The National Association of Wastewater Transporters Shoot-Out competition was held at the 2012 Pumper and Cleaner Expo, Feb. 27-March 1, in Indianapolis. Expo attendees competed in four timed events and won prizes from exhibitors and show sponsor COLE Publishing.
NAWT members paid $5 and nonmembers paid $10 per event, with proceeds going to future association education efforts at the Expo. Prizes provided by the sponsors were valued at $8,000.
If you missed out on the event, these were the four sponsored events and the winners of the 2012 Shoot-Out.
Vacuum Truck Hose Set-Up
Sponsors: Progress Tank, Kuriyama of America, and Fergus Power Products
The timed event consisted of connecting two (30-foot, 4-inch diameter) Tiger Green hoses onto the Progress Tank and racing the end of the second hose into a riser.
Award: Two Tiger Green hoses went to the winner, Chris Hartman, with a time of 21 seconds. Kuriyama of America donated an additional two Tiger Green hoses and a 10-foot Tiger Green drop hose, which were sold with proceeds going to NAWT.
Vacuum Pump Vane Replacement
Sponsor: Fruitland Tool & Mfg.
The timed event consisted of changing out pump vanes.
Award: The Fruitland RCF 500 Pump, valued at $5,200, went to the winner, Larry Ward II, of Hillbilly Pumping & Hauling, Joplin, Mo., with a time of 2 minutes, 21 seconds.
Portable Restroom Race
Sponsors: PolyPortables Inc. and Allied Forward Motion
The timed event involved pushing a portable restroom through a course and using the Mini Metro Mover to pull the PolyPortables Inc. unit back to a designated mark.
Award: The PolyPortables Inc. restroom and Mini Metro Mover went to the winner, Dave Kibbe, owner of Complete Septic Service of Belcherton, Mass., with a time of 19 seconds.
Tank Alarm Installation
Sponsors: SJE-Rhombus and COLE Publishing
The timed event was to install an SJE-Rhombus septic tank alarm.
Award: A donation by COLE Publishing of $100 and four 2013 Pumper & Cleaner Expo passes went to the winner, John Hignett of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Cordova, Md., with a time of 1 minute, 30 seconds.
NAWT president Tim Frank thanked the sponsors, volunteers and contestants for the Shoot-Out’s success. He further thanked COLE Publishing for hosting the competition.
Frank said attendees were enthusiastic about the competition, which prompted contractors to share their best techniques for working in the field. The information sharing will prove to raise professionalism among technicians, helping the entire industry.
“The industry has changed a lot. Pumpers want to know the proper way to perform service tasks – what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s a change in attitude,’’ Frank said of the discussions. “We talked about treating your equipment right. All the time we were teaching as we were running the competition.’’
Frank said the 2012 Expo drew the largest number of new NAWT memberships ever, and he said that had to do with the visibility of the Shoot-Out competition, as well as many other NAWT activities at the Expo.
In addition to the Shoot-Out, NAWT hosted pre-Expo training and certificate opportunities before the show through the two-day, 12-hour, Inspector and Operation and Maintenance courses. NAWT also hosted a Vacuum Truck Technician course for new owners and employees who operate vacuum trucks. On Education Day, Feb. 27, NAWT presented an education track with six hour-long seminars. The association also held board meetings during the Expo.
