Water and energy management are inherent to plumbing. As such, the plumbing industry should be good stewards of our water resources and environment. This founding principle is what launched Blue Planet Plumbing (BPP) in 2003.
Led by master plumber Georg Efird, Blue Planet Plumbing became one of the first grassroots, locally-accredited green plumbing companies in Asheville.
Blue Planet Values
Blue Planet Plumbing brings a holistic and environmental approach to every aspect of the plumbing system.
We do not recommend or use caustic materials, business practices or techniques that harm the environment. We do everything within our power to reduce our footprint. We advocate for products like hybrid water heaters that put less stress on our water and energy resources. Most importantly, we are committed to educating our clients on the most up-to-date environmental and economical options to best fit their households, budget, and needs.
“Every human and creature deserves unlimited access to fresh, clean drinking water.”
Georg J. Efird, Founder
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BPP’s strong values and environmental stewardship are just a few of the many reasons Blue Planet Plumbing is so successful today.
A Leader Emerges
Blue Planet Plumbing is the top-rated 5-Star plumbing service provider in the region. Georg and team will stop at nothing short of delivering quality, precision and accountability to every client. Our entire organization has been handcrafted by our leader, managers and staff to ensure our clients receive “The Ultimate Plumbing Experience.”
Our Strength is Our People
There is no business without the people. And that means clients and staff. Georg and his staff of licensed plumbers and technicians work hard to maintain their reputation for fair, thorough service while honoring their responsibility to clients, the blue planet, and one another.
With a cohesive team centered around shared values and respect, Blue Planet is able to deliver top-quality plumbing services and truly enjoy doing it!
Treat your employees the way you want your employees to treat your customers. My people are my biggest asset. They are invaluable, irreplaceable and part of my family and I treat them so.“
Areas We Serve
Blue Planet Plumbing offers plumbing services in Asheville and surrounding areas within a 20-minute drive of the city. Nearby areas we serve include:
- Alexander
- Arden
- Asheville
- Biltmore Forest
- Biltmore Lake
- Black Mountain
- Candler
- Fairview
- Fletcher
- Hendersonville
- Mills River
- Montreat
- Swannanoa
- Weaverville
- Woodfin
Our Team
Georg J. Efird
Founder & Owner
Georg Efird has devoted over 30 years (that’s 2/3rds of his life!) to the plumbing trade. His interest in the trade developed early, and once he got his feet wet, Georg was hooked. He soaked it up like a sponge – and not just plumbing best practices. Georg also developed a keen interest in business management and customer service. This all-encompassing interest may have been what led to the original name for Blue Planet Plumbing: Eat, Sleep, Plumb. It’s most certainly what fuelled Georg and Blue Planet Plumbing to become the most highly-rated plumbing company in Western North Carolina.
Now with a staff of over 14 employees, Georg is busy spending his time training the next generation of apprentices, plumbing technicians, managers, customer service representatives, dispatchers and overall great humans to enter the workforce properly trained and equipped to handle anything they may encounter.
Georg enjoys his free time with his family and his cats. He loves spending time outdoors whenever he can — gardening, trout fishing and just being out in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
As a leader, it is my responsibility to ensure that my staff members are more when they leave my company than they were when they got here. If I can do that I have achieved what I came here to do.“
Miranda L. Wildman
Owner
Miranda opened and operated Blue Planet Plumbing with Georg in 2003 and performed daily administrative and bookkeeping tasks until 2017. Her background in restaurant management became an early asset as she offered her experience with data entry and payroll processing to early BPP business operations.
Miranda’s early days growing up in rural Vermont gave her a great appreciation for nature that continued to blossom when she moved to the Western North Carolina mountains and met Georg. Miranda says that their shared love of nature paved a natural path to proceed with Georg’s dream of opening an environmentally-friendly plumbing business.
These days Miranda’s role at BPP has evolved to overall support.
The real magic comes from the amazing team that Georg has gathered over the years. I am grateful for the expertise, skill, and character that everyone brings to the company and without them there would be no Blue Planet Plumbing.”
Outside of BPP, Miranda enjoys creating intimate art experiences for small gatherings, offering community care through creativity, and making art magic by way of painting, mixed media mess-making, and cyanotype printing (a historical photographic process).
Katti Stone
General Manager
Joined the Team: 2017
It didn’t take long for Katti Stone to emerge as the heart and soul of Blue Planet Plumbing. Katti embodies every quality on which BPP is founded. She is reliable, independent, hard-working, efficient, and so fun to work with.
It is pure alchemy to watch Katti work. Always smiling, always happy, always on time, always Katti! She really does bring that true genuine family energy to our company, and she is the glue that holds us together at the seams! ” – Georg Efird
Katti joined the team in 2017 initially as a customer service representative, but due to her quick learning and keen business sense, Katti quickly outgrew her position. After working in just about every department at BPP, Katti has emerged as the best General Manager BPP could have.
From spearheading business networking groups to building our price books, to editing internal systems, processes and organizational fields, there’s nothing Katti cannot handle.
Her excellent people skills are one of the many reasons she is the leader of our team.
She manages our technicians, trains and manages our customer service representatives and dispatchers, and stimulates career-building opportunities for other team members. She is always advocating for and building our brand to ensure we continually grow and improve.
Katti does all this and more with an infectious positive attitude that brings smiles and a positive mood to all those around her. Fun Fact: Katti also holds the company attendance record ( 100%!! ).
In her free time, Katti basks in the artsy vibes and the surrounding mountains of the city she has come to love. She also enjoys crafting, anything from sewing to mixed-media art to upcycling found objects. Most importantly, she loves spending time with her amazing husband Misha and their adorable puppies.
Will Dawson
Service Manager/Plumbing Technician
Water Heater, Water Filtration, General Plumbing Specialist, Lead Technician trainer
Joined the Team: 2019
Will embarked on his plumbing career at a young age. His family owned a plumbing business in Texas, and from there, he received on-the-job training in new construction.
Fast-forward 25 years, and Will is a well-rounded plumber who specializes in listening to customers and solving issues that lack an obvious solution. He’s grateful for the opportunity to present homeowners with options that suit their needs. It’s equally important to him that he can alert them to potential plumbing problems before they become costly disasters. It’s this proactive approach that has made him a perfect fit for Blue Planet.
Let’s face it, having a stranger in your home can be nerve-racking, so being respectful and listening builds trust.”
When he’s not troubleshooting issues for our plumbing customers, Will focuses on spending time with his wife and two daughters, shopping, eating out, and having fun with the family.
Pablo Trejo
Plumbing Technician, Tankless / Hybrid Water Heater, Water Filtration Specialist
Joined the Team: 2019
After eight years working as a manager at Ingles Markets, Pablo decided that he wanted to work more with his hands. Though he had experience in construction and woodworking, recent side work as a plumber prompted him to make a career change. Now as a technician at Blue Planet, he’s learned more about the trade and applies his preferred hands-on approach to the job.
A family man with a son, Ronan and daughter, Luna, Pablo appreciates Georg’s business philosophy, which takes into account his workers’ well-being and workload. The joy Pablo brings to every job is evident in the big smile he wears whenever he greets customers, as well as his determination to solve their plumbing issues.
After the job is done, just seeing the look on the customer’s face is what I look forward to on a daily basis.”
Arion Blute
Plumbing Technician, Certified Backflow Specialist
Joined the Team: 2020
Arion joined the Blue Planet Plumbing team in the spring of 2020. Prior to coming on board, Arion managed a franchise restaurant and worked with an apartment management company in Portland, Oregon. While at the apartment complex, Arion was able to cultivate a range of maintenance skills including plumbing, which ended up becoming his favorite part of the job.
We would often encounter pipes leaking into the walls. I knew I wanted to become a plumber when, during these situations, I was able to bring a speedy and level-headed approach to diagnosing the issues, finding the culprit, and being able to eliminate people’s worries about what might be happening to their home.”
At Blue Planet Plumbing, he appreciates the small, tight-knit team and applauds the excellent communication, which is essential to a well-functioning team. Additionally, Arion thrives on the spontaneity of plumbing work saying, “When we come into work in the morning, we don’t always know what we’ll be getting into.” The resulting challenges — and finding the solutions — are satisfying and rewarding.
Arion grew up in the central coast of California but has lived in many locations, from the icy prairies of Saskatchewan to big cities like Toronto. He moved to Asheville early in 2020 looking for a slower life amidst a beautiful landscape. He currently lives in Hendersonville. In his free time, Arion enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, and exploring the outdoors.
DEREK GAZAWAY
Plumbing Technician, Drain Cleaning Specialist
Joined the Team: 2020
Derek joined Blue Planet Plumbing in 2020 after working as a full-time plumber since 2017. He is well-versed in all phases of home construction which provides invaluable perspective to plumbing projects and our team.
Derek was drawn to plumbing because he likes solving problems, and plumbing provides plenty of that! But also out of a desire to help people.
Derek applauds Blue Planet for stressing quality and service to our customers and mutual support and respect between team members.
I try to treat everyone how I’d want to be treated. Or rather like how I’d want tradespeople to treat my parents or my wife if they were in my house.”
Off the job, Derek is a true family man. He is a husband to a wonderful wife and a father to five boys. He also enjoys the outdoors and serving at his church with his family.
Cameron Ayers
Plumbing Technician
Joined the Team: 2022
Cameron has more than a decade of experience in plumbing sales and distribution having worked at three plumbing companies over the years including Blue Planet Plumbing. He is driven, perceptive, focused and inquisitive, and absolutely committed to reaching the highest standard of plumbing.
I have very early memories as a child of saying I wanted to be a plumber. I wasn’t really sure exactly what that meant at that age, as my only real semblance of a plumber was the Mario Brothers.”
Cameron’s early interest in plumbing rooted. According to his mother, he was always incredibly interested and fascinated whenever they had a plumber working over at the house.
Prior to direct plumbing work, Cameron learned the ins and outs of plumbing parts, systems, and applications after taking it upon himself to study the trade while working in the plumbing department at Lowe’s. His keen interest and self-direction propelled him to department Supervisor and, eventually, his role at Blue Planet.
Cameron’s values are consistent with Blue Planet Plumbing’s. He learned from a very young age to treat everyone with dignity and respect regardless of their background, appearance, or lifestyle.
Plumbing can be an income, an art and a hobby. These three pillars serve to provide ultimate fulfillment.”
When he’s not plumbing, Cameron enjoys his time hiking with his wife Alya and exploring the beautiful mountains of western NC. He also enjoys US history and is chock-full of US president trivia. Quiz him yourself.
Sam Monroe
Plumbing Technician, Re-Pipe Specialist
Joined the Team: 2022
Sam shifted to plumbing after a career in landscaping noting that, unlike landscaping, plumbing is a four-season job. He particularly enjoys repiping houses. It’s a satisfying puzzle where you take everything apart and put it back together better. He also enjoys walking customers through challenges.
Blue Planet has definitely been the best company I’ve worked for. Georg is a great guy. He is always respectful and cares about his employees. The management side of the business is the best part. My service manager, Will always pick up the phone to answer a question.”
Sam is originally from Atlanta Georgia but moved to Asheville from St Augustine, Florida in January 2022 for the outdoor adventure. In his spare time, he enjoys skateboarding or hiking and kayaking with his girlfriend and rambunctious border collie.
Mac Schilder
Plumbing Technician Assistant
Joined the Team: 2022
Mac Schilder is an up-and-coming plumbing expert and former business manager who knows a thing or two about hustle. After graduating of the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a degree in business management, Mac worked his way up to store manager at a regional car wash.
After continued staffing issues and many long hours, including an 82-hour work week, Mac decided he needed something different – something that would allow him to have a much healthier work-life balance. Enter Georg, Blue Planet Plumbing founder. Georg was at the car wash one day and noticed Mac’s hard work and encouraged him to reach out. Shortly after that, Mac joined Blue Planet Plumbing team and hasn’t looked back since.
Mac’s experience with business management, customer service and hustle make him an integral member of the Blue Planet team.
I like working for Georg and Blue Planet Plumbing because I feel respected as a person, get to learn new things every day, and expand my knowledge of plumbing. I also get to work with really good down-to-earth people.”
A good team means good, consistent, quality service. Mac is committed to learning the craft and providing the best customer service and quality workmanship every time. In his free time, Mac likes to practice guitar and banjo.
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