Black Diamond in McHenry sees business grow around the clock

McHENRY – The employees at Black Diamond Plumbing and Mechanical in McHenry will fix a leaky faucet or unclog a toilet at any time and any day – an approach that has distinguished the company from its competitors and helped grow business.

President Rick Sperando knows this firsthand because he’ll call his competitors at 2 a.m. to see if their advertised 24/7 customer service actually is true. He often is greeted with infinite ring tones or answering machines.

“That’s our niche,” Sperando said about Black Diamond’s 24/7 service. “We feel the customer is going to have to pay us, so why should they have to take off work and lose more money in the process? We try to work around their schedules.”

And for the plumbing, electric, heating and cooling companies that do align with Black Diamond’s values, Sperando considers acquiring them and bringing them into the company.

It’s another strategic approach that has expanded Black Diamond’s service area beyond McHenry County to places like Naperville, Rockford and Waukegan.

The McHenry County Economic Development Corp. earlier this year named Black Diamond a Business Champion among mid-sized employers primarily for its around-the-clock customer service and growth-through-acquisition strategy.

Founded out of Sperando's home in Cary 17 years ago, the plumbing and HVAC service company in recent years nearly has doubled its workforce to 104 full-time employees and seen revenue grow by double digits.

With increased demand, Black Diamond earlier this fall moved its headquarters from Crystal Lake to a larger 40,000-square-foot facility in McHenry.

From 2013 to 2014, Black Diamond’s revenue grew 40 percent, Sperando said, mainly through new customers in the Rockford area. Revenue this year from 2014 is expected to grow 18 percent, he said.

Black Diamond’s entrance into Rockford was done through strategic acquisitions, a “big factor” that has caused the company to grow rapidly within the past five years, Sperando said.

Ron’s Heating and Air Conditioning in Gilberts represented Black Diamond’s first major acquisition, completed in early 2011.

By 2014, Black Diamond had made numerous deals and acquired Axberg Heating, a longtime service company in Rockford founded nearly 60 years ago.

Sperando kept the Rockford business’ original name for its customer base, but added Black Diamond’s other services, including plumbing, electrical and air conditioning.

The Axberg acquisition, Sperando said, will turn out to be the company’s best deal because the Rockford area is “where we are finding our biggest growth.”

It also underscores Black Diamond’s business strategy.

Beth Wagner, sales and marketing coordinator, said Black Diamond looks for area companies that provide some of Black Diamond’s services but not all, along with assessing the customer support within those companies.

“It’s more than just our offerings,” she said. “We look at companies that mirror our values and how they treat their employees because then, the customer base is ready for us. They’re expecting the kind of service we offer.”

Customers in the Chicago area have gravitated to Black Diamond’s service for its true all-day work hours, Sperando said.

Dispatchers at the call center within the McHenry headquarters field customer requests at all hours, as plumbers, technicians and managers rotate on-call shifts. Every business matter is done upfront, including the price quoting, before the repair or installation work starts, Sperando said.

Sperando carried the approach toward customers throughout his 35-year career as a service plumber.

“I always had the interaction with homeowners. You try to find out what they need and how to take care of them,” he said. “That seemed to work for me in my entire career.”

Sperando also founded Illinois Plumbing Consultants, a training school for apprentices and veteran workers in the industry. He teaches courses at the school and plans to turn a portion of Black Diamond’s headquarters into a classroom for it.

Employees also have the flexibility to balance work with their family lives. Black Diamond hosts numerous events for families and tries to make them feel a part of the company – an effort to show workers appreciation for the work they do, Sperando said.

“I might have a business card the says ‘President,’ but it’s just a business card. It doesn’t truly describe who I am,” he said. “Who I am is a lot more important than what the business card says.”