Less than a year ago, Pravin Parmar was perched in a National Guard boat navigating the streets he normally drove on his way to work. He was hoping Hurricane Harvey had spared his facility. As the Guardsman guided the boat to the front of Gulf States Laundry Machinery Co., the Houston business he owns with his brother, Harish, it was clear that the 24 inches of water was not just outside of the company’s Houston office; it had completely flooded the facility.
Fast forward to April 2018, Pravin is standing in an immaculate showroom, and he is smiling. He’s smiling because the entire staff at Gulf States, people he considers family, worked together to overcome the devastating impact of a hurricane and to be named the 2017 Huebsch Distributor of the Year.
“If the Gulf States story was solely about rising from the flood waters and getting back to business as usual in less than eight weeks of time, it would be great,” said Kathryn Rowen, North American sales manager for Huebsch. “Where the story becomes absolutely amazing is the team did all that while posting one of its most impactful years to win this award; truly remarkable.”
Remarkable, however, seems to be the norm for Gulf States, which got its start in 1984 in a garage in Houston. Pravin and Harish set out with a goal to not just sell drycleaning equipment, but to simplify the business for entrepreneurs. They wanted to become the trusted, go-to experts sharing their knowledge every step of the way. This customer-first focus helped them become one of the largest distributors of drycleaning equipment in the country.
When Alliance Laundry Systems approached Gulf States about taking on the Huebsch brand of vended laundry equipment, the pair saw potential.
“The coin laundry business, we really saw this as something we could grow big,” Pravin said.
But the brothers also were in agreement on another point. “If I’m going to take on a line, we’re going to strive to be among the best,” he added.
Gulf States adopted the same approach to the vended laundry segment that had made them successful in the drycleaning business – make it easy on the customer.
“We aren’t ‘salespeople,'”Pravin said. “This is about creating opportunities for customers.”
Gulf States has built an extremely loyal customer base with this approach. That loyalty is forged in the company’s exemplary service, which includes a parts department that is open six days a week. Pravin added that sales staff sets the bar high out of the gate in being strict on the locations they work with customers on. If a location doesn’t meet their standards for success, they will walk away from the deal.
In addition, the strong relationship Gulf States has with Huebsch representatives and the brand’s parent company, Alliance Laundry Systems – combined with the staff’s intimate knowledge of the region having developed drycleaning businesses there for decades – have helped the distributorship become one of the leading laundromat developers in the country.
The Storm and the Recovery
Pravin likes to say part of the success of Gulf States is that they “sell from the heart.” Heart also is what helped the company rebound so quickly from something that might have kept other companies down for a year or more.
When the Gulf States team was allowed back into the flooded office, they set to work removing drywall, carpeting, etc. Meanwhile, the company’s Atlanta location was instrumental in helping make sure Houston customers had access to service, support and any new equipment necessary to getting back up and running.
“Gulf States is like a family, and that showed after the hurricane,” Pravin said. He added that Ben Prema, who oversees the Atlanta office, worked tirelessly in helping ensure the Houston facility and its customers were well taken care of, with no interruptions.
Consider that Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August 2017 – yet, Gulf States’ annual open house event, scheduled for October 2017, went on as planned. Equally inspiring is the fact that Gulf States transacted 30 percent of its 2017 business in the fourth quarter.
“The tenacity Gulf States showed in rebuilding its Houston office is a testament to the passion this entire team brings to the laundry business,” Rowen said. “They are so deserving of Huebsch’s top annual honor.”
This is the third time Gulf States has won the Huebsch Distributor of the Year Award.
