Who knew the germ of an idea shared between a pumping contractor and a truck manufacturer in 1979 would grow into an enduring trade publication and the flagship title for a growing northwoods Wisconsin company, COLE Publishing?
During a chance conversation between Pete Lawonn, who had a spare vacuum truck to sell, and the late John DiVall, who owned Jay’s Waste Equipment, DiVall remarked that the septic service industry needed a trade magazine. Lawonn, 27, discussed the idea with his partner in two businesses at the time, Bob Kendall, 24, and the pair soon launched COLE Publishing and the Midwest Pumper.
It’s hard to say who benefited more from the technology booms of the ensuing 35 years, the world of trade publications like Pumper, or the pumpers the magazine has served. Certainly, septic service contractors have enjoyed many advances in the trucks and tools of their trade since the 1970s. Vacuum pump technology and truckbuilding techniques have matured, and computers have changed many pumping processes for the better.
IN LIVING COLOR
At the same time, advances in publishing took Pumper from a rudimentary newspaper to a glossy full-color magazine, then onto the Internet. It’s gone from the mailbox to the mobile device contractors carry with them in the truck, still giving that wonderful legacy reading experience in print as well as instant news and advertising updates online.
“Thirty-five years ago, a good typewriter was our main tool. We wrote articles, collected classified ads and made up the address labels all with a typewriter,’’ recalls Kendall. “The big shift for the publishing industry came with the introduction of the Apple computer and the beginning of desktop publishing. The ease of starting a publication today compared to 1979 is like night and day.’’
Kendall – who continues as COLE founder while Lawonn has moved on to other business ventures – compares the way technology boosted publishing to how advanced engineering and entrepreneurial ideas have made the equipment pumpers use better, faster, stronger and more reliable.
A shift occurred when the industry started using vacuum pumps instead of trash pumps to clean septic systems. “It was such an advance for the industry, as it made cleaning a tank much easier,’’ Kendall recalls. “The [early vacuum] trucks were nothing compared to some of the units built today, but at the time they pointed the way to the future.’’
ON THE GROW
The magazine was successful almost immediately. The hunch Lawonn and Kendall had was proven to be right on, as contractors discovered an effective market for buying and selling equipment. Product manufacturers joined in with advertising, and the magazine and the industry enjoyed solid growth.
A year after the launch of the magazine, COLE started a fledgling trade show for pumpers, which grew into the largest exhibit of equipment for environmental services professionals. The show became the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International, which is transforming into the broader-based Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment and Transport show for 2015.
COLE hasn’t stopped with the Pumper title. It has added several other magazines serving aspects of the wastewater and environmental services industries. The other publications are Cleaner, Treatment Plant Operator (TPO), Onsite Installer, Portable Restroom Operator (PRO), Municipal Sewer & Water (MSW) and Gas, Oil & Mining Contractor (GOMC), all based in Three Lakes, Wis.
Each of the magazines is published monthly in print form and with an online program updated with news, information and advertising on a daily basis. Readers still look forward to getting their hands on the print version of the magazines, passing them around the office to their crews, while they also enjoy the immediacy of new content received on their computers, tablets and smartphones. The old and new ways of publishing will continue to be popular, according to Kendall.
“Many predicted the demise of print publications, but I believe the future will be a combination of online and print for many reasons,’’ Kendall says. “Business is about individuals, about relationships and about doing the best job you can for your customers. Our advertisers are able to reach a very specific, targeted market and can focus readers’ attention on products and equipment to help build their businesses.’’
ONWARD AND UPWARD
Kendall looks to a bright future for the wastewater industry and believes COLE Publishing will continue to play an important role in bringing pumping professionals together for education and commerce.
“There’s no more cleaning a septic tank with a bucket. The industry has been around a long time and continues to change for the better. Our role in that continues to be one of providing a source for equipment, the knowledge of what’s new and changing, and the information service providers need to run their businesses safely and profitably.
“Changes will continue to be made, but our goal of understanding and respecting the work of pumping professionals does not change,’’ Kendall adds. “We will continue to serve the industry to the best of our abilities through print, online and at trade shows.’’
Here’s a condensed history of Pumper magazine:
LOOKING BACK: FROM NEWSPRINT TO THE DIGITAL AGE
35 years ago …
The first issue of Midwest Pumper is mailed from Three Lakes, Wis., in June 1979, with eight pages of tabloid-size newsprint. A front-page mission statement notes that 85 percent of pumpers surveyed said there was a need for a trade publication. Pete Lawonn pledges to provide small business and industry news, a question and answer column and pertinent industry advertising. Each one-year subscription to the new publication includes a free classified ad.
30 years ago …
The headline in the Midwest Pumper for June 1984 promotes the International Liquid Waste Haulers Equipment & Trade Show (later called the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo, and now the Water & Wastewater, Equipment, Treatment and Transport show, or WWETT). The 1985 show would include 100,000 square feet of exhibit space. Stories in the newspaper reflect the emerging concern about environmental issues, touching on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund legislation, hazardous waste spills and management, and the use of formaldehyde-based chemicals in portable restrooms.
25 years ago …
Building editorial content to serve the pumping industry, the June 1989 cover story in Pumper is a recap of a survey to gather information ahead of proposed EPA standards for disposal of sewage sludge. In the survey, pumpers report handling an average of 1.55 million gallons of septage annually. Based on survey results, nearly 74 percent of the septage is disposed by land application. About half of the respondents say they aren’t allowed to take septage to a municipal treatment plant. Of those pumpers who used municipal plants, they paid in a range of $4 to $105 per 1,000 gallons to dump. Other stories touch on quality customer service and how to explain septic system operation to homeowners.
20 years ago …
In the July 1994 issue, a few editorial features appear that become a staple of the magazine over the years. There is a contractor profile on Ruidoso Septic Tank Service and Plumbing in New Mexico. Owner Bruce Haynes reports that his septic pumping rates ranged from $90 to $120, and disposal at a municipal plant is getting expensive, going from a prior fee as low as $1.25 per load to $252 for dumping a 3,600-gallon tank. The cover story explains how Northwest Cascade Inc. produces a nutrient-rich landscape compost from dewatered septage. And another regular feature starts by that time, the Septic System Answer Man column by Roger Machmeier, who went on to answer pumpers’ technical questions for more than 20 years.
15 years ago …
By June 1999, the magazine becomes a more colorful trade publication. Better printing and computer technology means readers see color photos of trucks advertised for sale. The same is true for ever-expanding editorial content, as profile stories are accompanied by color photography. Popular features that continue today, including a rules and regulations column, have debuted, giving Pumper a broader educational appeal. And a new way of communicating emerges: A story promotes the use of the Internet for business building, explaining to readers how to access government regulations and supplier websites with a few clicks of a computer mouse. In the same issue, an ad promotes the Pumper website.
10 years ago …
The June 2004 Pumper shows a new level of maturity. Refined graphic design, ever-better photography and a serious approach to its education mission has made Pumper an attractive must-read tool for the industry. Editorial content includes the first of a special series of articles profiling industry pioneers. In the cover story, Idaho pumpers LaVar and Cathy Hunter, of Parker’s Septic Tank Service and Portable Toilet Rental, explain how they devised a cost-effective dewatering solution to combat rising septage and grease disposal costs
5 years ago …
A June 2009 profile of contractor Bob Conrad, of Tennessee’s Mid-South Septic Service explains how small-scale private dewatering is becoming an effective disposal strategy for his company. This trend would continue in ensuing years as more dewatering solutions are promoted to let pumpers process their own waste stream and avoid rising prices and dwindling capacity at municipal plants. A Money Manager story explores ways to counteract ever-rising health care costs, expenses that threatened profitability of pumping businesses. The Pumper Interview story outlines how a Michigan landfill converts septage into energy through use of a bioreactor, pointing to another trend in alternative energy.
