Community Highlights: Meet Mark McNally of FiltersDirectUSA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark McNally.

Hi Mark, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My Story:

My story takes me back to February of 2007 in a town called Belfast, in the North-Eastern part of Ireland. My wife Charlene and I, with our 3yr old daughter Kristin, decided to leave our established office jobs and family house, heading for new opportunities in America. With a suitcase each, we headed to catch a plane. I remember the emotional goodbyes to my family at the airport, holding back the tears, not knowing when I would see them again. My Dad had penned a letter but told me not to open it until we hit American Soil. “Yeah, Right” I couldn’t wait; as soon as we made it through customs, I had to open it. I probably thought there was money inside and welcomed that, considering we had no jobs lined up yet, just some savings to last a few months. Anyway, we landed in Boyton Beach, Florida. “I know, why there of all places you say.” With no job prospects, we also didn’t have a place to stay yet, so we promised a short stay with my wife’s grandparents.

After a few days and a welcomed family referral, I had a job interview with a Filter Service Company servicing South Florida. While sitting in a small family diner, my job interview was with a great man called Joe Bricketto. I remember one of his interview questions was, “you’re a short Irish guy Mark. Can you carry a ladder? Can you climb a ladder? I wanted the job; I needed the job, so of course, I said yes to both. I wasn’t afraid of hard work or heights, but I wish I had a video of the first time I pulled that truck ladder to climb onto my first building. Picture a Leprechaun with a 24′ ladder strapped to his back. Haha.

Fast forward 6 months, and just getting used to my Irish skin coping with Florida Weather, my wife Charlene visited North Carolina to meet some of her American Family who had moved down from Queens, New York. She quickly fell in love with the place before we knew it. We were packing our little suitcases again and heading North. Sadly leaving my boss Joe, he had arranged an interview for me with a company called FSI in Raleigh, NC, and spoke of my hard work ethic and eagerness to learn. I remember the interview well. It was at Jersey Mike’s Subs just outside downtown Raleigh. “What was it with these American interviews? I remember thinking, doesn’t anybody have an office”? My Irish Charm was enough to convince the owner that I was worth the gamble of a position that didn’t exist. “What a relief.” After paying the rent a few months in advance, I awaited my first paycheck with a bank account showing a balance of less than $500.

The following day I was on the job, climbing another ladder, when a machine part I was carrying in my pocket fell out mid-climb and clobbered my supervisor on the head as he waited below. “Nice introduction as the new hire, right?” He was a great sport, and we went about our day. That same day I got a call from a recruiting agency I had contacted weeks before who was now offering me an office position at a local business. “Man!! “I just cracked this guy on the head like an idiot; maybe I need to go back to desk duty, I thought to myself?” “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to decline,” I said and returned to work. While looking back now, that roof-top moment was a major crossroads in my life and career.

Settled and living happily in Holly Springs, NC, my wife and I extended our family, and along came our son Conor followed years later by our 2nd daughter Alex. Over 10 plus years, I kept my focus and worked hard with integrity and passion, moving through departments within FSI while holding down a second job Dj’ing on the weekends for Bunndjcompany. My leadership skills and personality gained the trust of my colleagues. Before I knew it, I managed one of the best HVAC/Refrigeration Service Companies in Eastern North Carolina. I firmly believe in pulling the rope and not trying to push it. Where I go, my trusting employees would follow. The hustle was real and still is to this day. “I work hard,” “I play hard,” it’s in my DNA, my Irish blood. Most of all, “I love hard.” The family remains the most important thing in my life and should be yours. Thanks to my dedicated and beautiful wife, Charlene, and my kids for believing in us, I am now the proud co-owner of FSI Mechanical.

Most recently, we launched our second company, FiltersDirectUSA, where we ship antimicrobial air filters on a subscription to homes across North Carolina and later this year across the US. This company was born out of the covid years. We realized many people were now working from home and more concerned about indoor air quality than ever before. We already had the filter media but needed to invent our reusable filter frame to house the material. We spent over a year trying to invent and manufacture this product, and our goal was to have it done in the US and not overseas. During our meetings with local plastics engineers, they couldn’t grasp our idea into a finished product. I remember our last visit to a local manufacturing plant; on the way, I asked my business partner Tim Hobbs to stop at a Pizza Joint. I ran in and paid $1 for an empty pizza box. We brought that pizza box into this final meeting with the engineers and placed it flat on the table. “We want you to make that in plastic,” we told them, and that’s where our plastic reusable filter frame was born.

We are delighted to say we not only produce our products in the US, but now we make them in-house at our facility in Garner, NC. We are a home-grown company, owned and operated by an Irish Immigrant (myself) and a local boy Tim Hobbs (my business partner). “The dream exists if you’re willing to work for it, and with a little help from above, when you’re at your crossroads, you’ll reach the destination you were destined for.”

Please like and follow us on Instagram/Facebook @fsimechanical and @filtersdirectusa.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Navigating the waters of first perfecting our invention idea into a product and then putting that into a sellable product and shipping all across the US has been challenging but very rewarding as we keep moving through our wins. Specifically for FiltersDirectUSA, we had no experience in a direct-to-consumer product as our other business, FSI Mechanical, was a local Service Business. We had a major struggle, particularly with the type of plastic material. I remember one of the inventory purchases we had been waiting on for a while to fulfill customer orders came in the wrong material, and the frames kept breaking as we formed the final box shape. I think we blew through about 10 before we stopped and regrouped. This led us to buy more equipment to help heat the material before bending, which was genius and probably what we should have been doing all along. It shows us that there is light at the end of every dark tunnel if you’re willing to keep moving forward.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about FiltersDirectUSA?
We have essentially re-invented the Air Filter with our new invention. Our plastic reusable filter frame invention, which we give Free to our customers with their first order, means less waste every time they replace their home air filters as there is no cardboard or wire in our replacements. Our antimicrobial filters are all just $12 per/filter and shipped for free across America. With a subscription to FiltersDirectUSA, homeowners will never forget to replace their home air filters again as we ship them just what they need for a full monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly charge on our subscription model. We are proud to say that all our filter products are made in the USA.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Last year, I decided to step out of my office and help tell the story of our new company FiltersDirectUSA through local networking events and shows. During those meetings, I have made a lot of great connections with local small businesses, which has led to sharing ideas and good practices that have been vital for all of us. This month we just launched our ‘Shop Local’ advertising flyer for local small businesses to advertise their brand/services for just $35 per/month. Our flyer goes in every FiltersDirectUSA packaged and mailed out daily across the state. This was our way of giving back and helping local small businesses with low marketing budgets get their brand and company in front of homeowners at a rate they could afford.

Pricing:

• $12 antimicrobial air filters – any size
• FREE SHIPPING – Always
• Free reusable plastic frame with first order

Contact Info:

• Website: www.filtersdirectusa.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filtersdirectusa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiltersDirectUSA

Image Credits
Mark McNally / Tim Hobbs