You all have reasons – big and small – to come to the Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport (WWETT) Show next month. Let me count off a few of them:

1. You want to check out a new truck or truck accessory to update your pumping fleet.
2. You’ve got a standing date with some old friends for dinner at St. Elmo Steak House.
3. You look forward to 25-cent taps at the Industry Appreciation Party.
4. You’re a huge Jerrod Niemann fan and you can’t wait for his private WWETT Show performance.
5. Feb. 17-20 in Indianapolis is the only time of the year you take your spouse on vacation.

I wish I was only kidding about the pumper’s vacation destination, but I’ve heard from enough of you who say the WWETT Show is your only time to escape from the daily grind and spend a few nights in a nice Indy hotel with your partner in work and in life. If the biggest show in wastewater gives you the excuse to get away from work for a few days, I applaud that.

But may I suggest you consider your time at the WWETT Show as valuable work time – an opportunity to get juiced up again about this dynamic industry? A week to see all the latest and greatest equipment and to devote some time to business building rather than running hoses.  

IT’S BIG … REALLY BIG

You’ll learn some of the basics about the 2016 WWETT Show elsewhere in this issue. But just to give you an idea how big this is, 600 exhibitors will utilize nearly 600,000 square feet of space – every nook and cranny of the Indiana Convention Center – to show new vacuum trucks, powerful jetting equipment and more tools than you can imagine. Your industry demands one of the largest trade shows in the United States. Can you believe it?

Yes, believe it. The environmental services sector is big and getting bigger all the time. Effectively handling wastewater is critical to our future, and you’re building and preserving the country’s infrastructure, which allows us to keep growing. The size of the WWETT Show reflects the demand for your services, which is far greater than it was a decade ago, and undoubtedly less than it will be in another 10 years.

So if you want to succeed in pumping, you have to keep pace with that growing demand, as well as tighter regulations that are sure to come. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state environmental and local health departments will continue to require better care and maintenance of septic systems. You can bet on that.
So for my money, you can add education opportunities to your list of reasons to come to the WWETT Show. With more than 100 seminars featuring industry experts planned over three days in Indy, I’ve selected a few key topics you may want to consider:

ENSURING PROFITS

How Much Should I Charge? (8 a.m. Wednesday)

Is there any more important question than the one posed in the title of speaker Ellen Rohr’s talk? If you don’t understand how to price your pumping service to ensure a profit, you’ll probably fail – or spend the next 20 years working too hard to earn a living and leaving money on the table. Rohr, a business author and owner of franchise company Zoom Drain & Sewer, promises to present a no-fail formula for pricing services. In a wide-ranging presentation, she will also discuss how to get employee buy-in for your plans, simple marketing strategies and how to approach retirement planning.

CUSTOMER RETENTION

Growing Your Business in a Tough Economy (9:30 a.m. Thursday)

Robert Barnes, owner of King’s Pumping Service and past president of the Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association, gives a pumper’s perspective on customer service. Barnes will share two assets every small business has, and share five ways to capitalize on them for growth. He contends pumping businesses can create loyal customers and generate repeat business through great service and consumer education.

STRESSING SAFETY

OSHA Confined Space, Air Monitoring and Fall Protection

Explained (11 a.m. Wednesday)

Septic service can be a dangerous job, and technicians are often presented with challenging work environments. Speaker Chris Cira, managing partner and president of MTech Company, will talk about confined-space work, air monitoring and fall protection regulations. He will cover a multitude of safety regulations with an understandable approach for practical use in the field.

WASTE TO ENERGY

Brown Grease Recovery From Grease Trap Waste:

Science and Economics (11 a.m. Friday)

Over the years, pumpers have been looking for ways to extract revenue from grease waste. Speaker William Smith, of Springhouse Consulting, will talk about recovering brown grease from grease trap waste for the production of biodiesel and other alternative fuels. Smith, a member of the American Oil Chemists Society, the American Chemical Society, and the American Society of Chemical Engineers, will explain how the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) is helping to build a market for brown grease. He will share how haulers and processors are reducing disposal costs through brown grease recovery. He will talk about the grease marketplace, uses for the byproducts, and the economic factors involved with setting up a grease-processing system.

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Pathogen Exposures to Workers in the Onsite Industry

(11 a.m. Friday)

Pathogen exposure is a major concern for pumping technicians, onsite installers and system maintainers, and speaker John Thomas will review results of a one-year study of wastewater industry workers in the State of Washington. Executive director of the Washington Onsite Sewage Association (WOSSA), Thomas will talk best operations practices and selection of personal protective equipment for wastewater professionals.