Make Yourself Comfortable

Little known fun-fact: When Nick Daviston gets cut, spray foam comes out. “Well, not quite,” he says with a chuckle, “but insulation does run in my family.

“My grandfather had his own company, and I went to work for him in 2006. When he retired three years later, I decided to start my own company.” Not what you’d call the best time to launch a business primarily serving the residential housing market. “It was tough. But we had a lean organization, I already had a good reputation among contractors, and we grew.” So much that prospective buyers came calling, and in 2021 he sold the company to the largest insulator in North America.

“I worked with them for about 3 and ½ years, and had a role in overseeing the Southeastern region.” Middle management, however, was not Nick’s cup of tea. “Seemed like I spent all my time either at the computer, or on the phone with HR. I missed working for myself, and I really missed being able to make decisions without having to go through six levels of corporate approval.”

And so, in 2024, he started DavCo. “The first year, I took it fairly slow. I wasn’t looking to just start picking-off customers from my old company,” he says, “but pretty soon they started calling me.” That’s when Nick decided he needed a better place for his business.

MicroFlex: The perfect fit.

“My old space was in Alabaster. It was a good enough facility, but the location was terrible. MicroFlex’s Hoover location is perfect for us. We have room to grow, and they charge a fair price. 

“I really like my high ceiling,” he continues. “There’s enough space in here to stack everything we store, and it’s well-heated and cooled — which is important, because insulation chemicals need to be in a climate-controlled environment.”

How did Nick find MicroFlex? “Just driving past. I go up and down this road a lot, and it looked interesting to me. It’s a great-looking space, and you can tell from the way the property is maintained that it’s clean.”

Versatile. In more ways than one.

“We keep all our inventory on the floor, and we still have plenty of room for our new spray-foam rig” — which is on an 18-foot trailer. “My space has an upstairs loft, and that’s where I have my desk, along with a couch and TV. It’s a nice place to relax and visit whenever customers drop-by. And when the weather’s nice, I love keeping the bay door open.”

With Nick’s expanding customer base, MicroFlex offered an additional, very-hard-to-find benefit: “The short-term lease option was huge for us. We’re a growing business, and we did not want to get locked into a long-term lease. But you know, we like it here so much, I could see us eventually taking a second space instead of moving.”

Beyond a family attraction

“Yes,” he says, “I got into this business because of my grandfather. But I stayed with it because I’m a naturally creative person, and every job involves some level of hands-on problem solving. A lot of people think this is an easy way to make money. They learn pretty quickly that it’s not. There’s an art to what we do that goes beyond what’s taught in certification courses. 

“I’ve always preferred serving residential contractors,” he continues, “because I like smaller jobs — where I can focus on relationships, be creative, and interact with my customers.”

With MicroFlex, Nick has found the perfect place to do just that!