PIRTEK Knoxville’s owners Drew and Kyle Roschli

Knoxville, Tenn., is a rapidly growing area with lots of new construction. It also is home to world class research facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which draw in a lot of manufacturers — particularly those working with advanced materials and robotics. In addition, the surrounding areas are home to large auto parts manufacturing plants.

These thriving industries have encouraged the opening of a new PIRTEK location: PIRTEK Knoxville. While there are two other PIRTEK locations in Tennessee, they are located in the north and south regions of the state. The new PIRTEK is starting out as a mobile-only location under the company's Tier 2 program and will primarily serve the eastern region.

This industrial diversity encouraged new franchise owners Drew Roschli and Kyle Roschli to seek out business opportunities in the area. While the two brothers grew up in Knoxville, they had each spent their professional careers elsewhere. In fact, Kyle spent time managing facilities for a salvage auto auction which utilized PIRTEK to support its regular operations. He observed PIRTEK's customer service and operations first-hand while working at locations in Florida, Alabama and Maryland. Drew spent time in California working in the railroad industry, gaining experience in industrial business operations and sales.

"We were looking for a business to bring us back home to Tennessee," Kyle Roschli said. "Drew found PIRTEK on the Entrepreneur Top Franchises list and liked the business. He presented it to me, knowing I'd had positive experiences working with PIRTEK in the past."

The only franchise brand of its kind in the United States, PIRTEK USA specializes in hydraulic and industrial hose services through its locations throughout the country. PIRTEK team members are available 24/7 to provide onsite repairs to hydraulic and industrial hoses, due to the company's specially equipped mobile service vehicles. PIRTEK boasts more than 400 franchise locations in 23 countries around the world.

"One of the most attractive parts of the PIRTEK franchise structure is the two-tier system, which allows franchisees like ourselves to get into the system more easily," Drew said. "The Tier 2 franchise, which is mobile only, drastically lowers the barriers to entry."

PIRTEK's Tier 2 mobile-only option enables entrepreneurs to start a franchise at a lower point of entry. Under Tier 2, a franchisee can keep the inventory in a small warehouse or storage facility and lease two vehicles. The standard Tier 1 model requires a franchisee to have a full service and supply center staffed with six team members and at least two mobile service vehicles. Tier 2 owners are expected to advance to a Tier 1 location in three years.

The Roschli brothers are setting their sights high for the future. They plan to eventually be the most successful Tier 2 location in the PIRTEK network. They also intend to open additional PIRTEK locations in the future. They look forward to providing employment opportunities to people in their hometown — to individuals with a dedication to working safely and providing unparalleled customer service. When asked if they are happy with the way their business partnership is working out so far, the brothers said that overall, they are very happy with how things are going, and are content to have returned home — closer to where they grew up and both graduated from the University of Tennessee.

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