Lauderdale County, AL had 31 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractor employers in 2023, with 420 employees, a crew size well above the county's construction average. These firms buy equipment and parts ahead of payment and run service vans. This page covers the counts, plumber and HVAC financing, equipment and commercial work, and the records partners read.
At a glance
- Employer establishments
31 employer locations countywide (CBP 2023)
- Fewer than five employees
32.3% of the county's 31 (CBP 2023)
- Annual payroll
$24.1 million across 420 employees (CBP 2023)
- Without paid employees
70 counted with no payroll (NES 2024)
Lauderdale County, AL Plumbing and HVAC Contractors in County Business Patterns
Among plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors (NAICS 238220), Lauderdale County, AL had 31 employer establishments in 2023 with 420 paid employees and $24.1 million in annual payroll; 10 of them, or 32.3%, had fewer than five employees, and 13 used a ZIP 35630 address (County Business Patterns and ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). That is about 13.5 employees per establishment and about $57,360 of payroll per employee (our arithmetic).
Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program that uses NAICS 2022 codes, counted 70 businesses without paid employees in plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors (NAICS 2022 23822) in the county in 2024, with $5.5 million in combined receipts, or about $79,171 each (our arithmetic). The two programs count different businesses and are not added together here.
Those 13.5 employees per firm compare with about 11.5 across all construction employers in the county (our arithmetic; CBP 2023).
Plumber Financing: How It Works in Florence, AL
A plumbing or HVAC firm runs two kinds of work. Service calls are paid at the job or within days; installation and new-construction work is billed in stages and can be held up by a builder's schedule or retainage. Equipment, from replacement units bought for a job to the vans that carry crews, is paid for before the customer pays. That combination shapes the funding request.
Financing for HVAC: What Partners Review in Florence, AL
| The cost | Funding type to compare | What a partner reads |
|---|---|---|
| Service vans and trucks | Equipment financing | The quote and job volume |
| Units and parts bought for jobs | Line of credit or inventory financing | Job list and supplier terms |
| Payroll during builder work | Working capital or a line | Receivables and contracts |
| Buying another firm | Term loan | The seller's records |
HVAC Equipment Loan: What Partners Review in Florence, AL
Equipment financing ties the money to vans, recovery machines, pipe tools and other gear. Illustration only, invented figures: a $62,000 upfitted service van financed at 10% a year over 60 months costs about $1,317 a month, about $79,039 in total. If each service call brings in $180 of gross margin, about 7 calls a month cover the payment (our arithmetic on invented figures).
HVAC Loan Company: What Lauderdale County, AL Owners Compare
Searches for an "HVAC loan company" mix two things: financing for the contractor's own business, which this page covers, and consumer financing contractors offer homeowners for new systems, which is a different arrangement between the homeowner and a consumer lender. Coastspring arranges the first kind only.
Commercial HVAC Loan Across Lauderdale County, AL
Commercial jobs run larger and pay on a builder's or owner's schedule, sometimes with retainage held until the job is accepted. A line of credit carries materials and wages between draws, and is paid down as each one lands. The contractor loans page for Lauderdale County, AL covers draw and retainage gaps across the building trades.
HVAC Financing Options: When It Fits in Florence, AL
- Job list with contract amounts, amounts billed and amounts received
- Receivables aging
- Supplier statements and terms
- Equipment quotes or titles for existing vans
- The firm's bank statements and its returns
- Any license or bond certificate a partner asks to see
Construction Employers by Shoals ZIP, 2023
| ZIP (USPS name) | Construction employers | Share with fewer than 5 employees |
|---|---|---|
| 35630 (Florence, AL) | 59 | 28.8% |
| 35661 (Muscle Shoals, AL) | 45 | 37.8% |
| 35674 (Tuscumbia, AL) | 42 | 47.6% |
| 35653 (Russellville, AL) | 23 | 73.9% |
| 35645 (Killen, AL) | 23 | 65.2% |
ZIP 35630 held 13 of the county's 31 plumbing and HVAC employers, or 41.9% (our arithmetic; ZBP and CBP 2023).
A Builder Job Gap Worked Through for a Shoals Mechanical Contractor
Illustration only, invented figures: an HVAC firm wins a $180,000 commercial job billed in three draws of $60,000, with 10% retainage held from each. Units and ductwork cost $70,000 up front, and labor runs $15,000 a month over four months. Each draw nets $54,000 after retainage, and the $18,000 retainage arrives after acceptance. A line drawn for the units and the first month's labor, $85,000, and paid down as each draw lands carries the gap without tying up the firm's service-side cash (our arithmetic on invented figures).
Set the draw schedule beside the supplier's payment terms before calling; the gap between the two is the size of the request.
Service Agreements and What They Show a Partner
Maintenance agreements bring in money on a schedule, and a list of them shows a partner income that does not depend on winning the next job. If the firm has them, bring the count, the annual value and how many renewed last year. If it does not, the service call history by month does the same job less directly.
Questions to Settle Before a Mechanical Contractor Request
- What share of revenue comes from service calls, and what share from installation or builder work?
- Which builders or owners pay late, and by how many days?
- How many vans run today, and how old are they?
- Is any equipment already pledged to a lender?
By Coastspring Funding Group · Updated