1. Trustworthy, affordable, friendly, courteous, prompt,
knowledgeable, professional, family-oriented.
When you visit the Guaranteed Carpet Services
website, you’ll notice these very words near the
bottom of the homepage in bulleted italics.Those
characteristics are the mark of a good business.
GCS has been providing Lancaster County with
carpet cleaning and installation services since its
inception in 1979. Greg Falk, a deeply-rooted
Lancastrian, has presided over the family-owned
business for the past 25 years.
“I really pride myself on personal customer
service,” says Falk, a man who employs the
traveling salesman motif: house calls equipped
with estimates, measurements, recommendations,
and samples boasting his company’s fibrous wares.
The best part about these unique shop-at-home
experiences is that they come at no charge to the
customer.This is made possible by the company’s
low overhead.
“We can beat the big box stores on price,” says
Falk, in reference to his competitive prices.
Even the corporate juggernauts don’t sway Falk in
the slightest. Not only does he have them beat on
prices, he’s outdone them on the customer service
front as well.
It’s that mindset of treating your clientele like
family instead of pulsating dollar signs—a virtue
nearly exclusive to small business—that keeps the
wellspring of commerce flowing for Falk and the
rest of the folks at GCS.
And, in an industrious place like Lancaster,
where entrepreneurship is the fulcrum, Falk’s
efforts to expand his company’s skill set haven’t
gone unnoticed.
During its humble beginnings, GCS was strictly a
one-van carpet cleaning service operating out of
a home office.As time passed, its staff expanded,
a showroom was introduced, and that lone van
pluralized to a small fleet.
In his first 15 years as owner, Falk had reservations
about involving himself in sales.Time and again,
customers would ask if he sold carpeting. He was
nevertheless dutiful, offering advice to those that
sought it, but he continually declined the notion
of becoming a salesman. However, that resistance
changed upon hearing a customer’s story about
an installation gone awry.When Falk learned that
a rival company had
botched the work,
he needed no further
motivation to expand
GCS’s range of services.
And so, in 2004,
the company began
carrying (and installing)
elite carpet brands:
Armstrong, Shaw,
Mannington, and
several others.
GCS’s bread and
butter remains within
carpeting, but it also
extends to other types
of flooring such as vinyl.
It also offers carpet
and flooring repair,
upholstery cleaning,
and an emergency flood
response service.
In May, Falk moved the
business from its long-
time 900 Millersville
Road location in
Manor Township to 307
South Lime Street in
downtown Lancaster, joining a network of beloved
local entrepreneurs.
Guaranteed Carpet Services is open Monday
through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and
by appointment. Further information can be found
on their website, www.guaranteeservices.net. s
GUARANTEED
CARPET
SERVICES:
PROFESSIONAL COURTESY
FLLMAG.COM
36
By Erik Carrasquillo
Portrait photo by Bianca Cordova

2. Powered by Herr &
Sacco, the newly minted
Nitro Cutting Services
(Herr & Sacco’s sister company)
specializes in laser cutting solutions for
architects, designers, engineers, general
contractors, fabrication facilities, and
manufacturing companies throughout the
northeastern United States.
With an emphasis in quick turnaround
times and attention to detail, the newly
minted division is capable of utilizing
a variety of materials—aluminum,
brass, and copper, as well as mild steel
and stainless steel—coupled with the
enhanced precision, cutting speed, and
edge quality of its equipment to fulfill
client-specific requests.
Nitro Cutting Services has helped
actualize Herr & Sacco’s venture into
more creative projects.
From custom signs and garden ornaments
to interior/exterior building add-ons
and other forms of structural artistry,
Nitro Cutting Services is able to put
its more artistic sensibilities on display
by creating personal, one-of-a-kind
pieces that normally cannot be mass-
produced, as well as small and large
volume part runs for fabrication and
manufacturing companies.
Nitro Cutting Services is an extension
to Herr & Sacco’s arsenal. It is a bridge
merging longstanding excellence with
forward thinking. Many of the core
values that have allowed Herr & Sacco
to maintain such a dominant industrial
foothold are quite apparent in its
new division.
It should be noted that the elder Herr
& Sacco, Inc., originally founded in
1949, got its start as a small welding
company. For over 60 years, it evolved
into a renowned mechanical contractor
with an emphasis in custom metal
fabrication.The company has specialized
in everything from the fabrication and
installation of work platforms, flooring,
ductwork, piping, and ventilation to
conveyor belts and bulk material storage
systems. Metal fabrication aside, the
company has also provided abrasive
blasting and industrial painting services.
Due to these specialties, Herr & Sacco’s
client base has varied substantially.
Energy, food processing, printing,
pharmaceuticals, and petrochemicals
are just a handful of manufacturing
industries the company has extensively
worked with.
In 2006, with the sudden passing of
then-president Jim Miller, his successor,
Chris Miller, began focusing on the
company’s future.
“In business, one does not always know
what lies ahead, much like a covered
bridge where visibility is hindered by
the surrounding
structure.
However, we
continue to
cross,” says
Miller.“It may
be due to our
curiosity or just
that we need to
get somewhere,
but in the end,
the same can
be said about
new business
ventures. If we
don’t forge
ahead, we run the risk of being
left behind.”
In addition to cross-training his dedicated
staff, Miller sought to invest heavily into
Herr & Sacco’s infrastructure, upgrading
equipment and even transitioning into
a state-of-the-art facility in 2009. Its
current place of business, 1831 Auction
Road in Manheim, has proven to be
a worthwhile investment as it puts an
emphasis on embracing new technology
for the sake of improved efficiency,
flexibility, and safety.This facility has also
given the company a more significant
amount of space, hence its conduciveness
for taking on larger projects.These are
just some of the ways the company has
strived to provide its clients with cutting
edge quality products from inception.
“I am honored to say that I have
never worked around a finer group
of individuals than I have at Herr &
Sacco,” says Miller.“It’s because of these
individuals that Herr & Sacco continues
to be a leader in its field soon to be
followed by its sister company, Nitro
Cutting Services.” s
By Erik Carasquillo
Photos by Bianca Cordova
FLLMAG.COM
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