Benjamin Franklin VP of Operations on the plumbing economy, 2026

Roughly 25 years ago, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing was founded as part of Clockwork Home Services, along with sister companies One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning and Mister Sparky. In 2019, Clockwork was acquired by Authority Brands, which still owns the businesses today, with Benjamin Franklin operating over 260 locations nationwide. 

I recently spoke with Joseph Wade, Benjamin Franklin’s Vice President of Operations, about the ‘plumbing economy,’ emerging technologies in the industry, and where the company is placing its bets next year. Below is our conversation, lightly edited for clarity. 

How would you describe the industry’s past few years, through today, at a high level?

Covid was an anomaly that affected us all, and it exposed some risk areas with regard to our supply chain. 2024 was really challenging across the entire industry because we were trying to figure out how to repair what had occurred through Covid. (Who do we need to have partnerships with to ensure we can get supply when we need it?) 

It was a tough year, but in 2025, we’ve come back. It’s been a great year. We’ve been able to build systems and integrate AI. We’ve got smart equipment now, from leak detection to water heaters, and we’ve really kind of roared back.

What does ‘roared back’ mean?

We’ve experienced [topline revenue] growth, without throwing any numbers out there. Our franchise owners have adopted new systems that we’ve brought to the table, which allow them to work more efficiently, more economically, and more profitably.

Can you elaborate on any specifics that have played into the growth this year, and how you think about them?
 
We’ve upgraded our operating system. We’ve incorporated some new products, which allow, from a plumbing perspective, our franchisees to broaden their service offerings.

And with the onset of further developing digital technology — AI, the Internet of Things (IoT) — we’re recognizing that houses are becoming smarter. And if houses are becoming smarter, we have to be able to deliver services to those smart houses.

Talk to me about the economy’s impact on BF. 

Some people say that [the economy is] great, some people say that it’s not. I immediately imagine this graphic I’ve seen where two people are standing in front of a ‘nine.’ And it looks like a nine for one and a six for the other. They’re looking at the same thing, but they have different perspectives on it. It’s sort of like that. But from a plumbing perspective, the economy doesn’t totally impact what we do.
 
We may have parts that are a little more expensive, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who’s running the show from a governmental standpoint. If you have a toilet that leaks, you have to get it fixed. So, we’re not necessarily impacted by the economy in a huge way. I’ve looked at the last three years — our trends in terms of revenue generation percentage — and it pretty much follows a consistent pattern year over year. 

What about repair/replace trends?

A lot of that is regional. Some areas would rather just continue to repair. It’s incumbent upon us and our technicians to communicate clearly what the issue is and then provide options.

There was a period of time, I guess, maybe in March or April, where repair seemed to be more the trend. We’d communicate to our customers that repair is okay, but you’re going to see me a few times if you’re just going to repair this thing and patch it, which ultimately can be a lot more expensive than just going ahead and replacing it.

What are you paying attention to most, tech-wise — physical equipment, software, etc — in the coming years? 

I won’t go into too many details, but we have an AI component associated with leak detection that allows [franchisees] to monitor units that are out there and be able to assess trends associated with their functionality, as well as being able to respond when one fails before the customer even knows.

The other is analyzing water flow and water quality, which involves some AI as well. Sensors provide that information, roll it into our systems, and then we generate reports — weekly, monthly, annually — that provide us information that allows us to respond sooner rather than later (and sometimes preemptively to protect our customers and franchise owners with regard to liability).

Looking into next year, what are the hot button items and/or biggest investment areas for BF?

We’re continuing to look at water filtration, because that continues to be of major interest to our customer base, especially with smart houses and sensors testing water flow on a regular basis. 

And then drain and sewer. We’ve fully recognized the technology out there that simplifies drain and sewer repairs. Our big initiative last year was trenchless sewer repairs. But we want to go a step beyond that, on bigger jobs, and bring that all the way into the house, including repiping, and things like that. 

We’re also looking at ecological issues — clean water, recyclable materials, PFAS. And that aligns with our water filtration [initiatives]. We’re looking at things like that because they continue to be of growing interest to our customer base.