Mark Lindsay does plumbing - and much more

BY GINNY PRIVITAR
WEST MILFORD — You might say plumbing is in his veins. Only it’s not just plumbing.
Mark Lindsay took over the business in 1993 from his dad, John, who founded Lindsay Plumbing in Hewitt in 1962. Before that the company was in Paterson. The family recently heard that John’s father was in the business, too.
Lindsay has the pleasure of seeing the next generation working with him - the name over the door is now Lindsay and Son Plumbing.
It must be a good place to work, too, if employee longevity is any measure. Office manager Diane Mori has been there 16 years. She said the business started out in Hewitt, back when people were converting summer homes to year-round ones.
“For the longest time, it was probably the only plumbing business in Hewitt," said Mori. There are not a lot of new plumbers coming up, she said. “It takes years to be at the top of your game.”
An expanding businessThese days equipment is more high-tech and Lindsay said it’s important to get together the right crew and get the correct materials at the job site so he’ll have everything he needs to satisfy the customer.
“Now-a-days, you have a lot of air cleaners, dampers, boiler controls, special pumps; all high efficiency equipment," he said. "Rebates are involved; you have to make sure the customer gets the proper rebates and the forms are filled out. You have to be one step ahead of the competition to get the job done correctly.”
Now the business not only takes care of plumbing and water conditioning. They do heating and cooling and sell and install generators — the last a handy thing to have if the power goes out. And they do bathroom remodeling.
Never a dull dayLindsay talked about some of the unusual things that have happened on the job.
“Sometimes a spouse will tell me it’s okay to shut the water off (and a spouse is in the shower),” he said. “All of a sudden they’ll scream out to turn the water back on.”
He often helps out when people are having an emergency during a party; they’ll have no heat, a sewer back-up or hot water leaking.
“I’ll go to a job site during a party or graduation and get things running so they can have their party. It’s happened several times,” Lindsay said.
A family affairLindsay and his wife, Cindy, are a couple with a sense of humor - they married on Halloween. They are parents to daughter Deanna, 30, and her husband Paul, who are expecting a son and are the parents of Mark and Cindy’s granddaughter, Payton; son, Mark Jr., 28, and daughter Miranda, 24, who both work with their dad.
Cindy Lindsay is very proud of her husband.
“Mark is a workaholic. He doesn’t do too much for himself but will do everything for his family,” she said.
She recounted that he also learned a lot on his own.
“His dad would bring him on service calls at age 12. By 17, he was doing calls on his own and (his dad) would put Mark on the job and say, 'Stay here ‘til you figure it out. And I’ll come back and get you'.”
All for the communityBut it’s not just his plumbing skills and love for his family that she admires; it’s his generosity to local causes, too.
“He‘s an amazing man — he would give the shirt off his back and has donated to many causes," she said. "He tries to help families out at Christmas time. He’s sponsored sports, including Little League, in the town since our kids were little.”
Lindsay also supports A Change for Nick, the Wounded Warriors and other causes. If there’s a need, he tries to help out.
Cindy Lindsay said Mark genuinely cares about his customers and will go above and beyond to satisfy them.
“I like the customer satisfaction I get from my workmanship; reviews, customers calling my company up and telling me how great the job was,” said Lindsay.
Mark doesn’t have much free time, but when he does, he enjoys being outside in the woods. He likes watching the Dallas Cowboys, a team he’s loved since he was a little kid. He doesn’t get to ride his Harley much now, but when they can, he and Cindy will go for a ride on a Sunday.
And, like many a tired professional, “He doesn’t like fixing things at home,” said Cindy Lindsay.