Scaling UP! H2O

I bet you didn't know that you are a Superhero.  A water treater has to combat issues that most mortals are unable to overcome.  These issues are corrosion, scaling, microbial fouling and invasion of dirt and debris in our systems.  Maybe a human can take on one or two of these issues.  Taking them all on at the same time, successfully, only a Superhero can do that… Water Treaters = Superheroes  

We take a closer look at service reports. The service report is a legal document AND it is a direct link to everything you did or didn't do on-site.  Many of us do not give the service report the respect it deserves.  Far too often when I consult with other water treatment companies, I see lacking service reports.   Use the service report to enhance the value you give to that account. The Catalyst...

On episode 7, I introduce a new segment called "The Boiling Point."  This new section is therapy for me and hopefully a learning opportunity for you.  Frankly, The Boiler Point is for things I see some water treaters do that water treaters shouldn't do.  SO STOP! After my rant, John Zibrita of Zibex stops by to talk about his time in the water treatment industry and his involvement with AWT. We th...

On this episode we learn what it means to be a heat transfer efficiency manager.  Heat transfer efficiency is really what we do as water treaters.  After that Conor Parrish stops by to talk about being a relatively new water treater and how he goes about learning.  

Today's show is something that most of us misunderstand, we don't know how to talk to our customers about it, and we simply do not know what the right information is and where to go find it. We are talking about the L word today; Legionella . We are going to get to the bottom of what Legionella is, what we need to know about it, how we explain it to our customers, and how we get everybody working...

On today's episode we welcome Jim Lukanich , a former AWT board member, he is a Certified Water Technologist (CWT) and the director of applied technology with U.S. Water. Jim won the Ray Balm Memorial Water Treater of the Year award in 2008. Jim describes himself as a short guy, about 59 years old, he runs, bikes and swims and just happens to be a water treater. Jim has been in the water treatment...

Our guest today is Michael Iverson , part-time CFO for Blackmore Enterprise . Michael is an experienced financial executive with over 25 years of financial accounting and management experience at both privately held and publicly traded companies. He has an understanding of all things financial and the cool thing about Mike is he is able to put things in a way that you can understand it and from th...

Our guest today is Michelle Farmerie . Michelle is the daughter of Jay Farmerie and the Marketing Director for GLA Water Consultant, Inc. Michelle has also become more involved in the water treatment industry by joining various AWT committees. Most significantly, she has taken lead of the Young Professionals Group whose purpose is to help solidify the future of the AWT. Michelle also participates...

Our guest today is Bruce T. Ketrick Jr. , president of the Association of Water Technologies . Bruce began his career in the pharmaceutical industry as a sales representative and later a technical trainer. Bruce's career in water technologies started 13 years ago with Guardian CSC . During his employment with Guardian CSC he has held various positions including Field Service Representative, Sales...

The AWT Convention, or any convention for that matter, can be scary.  Walking around the exhibit hall and not knowing anyone or not knowing which presentation to go to can cause anxiety.  On today's show we talk about how to get the most out of a convention while dealing with these two issues.   Join Trace as he talks about tips and tricks he has learned throughout the years to make this your best...

Our guest today is Mike Standish , co-founder of Radical Polymers . Mike has over 28 years experience in polymer additive design and development. Prior to forming Radical Polymers, Mike served in technical and business leadership roles within global, publicly traded chemical companies and is responsible for the development and patenting of industry leading polymers for use in the water treatment,...

Just a quick reminder about the Scaling UP! Meet UP! on Thursday for Breakfast. Don't forget to get your Scaling UP! button. And, in an effort to help your drive, I have created this list of songs that will help get you to your next account.  Enjoy, and let me know what you think.  

Our guest today is Jack Walker , CEO of WaterTech Specialties Incorporated . Jack is also one of the founders of The Association of Water Technologies. WaterTech is a family-owned and operated business. They pride themselves on the diversity of their customer base, from small family businesses to Fortune 100 companies. Truly, they are small enough to care and large enough to make a difference. In...

Our guest today is James McDonald . James has been in the water treatment industry since 1997 and is a Chemical Engineer by degree with a Master's from the University of Louisville. After college, James worked for an environmental compliance company, doing environmental assessments for the likes of the FAA and various army bases. Later James went on to work for Crown Solutions and today is also a...

Our guest today is Tim Fulton , my Vistage coach. Tim is the Vistage Chair to some of the most successful CEOs in Atlanta. It's why in 2013 he launched the Small Business Matters Conference , which has become an all-star, exclusive gathering that attracts some of the best small business owners in the state. And it's why he's a tireless advocate for small businesses, every single day. Small Busines...

Our guest today is Lt. Rob Pendleton of the Snellville, GA Police Department .  Snellville, GA is located about 35 miles north of Atlanta, GA.  In the aftermath of the Las Vegas shootings, we are all asking ourselves what we can do.  Many cannot think of a good answer to that question.  It is my hope that we can take the information discussed in today's episode and keep ourselves safer and more aw...

It's been a while since it was just the two of us on an episode.   To fix that, I am only answering questions from the Scaling UP! Nation, for the whole episode.  No guest, no rant from the host, just your questions.  Truly, the show for you, by you.   LSI, RSI, PSI Can you tell us more about LSI, RSI and PSI?  (1:04) LSI, RSI and PSI are all scaling indices.  Each tells us whether the water is sc...

Our guest today is Mike Highum , Vice President of McGowan Insurance Group . McGowan is a trusted provider of insurance and risk management products and services across the United States. McGowan Insurance Group just received the AWT Supplier of the Year for 2016.  Specialty protection includes Primary and Excess Liability, Pollution Liability, Professional/E&O, Executive Liability, Workers Compen...

Currently on the show we are doing a multi-episode series on getting your Certified Water Technologist (CWT) designation. The CWT is the highest professional designation in the water treatment industry and is administered by the Association of Water Technologies (AWT). A CWT exam is a rigorous, 200-question, four-hour exam that water technologists can take after five years of experience in the ind...

Today on the show, we welcome recently Certified Water Technologists, Andy Morcomb of Jaytech and Andy Williams of South Eastern Laboratories. We are continuing our series on how to become a Certified Water Technologist (CWT.)  We invited the Andys on the show to hear about their experience with the CWT process, from start to finish. As you know from our previous episode (Episode 26) there are two...

On this year's last episode of Scaling UP!, we will be talking again about the Certified Water Technologist Designation, CWT. I was only planning on doing 2 shows on the CWT, but with getting so much response from the Scaling UP! Nation!, I decided to do one more.   Timestamps: A review of the last few weeks on the CWT. [1:52] Do I need to be a AWT member to become a CWT? [5:20] Is there a cost di...

Our guest today is Cpt. David Marquet of The United States Navy. David (now retired), was the Commander of the nuclear submarine Santa Fe – probably the most amazing job in the world! (in my opinion)  In addition to commanding nuclear powered submarines, David is also the author of Turn The Ship Around, which was written in 2013 and tells the remarkable true story of how David was able to turn the...

On today's show we talk to the 2018 president of the Association of Water Technologies, Marc Vermeulen .  Marc tells us about his life from becoming a water treater to becoming the AWT president.  We will also learn about specific items that you can take advantage of that the AWT is offering this year. AWT Technical Training: If you have listened to the show before, you know that I am proud to be...

The most requested guest in Scaling UP! History! (Mark was the one doing all the requesting) It can be lonely out there as a water treater.  Having friends you can count on is a must.  Mark Lewis is that kind a friend to me.  After meeting Mark over 12 years ago, we have encouraged each other to be better water treaters. In this episode, we are going to learn how Mark became a water treater.  We w...

Today on the show we welcome Dick Hourigan . Dick is a Retired US Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel and an Analytical Chemist who has been in the water treatment industry since 1973. After being retrenched from his job in 1992, Dick founded Richard Hourigan Inc., as an Illinois water treatment company serving Illinois and southern Wisconsin customers. In 2007, Dick also launched his own websi...