The DHDA Story
With over 20 years in the Cleaning and Restoration Industry Garry developed his expertise and knowledge base through training and a personal desire to embrace new technology and restoration techniques. Throughout his career Garry has built up his credentials to ensure that he is ideally positioned to support clients; whether they be property owners or purchasers of damage management equipment. His extensive knowledge of global training platforms such as IICRC, BDMA and the American Drying Institute enable him to proactively work with the industry to assist in raising standards.
Together, Garry Carroll and Lorelle McCulloch successfully operated and managed All Aces Services in Queensland, Australia during 1995-2015. In 2010 Garry met DBK at RIA in the US and immediately saw a benefit for the use of Heat Drying technology within flood damage restoration in Australia. The Drymatic System was already widely used in the UK with great success, enabling significant savings for contractors and insurers through the reduction in strip-out and drying times.
Working closely with DBK, Garry aided in the development of the Drymatic family of products and instantly he saw tangible benefits when using the equipment within his own restoration business. In 2014 Garry and DBK set up Drymatic Heat Drying Australia with the aim of delivering local sales support and product training to the Australian market. Garry’s passion for the product and the industry made him the ideal candidate to develop the Drymatic product range in Australia.
The DBK Group
DBK Group specialise in heating, cooling and thermal control technology; the company supplies various industries such as Medical, Automotive, Industrial and most recently Damage Restoration. With manufacturing facilities worldwide DBK Group offers clients local sourcing and the flexibility that is expected of a multi-national organisation.
In 2010 Garry Carroll, owner of All Aces Services, visited the RIA Show in Atlanta, Georgia to seek out new technology for use in his restoration business. Whilst at the event Garry stumbled upon a stand promoting revolutionary piece of heat drying equipment that was new to the market; at first glance Garry assumed that the system was 110V and of no use to him and then he realised that the machine was in fact made in the United Kingdom and ran from a 13A 240V supply. The DBK Drymatic System autonomously combined electric heat and air exchange to remove bound moisture from water damaged materials within a property. The patented system used unique drying algorithms to monitor the drying environment and take actions based on either user-defined room limits or preset conditions built within the systems firmware.
Due to limited power availability in Australia, 10A being the maximum available from a mains outlet, the system needed to be reconfigured for the Australian restoration market. DBK’s passion for the product and also their keen desire to grow sales of this revolutionary new product led them to develop an Australian version of the system with reduced power making it suitable for the 10A supply. The reconfigured unit was shipped to Garry Carroll of All Aces Services where it was trialled over a period of twelve months; Garry’s feedback was simple, “the system is unreal”. The success of the trial led to the development of a strong working relationship between DBK and Garry Carroll; Gary’s passion for drying and DBK’s drive for innovation led to new products being developed such as the Drymatic Boost Box. Whilst UK homes tend to be solid constructions with smaller, more segregated rooms the Australian constructions are often more open plan and as a result have more thermal loss. The Drymatic Boost Box gave damage management technicians a solution that enabled them to introduce supplementary heat in a controlled way at a reduced cost.
For several years DBK worked with distributors such as Carpet Cleaners Warehouse and despite having a product that proved itself to be a fast and cost effective solution for restorers DBK never made the level of market penetration they were hoping for. In 2014, Garry Carroll and DBK set up Drymatic Heat Drying Australia, a distribution business that was dedicated to the DBK product and offered full product training and support. DBK learnt that restorers needed a local point of contact who could offer them practical drying advice and even attend site to support with installations when required. Garry Carroll’s substantial experience and expertise within the restoration industry alongside his passion for the Drymatic product made him the perfect candidate for the job. The business hit the ground running and within months the new business model had far exceeded the performance of the previous years, much to the delight of all involved, including the extremely satisfied customers. In February 2015, Drymatic Heat Drying Australia organised two heat drying courses in Melbourne and Brisbane which were taught by Gary Carroll and supported by Alan James, Sales Manager of DBK Technitherm Ltd. The courses were run to help educate the industry on the capabilities of heat drying technology and also to help develop the DBK Drymatic brand in Australia. The courses were received extremely well and many of the businesses in attendance requested follow up sessions at a later stage.
DBK continually look to improve the service it offers and the products they deliver. Following the courses in Melbourne and Brisbane, DBK and D.H.D.A personally called all 95 attendees to seek out feedback on the course and the products demonstrated throughout the event. The calls were not to find out how wonderful everyone thought the presenters were or how great the products appeared to be; they were made to find the weaknesses in the product range and used to build a development roadmap for 2015. Feedback was constructive and many comments were made such as the machine was too large, bulky and heavy for single contractors to use regularly or that the control panel was difficult to use. All of the concerns raised were potential barriers to sale and DBK wanted to develop a product that was designed by Damage Management Technicians for Damage Management Technicians. In July 2015 DBK hosted a Customer Appreciation Event at the Amora Riverside Hotel in Melbourne, Australia. The event was the launch night for DBK’s latest innovation, Drymatic II.
Drymatic II is symbolic of true product evolution and DBK has made every effort to capture all of the concerns and criticisms raised by contractors throughout the life of the original DBK Drymatic system. Drymatic II is now less than half the size and weight of its predecessor whilst having more than double the airflow. The chassis is now a double skinned rotomould construction making it incredibly strong, robust and portable. The control panel has been converted from a simple dial system to an all new touch screen interface that provides the technician with feedback as to how the system is running. DBK have done away with the metal ductwork and difficult to use jubilee clips and developed an all-new quick-lock hose connection system; saving contractors labour time on installation and making the unit touch-safe for installation in occupied buildings.
Drymatic II is a testament to what can be achieved when an industry has a customer base who are keen to improve standards and a supplier who are eager to listen to the markets needs and develop innovative solutions to their problems.