If you've lived in Stillwater long enough to have a pipe burst, there's a good chance a white Okie truck has been in your driveway. From a dripping faucet on a Tuesday night to the rough-in on a new building at OSU, Okie Plumbing & Utilities has quietly become the crew this town calls. We sat down with owner Stephen Andrew to find out how it happened.
How did Okie Plumbing get started?
Honestly, it started with me and a truck. I was doing the work myself, answering my own phone, and saying yes to pretty much everything. What changed was people started calling back — and then calling their neighbors. Word of mouth is still how most of our work comes in. Every guy we added, every truck we added, was because Stillwater kept giving us more work than we could handle.
Where does the name come from?
We're Okies. That's it. I wanted a name that said we're from here, we live here, and we're not going anywhere. When your water heater dies, you're not calling a franchise out of Dallas — you're calling your neighbor.
Why Stillwater?
This is home. It's a college town, so it's a little bit of everything — hundred-year-old houses by campus, brand-new builds on the edge of town, apartment complexes, restaurants, the hospital. That keeps the work interesting. And it's a town where your reputation follows you into the grocery store. I like that. It keeps everybody honest.
"Don't always trust that first shocking estimate. Bring it to us and we'll tell you straight."
What do you do differently than other plumbers in town?
A lot of the plumbing industry has changed around here — ownership changes, guys working on commission. When a plumber is paid on commission, you have to ask yourself whether you're getting the repair you need or the repair that pays best. That's not how we do it.
Our licensed plumbers come out, price the job fairly, do it right, and clean up their mess when they're done. We don't charge for estimates, and we don't charge for second opinions. If somebody quoted you a number that doesn't sit right, bring it to us. Sometimes we tell people the other guy was right. That's fine too.
What does Stillwater plumbing throw at you that people don't expect?
Hard water. It chews through water heaters and leaves scale in everything. The older neighborhoods around campus still have cast iron and clay lines, and roots find them every spring. And on newer slab homes, a leak can hide under the floor for months before anybody notices.
That's why we bring a camera. I don't want you taking my word for what's down there — I want you to see it.
What job are you proudest of?
I'm proud we get trusted on the big stuff — Oklahoma State, Stillwater Medical Center, builders like Archer and Cosmopolitan Construction. But the one I think about most is the homeowner who calls panicking with water on the floor, and one of our guys shows up, fixes it, and leaves the place cleaner than he found it. That's the job. The big contracts come from doing the small ones right.
Who on your crew should people know by name?
All of them. Read our reviews and you'll see names over and over — Corbin, Austin, Dylan, Dean. People don't write "the plumbing company was great." They write "Austin was great." That tells me we hired right. I didn't build this company. These guys did.
"People don't write 'the plumbing company was great.' They write 'Austin was great.'"
What's the hardest part of running a trade business here?
Growing without losing what got you here. When you're one guy, it's easy to make sure every customer gets treated right. When you're thirty people and a fleet of trucks, you have to build that into how everybody works. Same-day and emergency service, answering the phone, showing up when it matters — that has to be true on every truck, not just mine.
What do you want Stillwater to know about you?
That we're here. We're local, we're family-run, and when you call, it's the same crew your neighbor called. Plumbing emergencies don't keep business hours, and neither do we.

Okie Plumbing & Utilities
304 E Thomas Ave, Stillwater, OK 74075 · (405) 338-9194 · okieplumbing.com
Residential & commercial plumbing · water heaters & tankless · slab leaks · sewer & drain · new construction & utility work
Think Okie is the best in Stillwater?
Best in Stillwater nominations are open through October 7. One nomination puts Okie Plumbing & Utilities on the ballot under Plumber.
Nominate Okie Plumbing Voting runs Oct 14–28. We'll post the ballot link here when it opens.