Water Heater Pal – About Us

As a Connecticut water heater company, we have provided quality plumbing services to tens of thousands of satisfied customers since the 1980s. All of our plumbers are CT licensed and authorized to work on all types of gas and electric water heaters. Originally, we started under the name Water Heater By Us, LLC, which we changed after Vilem Fruhbauer joined our team to Water Heater Pal as a shorter, hip, and more customer friendly name. Our water heater plumbers are based in Southbury, New Milford, Torrington and Waterbury, CT which allows them to efficiently serve Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven Counties in Connecticut.

We pride ourselves in employing plumbing technicians with clean, non-criminal backgrounds, something other Connecticut water heater companies cannot claim. We focus on continuing education for our staff, we strive to provide only up-to-code installations, we deliver excellent craftsmanship and use only quality plumbing materials. Our clients can rely on our expert advice as we help them to achieve comfort and safety of their homes, plus long-term energy and cost savings. Given our expertise in efficient water heater installation, and low-overhead operation, we offer the lowest price guarantee to all of our local licensed competitors and installers from national big-box home improvement or appliance stores.

Albert Dumont (Al) – Owner and Master Plumber

Al joined the U.S. Marine Corps right after graduating early from high school. Shortly after, he was deployed to Vietnam. Upon returning from Vietnam, Al spent a decade at a trade school and apprenticeship programs where he successfully earned licenses in three trades – plumbing, HVAC, and electrical.

In his early career, Al worked as a licensed plumber, pipe fitter, and electrician at Kimberly Clark. In the 80s he started working on his own and established a niche plumbing company Water Heater By Us, LLC. Currently, Al is a board member for the Industrial Management Training Institute (IMTI) in Waterbury, the same trade school he graduated from decades ago. Under Al’s leadership, many of his apprentices became successful tradesman and business professionals.

Vilem Fruhbauer (V) – General Manager

Vilem Fruhbauer worked as a plumber’s assistant during his college studies. After graduating in 2003 with a Master’s Degree in Thermal Technology Engineering from the Technical University of Ostrava in Czech he came to the U.S. Here Vilem Fruhbauer worked as a pipe fitter at a golf course, consultant, maintenance personnel at a retirement home, and became a business owner of an Internet software and marketing company.

After a decade of exploring multiple career paths and industries, Vilem Fruhbauer came back to his roots in engineering, construction trades, and plumbing by joining forces with Al in 2012 when the Water Heater Pal story began. Vilem Fruhbauer completed a 720 hour Plumbing Technician certification program at IMTI as required in CT. V’s long-term vision is to create a successful duplicable water heater business model and start growing their business by using a licensing system by 2020. We hope to welcome you as one of our valued and satisfied customers.

Sincerely,
Albert Dumont & Vilem Fruhbauer