Jim Zockoll (born February 14th 1930 - 25 January 2024) was an entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and pilot. He was the founder of Dyno-Rod, which he sold in 2004[1], and served as Chairman of the Zockoll Group Limited until his death on January 25th 2024.

Early life

Zockoll grew up in North Braddock in the suburb of Pittsburgh, PA. USA, and graduated from Scott High School in 1949[2][3]. Zockoll joined the US Air Force in 1950 where he served as a crew chief in the Korean war.

Following service, Zockoll returned to the US and attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics to obtain his Aircraft and Engine license. In 1954 Zockoll then went to the Spartan School of Aeronautics to obtain his flight engineer rating.

In 1955, he was employed as a flight engineer with Pan American World Airways (Pan Am)[4], at a time when cockpit crews included engineers on every flight.

Career

Zockoll moved to London and established Dyno-Rod in 1963 and has been heavily involved in franchising in the UK since 1965.[5]

He imported revolutionary high-powered drain clearing tools with electromechanical rods[6] from America and made Dyno-Rod a national company. Dyno-Rod generated 167 franchises across the UK and Ireland and employed more than 5000 people pre-acquisition. The Franchise Magazine, referencing Dyno-Rod's 50th Anniversary, confirmed that "Dyno-Rod was the first non-fast food franchised business in the UK. The service played a major role in the formation of the British Franchise Association".[7]

Jim was quoted in The Times as saying: “My lucky break was realising this industry existed in the US but not in the UK. I invested £20,000 savings into getting Dyno-Rod off the ground and I still had my income as a pilot. I was really confident that it was going to be a success. It took the country by storm. People were amazed that we turned up within the hour and had the drains cleared in no time at all."[8]

Zockoll remained at the helm of Dyno-Rod for 41 years[9] before selling the business to British Gas (part of British energy company Centrica) in 2004 in a deal worth £57million[10][11]. Dyno-Rod remains the only national franchised home emergency company in the UK and is the call-out service for British Gas. Dyno-rod, in its own story of its history, says "In a stroke of genius, Jim Zockoll made Dyno-Rod a franchise business."[12]

Zockoll created The Zockoll Group Ltd[13] in 1970. Zockoll was the founding member of the British Franchise Association (BFA).

2023 marks 60 years of innovation and impact, at the forefront of franchising, for Zockoll. In an interview with BusinessFranchise.com, he is recognised as an industry legend.[14]

References

  1. ^ Bolger, By Joe. "Dyno Rod founder to land £40m in sale to British Gas". The Times.
  2. ^ "This London multimillionaire never forgot where he's from: North Braddock, Class of '49". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  3. ^ Smith, Kelsie (2020-12-27). "Businessman sends grocery store gift cards to his hometown for the holidays". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  4. ^ "PAN AM HISTORICAL FOUNDATION" (PDF). www.panam.org. Summer–Fall 2020.
  5. ^ "The Franchise system operated by Dyno-Rod Group". Franchise Business.
  6. ^ "Electro Mechanical Drain Cleaning | 24/7 Service". Metro Rod. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  7. ^ "Happy-50th-birthday-dyno-rod". The Franchise Magazine.
  8. ^ Bolger, By Joe. "Dyno Rod founder to land £40m in sale to British Gas". The Times.
  9. ^ "Our history". Dyno-Rod.
  10. ^ "Centrica acquires Dyno-Rod". www.centrica.com.
  11. ^ "Centrica buys Dyno-Rod in £57.6m deal". The Guardian. 2004-10-01.
  12. ^ "Mad Men of the Sewers - History of DYNO's Advertising". Dyno-Rod.
  13. ^ "THE ZOCKOLL GROUP LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  14. ^ "First in franchising industry legend - Businessfranchise.com". businessfranchise.com. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
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