A week after returning from the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo, I have a sense of renewed optimism among many in the industry. Contractor attendees and manufacturers alike are now looking forward to new opportunities as opposed to looking back at the wake of the economic recession that struck in November 2008.

During the Expo and in follow-up calls over the past week, I’ve talked to many pumpers who have found reasons to be upbeat heading into the busy season. We’re looking into a variety of future contractor profile stories highlighting diversified services these contractors are pursuing to build their businesses. Yes, I said build their businesses, a refreshing thought given the mood of many small business owners over the past year.

On the manufacturing side, I heard some impressive reports at the Expo. One vacuum truck builder reported tremendous response for both septic service and portable sanitation vehicles. A restroom trailer builder reported selling many units for the upcoming season, and significant interest in smaller restroom and shower trailers.

If you were in Louisville, Ky., for the Expo, you saw that manufacturers issued interesting new products for the pumping industry. In all, there were 494 exhibitors at the Kentucky Exposition Center showing their products to 8,784 attendees from 3,921 wastewater-related companies. If you didn’t make it, we’ve got you covered. In a few weeks, we’ll publish a comprehensive roundup of new products COLE Publishing editors saw at the Expo.

In addition, I’ll elaborate on some of the pumping industry trends I saw at the Expo and share information on a variety of awards presented by the National Association of Wastewater Transporters at its annual Expo breakfast meeting.

It was great to catch up with so many of you during the past few weeks. If I missed you at the show, or if you weren’t at the Expo but still would like to share feedback on Pumper or what you’ve read in this blog, shoot me an e-mail at editor@pumper.com.