The 2025 Junkluggers Franchise of the Year award was presented at the brand’s annual conference to Frank Hill, owner of The Junkluggers Nassau County location, and Kevin McGill, who serves as CEO of the Long Island, Queens, and Nassau County locations. The recognition highlights strong operational performance, disciplined financial execution, and leadership that has helped set the standard across the system. 

The award reflects more than just a strong year for the franchise. It represents more than a decade of work building a business alongside the brand as it evolved from its early days into a national franchise system.

“It’s a satisfying recognition within the system and recognition of what our team has done not only in 2025 but since 2013,” McGill said. “It's definitely a proud moment for where we've come to over the past 10-plus years in building our business.”

McGill started with The Junkluggers before franchising launched, working part-time on trucks while in college in 2012, the same year Hill joined the business. When The Junkluggers began franchising in 2013, Hill became the first franchise owner. McGill continued to grow with the company and now serves as COO of Hill’s locations, overseeing day-to-day operations across the territories. Hill remains the franchise owner, and the two work closely together, with McGill leading operations and Hill focused on ownership and business performance.

A Breakout Year in 2025

The award comes after a milestone year in 2025, in which it completed some of its largest projects to date and expanded both its workforce and internal systems. The team also invested in building out processes that support long-term scalability and consistency across the business.

“We completed some record-setting projects in terms of size and scope,” McGill said. New team members were added. And then we had some internal components of new systems, new processes.”

That progress also extended into the community, where the team made a more intentional effort to increase its presence. The business became more involved at what they viewed as the right level, joining local chambers of commerce, hosting events at headquarters and participating in activities across Queens and Long Island. That visibility helped strengthen local relationships while reinforcing the brand’s role beyond day-to-day service work.

A People-First Operation

When asked what has driven the operation’s success, McGill pointed to one factor that sits at the center of everything. “Our people and what they've been able to do,” he said. “Everything from servicing our customers to creating new customers.”

That focus goes beyond customer interactions. The business prioritizes building from within, developing team members through training and internal promotions, while also creating a strong referral network through customer satisfaction. 

Leadership across the organization has played a key role in maintaining that culture, including Director of Operations Michael Mauldin and Director of Sales Robert Le Sueur, along with a team of roughly 40 employees who support daily operations.

Leveraging the Franchise System

Support from The Junkluggers corporate team has helped the business maintain its high level of execution. McGill pointed to access to training materials, an appointment center, updated best practices and ongoing coaching as key resources that help guide operations. 

“They've provided the assets and resources for us to conduct our business,” McGill said. “Access to the network of owners and operators provides a lot of that peer guidance, accountability, synergies and sharing.”

For franchisees looking to reach a similar level of performance, McGill noted that although challenges are inevitable, it’s how operators respond to them that often determines long-term success.

“Keep on going. Don't give up,” he said. “[Setbacks] are feedback for future success and learning from those failures. Leverage yourself and your people and your team as well as leverage the franchise system as a whole.”

A Model for the System

The Long Island, Queens and Nassau County operation stands out not only for its results, but for the way those results have been built over time. A focus on people, disciplined execution and consistent improvement has positioned the team as a model within The Junkluggers system and a clear example of what long-term franchise success can look like.

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/the-junkluggers.