that,” says Miner.
Certainly, DHE’s work does seem to speak for itself. The company has been both a finalist and winner at the Excellence in Construction (EIC) Awards, hosted by the Associated Builder and Contractors of Western Michigan Chapter (ABC WMC). The latter website lists DHE as a past project winner for HVAC and plumbing work.
While most projects are carried out in West Michigan, DHE takes on custom aquarium and zoo assignments around the world. The company has worked at SeaWorld in San Diego, a zoo in New Jersey, and helped put together a mangrove exhibit in a Dubai palace. “We’re blessed to be providing the labor as part of our partnership on these projects,” Heyboer says. “We’re always looking for new opportunities.”
In addition to these far-flung assignments, DHE is currently working on a new soccer stadium in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, and takes on numerous school projects. “We do a lot of K-12 work for a lot of the school districts in the area. [This work] is shied away from by some other contractors due to very rigid schedules, but we’ve always found a way to meet a deadline…It would be hard to find a school district we did not help out in some way, shape, or form,” says Heyboer.
Notable projects DHE has taken on include plumbing and HVAC work at Plainwell Field House, a school sports facility featuring a basketball court, pool, and indoor track for students and the community of Plainwell, Michigan. For this project, DHE worked on six mechanical rooms and installed nearly 150,000 pounds of ductwork in the pool and gym areas along with 9,000 feet of mechanical piping.
DHE also installed over 880 fixtures at a 16-story, 202-unit apartment called 601 Bond in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while another Grand Rapids project involved the Health & Science facility at Grand Valley State University (GVSU). DHE installed nearly 200 fixtures at this 166,271-square-foot facility, working with large cast iron storm pipe and medical gas piping.
One challenge facing DHE (along with pretty much every contractor in North America) is the skilled labor shortage. Existing skilled trades workers are reaching retirement age and for many reasons, not enough young people are entering the field to take their place. To address this situation, DHE backs the West Michigan Construction Institute (WMCI), a skilled trades school based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, through fundraising and board partnerships. The firm also offers $500 scholarships for 15 high school students who want to go into a skilled trade.
“They don’t have to be working for us; they can be working for any trade. They must fill out an application, and the $500 is to help them get their first set of tools—steel-toed boots, or maybe your first set of wrenches,” says Heyboer.
Over the next five years, DHE aims to increase its market share in the industrial and commercial sectors and witness the flowering of total employee ownership. “I look forward to the day when we get to cut checks to the employees as part of our profit sharing from the ESOP side. I think that’s going to be super fun,” Miner shares.
As the company passes its 20th anniversary, he returns again to the importance of having a devoted, hard-working staff. “Without them, our success doesn’t come,” he says. “We want to continue that. I think that’s something to pause and celebrate. We’re proud to be in the communities we’re in; we’re proud of our employees. There’s a lot to be thankful for.”
