October 2009 Table of Contents

Features

• 4Reading Between the Lines: Making Customers For Life
  
• 16Building the Business: Stop the Presses!
  Learn the dos and don’ts of dealing with the media so your company can benefit from publicity
• 22Rules and Regs: Minnesota’s Otter Tail County Mandates Septic Tank Insulation, Larger Capacities For Some Systems
  
• 28Cover Story: Waving a Magic Wand
  Emphasizing a strong work ethic and overcoming challenges with a farmer’s ingenuity, Jim Hodge has grown American Pumping in a tough economy
• 36Special Feature: Truck Chassis Outlook
  Fewer platform brands and tighter emissions standards will greet medium-duty septic service rig buyers in the coming year. But vac truck builders say contractors will still find a good variety of nameplates and cleaner, more fuel-efficient engines.
• 42Profile: Look Sharp, Be Sharp
  A professional image, coupled with expanding marketing and education efforts, is a winning combination for Pennsylvania’s Biros Septic & Drain Cleaning
• 50Overheard Online: Write a Spill Response Plan
  When a pumper is overwhelmed by a spill crisis, others jump in to give thoughtful advice on how to react the next time disaster strikes
• 56Interview: Tighter Regulations Prove Beneficial
  

Columns

• 64Reader Pipelines: Finding a Top Gun
  Searching for and keeping top-flight employees remains a challenge even in a wide-open labor market
• 72Septic System Answer Man: Who Writes Onsite Rules?
  State onsite system codes must be developed with the help of contractors who install and maintain the systems, as well as local governments
• 78NAWT: Diverse Educational Opportunities Await Wastewater Industry Professionals
  
• 84Money Manager: Make Them Pay (On Time)
  Running a customer-friendly business doesn’t mean being the banker at zero interest for customers who make a habit of delaying payments
• 88Association News: Association News
  Association News; Training & Education; Calendar
• 90Classy Trucks: Classy Truck of October
  This month we feature Ink’s Disposal Service Inc.
• 94Product Spotlight: PolyPortables Hands-Free Spigot
  
• 100Industry News: Industry News
  Texas Pumper Dies in Crash; Cooper New England Named Liberty Pump’s Top Rep; Bord Na Mona Marks 15 Years of Puraflo; Wieser Receives NPCA Certification for 20th Year; Bio-Microbics Receives Technology Merit Award; Zoeller Launches Web Site, Branding Initiative; Engle Fabrication Receives Best of Sauk Award; Vector Technologies Launches Web Site; SOS Offers Hoot Commercial Treatment Systems