Master plumber still loves his trade after 30 years

Maricopa master plumber Mike Noli’s first gig as an apprentice in his home state of Connecticut was supposed to be a summer job. It was 1980 and he was 18 years old the day he started. Thirty years later, he is still cranking a pipe wrench, doing residential service calls in Maricopa along with large commercial construction projects.

“It turned out to be the longest summer ever,” Noli said.

He doesn’t mind in the least, though.

“I love what I do,” said Noli. “I like interacting with people and taking care of their plumbing problems.”

After working as an apprentice, journeyman and master plumber for a total of 17 years in Connecticut, Noli moved to Arizona in 1996 because he was “tired of the snow,” and his girlfriend at the time wanted to live here.

“I arrived at 11 p.m. on a Wednesday on a Greyhound bus with $20 in my pocket,” Noli recalls. “I got a job at 9 a.m. the next morning and went to work at a Burger King that was being built at the base of Superstition Mountain. It was October and the weather was beautiful and there was this beautiful mountain and blue sky. I loved it here from the first day.”

Noli moved on to a management position with another plumbing contractor that serviced all 434 Circle Ks in Arizona, doing maintenance and remodeling. When he went into business for himself in 2000, Circle K transferred its business to his new company. The contract, which netted $300,000 annually, gave him a good basis for his start-up.

“My grandfather was an old-time plumber from Italy,” Noli said. “He is the one who got me started in the business and he always said that if you are going to work for the rest of your life, you might as well work for yourself.”

Noli went on to do new construction plumbing for Wal-Mart, a business relationship he still maintains.

“We recently did all the plumbing in a brand new 300,000-square-foot Wal-Mart in Sierra Vista near the Mexican border,” Noli said. “It was a $400,000 job that took us nine months. That was probably the biggest job we have done.”

Noli and his partner, Mathew Smell, like to tackle large commercial projects – they are currently installing new plumbing at Southern Dunes Golf Club – but Noli said he enjoys residential service work even more.

“That is what I like best,” he said. “And that is the area of our business we are looking to expand. We are a local business. We buy supplies in Maricopa, we have business relationships here, and we love working for people who live here.”

Along with his desire to be self-employed, Noli got his philosophy of customer service from his old-school Italian grandfather.

“He always said that if you do a hundred things right for your customers and one thing wrong, they will probably remember the one mistake more than everything you did right,” Noli said. “So you always have to do the next right thing. I believe that is the key to life as well as business. Just do the next right thing.”

Mike Noli, Owner
AMC Plumbing

Personal
Age:  48
Hometown:  Weathersfield, Conn.
Current residence: Acacia Crossing
Moved to Maricopa: 2004
Family: Single
Pets: Val and Desi, Staffordshire terriers

Business
Type: Residential and commercial plumbing
Previous job: None
Employees: 4
Biggest job: 300,000-square-foot Wal-Mart

Favorites
Tool: Channel locks
Food: Pizza
Beverage: Water
Movie: “Shawshank Redemption”
TV show: “Ghost Hunters”
Actor: George Clooney
Band: Led Zeppelin
Sport: Football
Team: New England Patriots
Athlete: Tom Brady
Charity: Susan G. Komen Foundation
City: San Francisco
Hobby: Motorcycle riding
Bike: Harley Davidson
Run: Laconia Bike Week in New Hampshire
Motorcycle movie: “Easy Rider”
Saying: “Do the next right thing.”