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Keeping it in the Family on Father's Day



When we say, ‘keeping it in the family’, our franchises at PVC Vendo really mean it!


12 franchisees at our commercial vehicle washing franchise will be celebrating Father’s Day together this month, as we have no less than six father and son teams in our network.


PVC Vendo was founded in 1981, franchised in 1989 and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. It has 22 franchisees in total, and unusually, six franchise businesses that have been handed down from father to son or, who are still being run by a father and son team. We also have one uncle and nephew partnership and a father who works in the company’s headquarters and his son who has subsequently bought a franchise.


Our PVC Vendo franchisees wash commercial fleet vehicles at depots across the UK, to keep the country’s commercial vehicles safe and clean as they traverse the country’s roads.


We launched our ‘Sani Clean’ service, which kills the coronavirus from the inside of vehicles, at the beginning of the pandemic.


Family businesses


A man in front of five white vans
Noel Davies in 1966 with his fleet of PVC Vendo vans

1. Noel and Chris Davies

Noel Davies bought his first PVC Vendo franchise, East Manchester, in 1990, later adding on North Manchester as he built up his business. Noel can be seen in this 1996 picture, showing the large fleet of vans he had at the time. His son Chris came to work with him straight from school and in 2005 purchased one of his territories which he still runs as his own franchise today.

Father and son standing by a van
2021 - Noel and Chris Davies

Chris said,

‘I started working for my dad when I was about 15, helping him out at weekends and during school holidays to earn myself some extra pocket money. When I left college, I had no idea what career path I wanted to take so Dad said I should work for him full time until I decide what I really want to do. I had seen first-hand that it was a great way to earn a very good living, I enjoyed the job and I enjoyed working outside, so it was an easy decision for me to make. 25 years later the business still provides me with a bit of extra pocket money and I'm still trying to decide what I really want to do.


He continued,


‘Although the cleaning service we provide is very much the same as in my Dad’s day, Dad is very impressed with our new digital ProWash system which he says would have saved him a lot of time and paperwork in his day. ProWash, developed by the franchisor, is an app on my phone that I use to let the customer know I have cleaned their vehicle and it then automatically sends out the invoice, leaving me to get on with the job in hand.’


Our other father and son teams are:


Father and son standing in front of a white van with their hands resting on the bonnet
2021 - Father and son Mike and Mark Stafford

2. Mike Stafford bought the first of his two PVC Vendo franchise territories in 1998. Son Mark Stafford joined the network by buying his own territory in 2016, and in 2019 bought his father’s territories as well. He still runs the business today.

3. Mike Seal bought the first of his two territories in 1998. His son Mark Seal joined him in the business and went on to take over both territories which he still runs to this day.


4. Roger Edwards bought his first of two territories in 2005. His son David Edwards joined him in the business and in 2018 took over the business. He still runs the business today.


5. Steve Edgley bought his territory in 1996. Son Joe Edgley came to work with him from an early age, buying his own territory in 2017. In 2019 Steve retired and Joe took over his father’s territory. He still runs the business today.


6. Nigel Rutterford bought the first of his two territories in 1992. His son Chris Rutterford joined him in the business in 2015 and the pair still work side by side today.


7. Paul Neville bought his territory in 1991. In 2004, nephew Nick Clifton bought the business from him later on purchasing an additional territory, both of which he still owns and runs today.


Two men standing in front of a white van.
Mick Heapy and son Barry Heapy

8. Mick Heapy is the Operations Manager at PVC Vendo. He joined the company in 1993. In 1996 his son, Barry Heapy worked for the company for a brief time in their marketing department then returned, to buy his own franchise territory in 2019 which he still runs today.


Explaining the unusual familial links within the network, Operations Director David Callister said,


‘We take it as a huge compliment that we have so many father and son teams in the business; it plainly demonstrates how profitable the PVC Vendo franchise model is, with these families unwilling to let the territories slip out of the family’s hands, preferring to hand it down from father to son to provide an income for the next generation. We are one of the few franchisors in the UK who provide our franchisees with contracts and leads which we know is very popular. In an effort to improve and innovate, we have recently introduced a brand new power washer for the franchisees to use, with superior parts and service and introduced a new income stream with the Sani Clean service, which has been very popular. We wish all our franchisees a very Happy Father’s Day and look forward to our first third generation of franchisees in the years to come.’


There are currently only a handful of PVC Vendo territories still available for sale, these include Lincoln, South West England and North Humberside. Anyone interested in joining our successful franchise organisation please contact David Callister on david@pvcvendo.com

ENDS June 2021

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