The GapVax Story

In 1977, disaster struck the small city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A massive flood disabled the once thriving steel town in Western PA. With the local economy at a standstill and the city in need of significant cleanup, one soon-to-be-entrepreneur seized the opportunity he’d been waiting for; a chance to change his life and the lives of his wife and five children. In the days following, Gary Poborsky purchased a used 1,000 gallon septic pumper and began helping his neighbors and community get back on their feet.

It was out of this unfortunate event that GAP Pollution & Environmental Control Inc. was born. Gary Poborsky started networking with the contractors coming in from out of the area to do flood cleanup. What he witnessed were the massive trucks they brought in to flush and vacuum sanitary sewers and storm lines. This gave Gary the “big picture” and he quickly realized that his 1,000-gallon pumper was only a small part of the tools needed to be a successful cleaning contractor.

As GAP continued to grow, Gary began modifying his equipment, so it would withstand the harshness of the industrial cleaning industry. Each modification grew in size and scope to a point that Gary decided to design his own truck, leading to yet, another opportunity.

In 1989, Gary took his “American Dream” to the next level and decided to manufacture a prototype of his design. The results far exceeded his expectations. After a few years of testing it in his own fleet, and per the advice of his wife, Rose, Gary established GapVax Inc to design and build vacuum equipment.

Today, both companies are still growing and are recognized as industry leaders across the United States. Together, employing over 300 people.

GapVax currently spans 15 acres to include 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space, at the former U.S. Steel site in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. We pride ourselves on keeping manufacturing jobs in PA and employ 120 people and counting!

Our second location, GapVax Gulf Coast, opened in 2014 and sits on 5 acres with a 7,800 square foot facility for sales, service, and parts. Mitchel Halbardier is the Operations Manager for our Deer Park, Texas office.

Across the United States and Canada, GapVax has five Regional Sales Managers and 15 Dealers (and counting) to meet the needs of our customers.

We believe customer service is a necessity for maintaining successful relationships with our customers. Our dedicated team of service technicians is only a phone call away and will come to you when needed. Our service team is on-call 365 days a year, 24 hours a day!

GapVax has a full selection of parts and accessories, not just for your GapVax unit but other brands as well. Our Gulf Coast office also has parts on hand. Scott Bair, our Parts Manager has been a part of the GapVax family for 30 years! His knowledge is second to none.

GapVax units are custom built by the operator, for the operator.

Join us for our Open House event on September 26, 2019 at our Johnstown, PA location. Education, live demos, network with vendors, plant tours, free lunch and prizes . . . and it’s FREE!