For the better part of the last seven years, John Hrycuna has thought about reopening his father’s business.
The plan was always for Hrycuna, the fourth generation with that name, to work alongside his dad at AK Plumbing and Heating, which his father started many years before, and eventually take it over.
But in July 2010, that all changed.
The elder Hrycuna was killed in an accident while riding his motorcycle in Rumney, which left the younger’s plan to enter the family business in serious jeopardy.
For a little while, members of the family tried to keep it going because at that point, Hrycuna was just about to enter his second year of plumbing school. But in order to get your license, you must complete four years of instruction while also working in the field under a licensed plumber.
Soon though, it was apparent that the business would need to close.
“It went for a little bit, but it wasn’t going too well,” Hrycuna said.
So Hrycuna went to work for a local plumbing and heating company and continued his schooling.
Even when he was done with school and became a licensed plumber, he stayed with that local business, which had been really good to him over the years, although the idea of reopening his dad’s business was always there.
Then last fall, he felt it was the right time to start exploring the idea of getting AK Plumbing and Heating back off the ground.
“It was always in the back of my mind,” Hrycuna said.
But in the heating world, that’s one of the busiest times of the year, so he waited until this spring before venturing out on his own.
It just seemed like the right time. He had company T-shirts made, which his 3-year-old son, John V, proudly wears around, and got a van and had it lettered.
“It feels good,” Hrycuna said. “I think he’d be proud of me.”
Now it’s all about getting the phone to ring with jobs.
“I had some people who had contacted me for side work, so I figured I had enough to keep me busy for a while,” Hrycuna said.
Right after his father passed away, Hrycuna got a lot of calls for work, but couldn’t do a lot of it because of the whole lack of license thing.
Before that Hrycuna had been the one to handle a lot of the on call situations on the heating side and helped with the scheduling of jobs. So he knew a little bit about that side of the business.
“It worked for me because I could go out and do my own stuff,” Hrycuna said.
He just had to finish school so he could do whatever job came up.
When it came to the school, Hrycuna already knew a lot of the stuff being taught. That’s because he had been working with his dad for a real long time.
“It’s nice going in and fixing something that’s broken,” Hrycuna said. “And he really taught me the majority of what I know.”
During summers, he’d go to work with his dad and hang out for the day. By high school, he was cutting copper, and at that point really knew this was the line of work he wanted to get into. Plus, he’d be able to work side-by-side with his old man every day.
“When I went with him, I enjoyed it,” Hrycuna said. “The whole point was for me to take over my dad’s business one day.”
The business was named after his sisters Annika and Kasa, which back then, when people used the phone book, it was one of the first business names to pop out at you.
Things have slowly started to pick back up as former customers start to see the business back up and running.
“Eventually I would like to have employees and expand,” Hrycuna said.
For more info, email akplumbingnheating@gmail.com or call 568-4339.
June 28, 2017
Your dad is very proud of you and looking down and smiling in all you have accomplished