Brothers Kevin & Craig Zabel began servicing x-ray equipment for the same company in 1994. They mainly serviced film processors, silver recovery equipment and daylight film handling systems. They were confident with their work and the service they offered their customers, but they always felt they could provide better customer service than the company they were working for. After six years with the same company and much debate, they decided to take a leap of faith and open their own business. On January 1, 2000 (Y2K, the day the world was predicted to end) they founded Z&Z Medical in Cedar Falls, Iowa. They had no way of knowing if any of the customers from their previous employer would follow them and convert to doing business with Z&Z, but they had to try.
The Zabel’s rented an old two stall carwash in town to serve as a warehouse for chemicals, equipment, and scrap x-ray film. The space was very minimal, but it was just enough to get started. They sold film processors, developing chemicals, x-ray film, silver recovery systems and radiology accessories. Service was Z&Z’s bread and butter so much emphasis was placed on the repair of film processors, chemical mixers, silver recovery systems and daylight film handling equipment. In an effort to save money on postage stamps and envelopes, all service invoices were handwritten on the spot for each customer and left with them for later payment.
The warehouse they rented wasn’t big enough to have space for offices, so both Kevin and Craig operated remote offices from their homes. To stay ahead of the office paperwork and free up time for both brothers to stay on the road servicing equipment, Craig’s wife Connie offered to take care of Accounts receivable and payable. This also was done by sharing office space with Craig from the basement of their home.
After opening for business, they began notifying people of their new venture and the services they offered. It was a great feeling after two weeks of being in business to finally receive their first check from a customer. Things started slow, but before long customers started to use Z&Z’s services. After a few months they decided to add Kevin’s son-in-law, Brian as a third service technician and digital expert. Business continued to grow at a slow but steady pace and before long they added a full-time salesman and moved into a larger building. Service was expanded to include x-ray and digital imaging and sales were expanded with the addition of an on-line e-commerce web store.
Business continued to grow at a steady pace, and as they say, “The rest is history.”
~Craig Zabel, Senior Partner