The industry’s introduction to Frank Blau Valve tags started almost 20 years ago when a homeowner realized the need for some type of marking to show and explain where shut-offs were. Frank Blau Valve Tags have since become a very popular marketing tool in the service industry. Most people do not know where all of their emergency valve shut offs are, so this gives a technician the unique opportunity to provide an important service to the homeowner.

 HOW THE IDEA OF VALVE TAGS GOT STARTED

Andrea Julien and her son, Rick, have been working with Frank Blau for over 18 years. She and Rick play an important role in the process of making the Frank Blau Valve Tags, starting with the original concept.

“I had bought my very first home by myself,” says Julien, “I was newly divorced and a single mom. It dawned on me when I was in the basement of the home that I didn’t know where the shut off valves were. I made the comment that under the sinks in your home you have the shut off valves but it was confusing to me not knowing anything about plumbing and having to learn for the first time.”

Speaking of her worries as a single mother in a new home, Julien stated, “If there were a catastrophe I wouldn’t know where the shut off valves were. I made that comment to Frank because he was a mentor to me when I started my first business. I didn’t think anything of it, but he is such a creative and dynamic person that he researched the idea of producing valve tags for plumbers and contractors to use when they go into a home. They can then incorporate the tags however they want in their own business. So he came up with the design that incorporated the company information and on the other side is a list of all the shut off valves in the home.”

Andrea’s son, Rick, is autistic. Now an adult, he’s spent most of his life involved in part-time day programs.

“Often the government would discontinue programs due to lack of federal funding or what not. So anything my son was involved with was pretty temporary – you couldn’t count on it for a long period of time,” says Julien.  “So when Frank asked me if I thought Rick would be interested working with the valve tags, we were just thrilled!” she says.

After the valve tags are designed and printed through ShuBee® they get delivered to Rick and Andrea’s front door. Rick then puts the card-sized tags in laminate paper and then into a laminating machine. Andrea says Rick always want to product top quality product and pays very close attention to placement and detail.

“If one of the cards is not centered he tells me about it. I tell him he’s the office manager and he eats that up!” she laughs.

A NEW ERA FOR VALVE TAGS

When ShuBee^® joined the team to continue the valve tags, the Full Color Valve Tag design was introduced to help expand the Frank Blau product line.

“Steve Stone came up with a different, full color style of valve tag where they are not laminated but come printed with a special coating. So we drill a hole in those. The hole-punching tags have become very popular. We are just so thankful and grateful on how everything turned out,” she says.

Rick’s role in working with the valve tags has been measurably beneficial, on both ends.

“It gives him a sense of responsibility,” she says. “He’s very smart. He has a photographic memory. He can tell you something that happened when he was three. He knows everything there is to know about any ball player of any game, or any bus, train, truck…he’s a walking encyclopedia. As long as he’s in an environment that‘s really steady with a lot of routine and not a lot of upsets, he flourishes. We get those Frank Blau Valve Tags and he knocks them out like one-two-three! He not only does the order very quickly, he centers in the card in the laminate perfectly. He’s quite an artist. He has a lot of dexterity,” says Andrea.

A POSITIVE IMPACT

When looking at the future and how the business is growing, Rick and Andrea are very optimistic. She says this has been so important in their lives, and she has dreams of one day helping other people with special needs.

“At one point I thought it would be great if I could employee one or two more people who are handicapped in one way or another if this stuff really keeps growing,” she remarks. “I used to teach diagnostic pre-school, so I’ve always had a link to that side of things. I’ve always been linked to special needs people.”

“Without it when he comes home, he’ll just stare and watch TV,” she says. “There’s kind of empty space there, you know? So this fills up his time with something very worthwhile.  And if Rick does not have something to occupy his time he regresses, so this is important and we feel like it’s been a great blessing in our life.”

It’s apparent the positive impact Andrea has seen for her son, and she realizes what a unique opportunity this partnership is.

“A lot has been done over the years to accommodate people with physical disabilities but not too much has been said about people who have other problems,” Andrea says, “such as cognitive delays or some people who has mental retardation or what not. And there are really not many opportunities in the community for these people as compared to someone who has a physical disability. There are not many companies that are willing to get involved because it takes special training, it takes time and it takes away from their profits. So Frank and ShuBee® are really to be commended. I think what Rick really gets out of this is it gives him a sense of purpose and responsibility; it gives him a great sense of self worth and confidence. It also gives him a sense of order and self-discipline,” she says.

Frank Blau Valve tags are a tremendous benefit to the service industry as well as homeowners every where. These durable tags last long after the homeowner moves away, allowing technicians to service multiple homeowners through one tag. Call ShuBee today at 877.974.8233 to get your set of Frank Blau Valve Tags designed and out the door to you!