Problem

TLC Plumbing was working on a project in Albuquerque, N.M., where a 54-inch sewer line had collapsed, resulting in a major intersection closing and sewage overflow. TLC worked to contain the situation, but to make the repairs they realized bypass pumping would be required.

Solution

In April 2011, Griffin Dewatering Corp. mobilized equipment at 12:30 p.m. The setup on the bypass and pipe fusing began by 5 p.m. By midnight, the discharge line was completed and by 3:30 a.m. the suction and pump were set up and started. The next morning, the excavation was dry enough to permit digging for the sliplining. Traffic was opened to one lane through the intersection. TLC requested Griffin determine how a standby or secondary pump could be put in the line. A flanged tee was found and gate valves added so either pump could be isolated.

Result

The system was in operation for nearly two months, enabling the sliplining to move forward and the intersection to reopen. 800/431-1510; www.griffindewatering.com.

Reduced downtime

Problem

Water is a constant presence in and around coal mines. In most every case, pumps are required to handle muddy, acidic slurry, chunks of coal and coal fines, dust, dirt and rocks. An Illinois coal mining company was using a sewage-style submersible dewatering pump at the bottom of a 3,000-gallon runoff pond that collects slurry from raw and clean coal piles. The water is abrasive and acidic, and the company was getting no more than six months of use out of each pump.

Solution

The mine replaced its submersible pump with a 20 hp KZNR150 severe-duty slurry pump from BJM Pumps. The 20-horsepower pump with hardened ductile iron volutes and extra thick walls handles more than 1,100 gpm and approximately 500 gpm, eight hours a day.

Result

The slurry pump has lasted twice as long as its predecessors, with increased cost savings and reduced spill threat. 877/256-7867; www.bjmpumps.com.

Salt water removal

Problem

North Dakota oil riggers fracture and crack rock formations to reach oil and gas. The rock formations include salt water. A pumping unit brings the oil and saltwater mixture to the surface. The salt water and oil are separated and pumped through a pipeline into a pressure tank for disposal. North Dakota oil riggers needed an efficient, economical, low-pressure pump to withstand saltwater exposure.

Solution

Crane Pumps & Systems in partnership with Dickinson, N.D., distributor, Pump Systems, recommended the Burks EC Series Base Mounted Regenerative Turbine. The pump is designed with a cast-iron casing, suction strainer with stainless steel screen, and a copper alloy impeller with monel blades.

Result

The saltwater mixture is not corroding the pumps, and the high-head, low-flow design efficiently pumps the saltwater mixture from holding tanks to pressure tanks. The riggers experience fewer repairs and more efficiency. 937/615-3544; www.cranepumps.com.

Groundwater protection

Problem

European groundwater protection laws highly regulate the use of oil-lubricated vacuum pumps for aggregate removal.

Solution

HUEDIG GmbH & Co. KG in Celle/Germany, together with a supplier of diesel- and electric-driven vacuum pumps, met dewatering requirements for aggregate pumping by using graphite vanes inside the pump. The technology has proven successful through 10 years of operation under tough conditions.

Result

Oil-free vacuum pumps are preserving European groundwater for future generations. www.huedig.de.

Drilling mud transfer

Problem

Customers of GTech HilTech were using progressive cavity pumps to feed their decantering centrifuge. The pumps were failing in the field and on-site repairs were difficult.

Solution

M68 or L133 rotary lobe pumps from LobePro are used to feed the decantering centrifuges. After mud passes through the shaker, it moves into the pump, which feeds it to the decantering centrifuge and removes water and sand. Down-hole pumps return the cleaned mud to the drilling reservoir.

Result

The run-dry pumps have become an integral part of the system. 888/997-7867, www.lobepro.com.

Alaskan gold rush

Problem

Out-of-work Oregonians struggled against the elements, trying to strike it rich on the Discovery Channel’s “Gold Rush Alaska.” One of the biggest problems the miners faced was keeping the large glory hole they were digging free of water. Their 4-inch pump couldn’t do the job, putting the entire venture at risk.

Solution

Determined to help, Paul Schlumberger of Pioneer Pump shipped three diesel-powered 6-inch pumps capable of pumping 2,800 gpm. 

Result

The miners are now extracting ore and on their way to making a successful living in Alaska. 503/266-4115; www.pioneerpump.com.

Fuel-saving excavations

Problem

MCS Construction of Gormley, Ontario, Canada, was contracted by the City of Toronto to excavate 300 underground utilities for the placement of seismic devices near an underground rail system.

Solution

Vac-Con developed a high vacuum and high water pressure hydroexcavator that utilizes two positive displacement pumps. The PD pumps are driven hydrostatically with PWM actuated Rexroth pumps that control the variable vacuum. The blowers can be run independently or in tandem ultimately producing 7,000 cfm and 28 inches Hg. Vacuum operation is controlled via three CANbus computers.

Result

The amount of vacuum available enabled the contractor to use as little or as much vacuum needed. By operating at less than full speed and not having to move the truck as often saved 50 liters of fuel per day or approximately 3,300 gallons of fuel per year. 888/491-5762; www.vac-con.com. GOMC

Clients and customers will often prefer dealing with you as a small firm – if the job doesn’t appear too big for you to handle. So it’s best to look the part.

First impressions are critical. You have about three seconds to create a favorable first impression – whether it’s your advertising, Internet presence, in-person contact, or on the telephone.

It all starts with branding: A distinctive logo that tells your story about delivering desired results, a three- to five-word slogan also reflecting value, five value propositions or benefit statements.

PROFESSIONALISM COUNTS

Does your business card look professional? A meaningful logo with contact information on high-grade card stock will suffice. Your email address should indicate your website’s domain name, not, for example, joesmith30@sprinter.com.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, clients are very accepting of a home business, if you look professional.

If you have a physical location where people visit you, cleanliness and orderliness are paramount. Smart businesspeople have clean windows, sidewalks, parking lots and workstations every day. Even if you have a home office and don’t receive visitors, cleanliness and orderliness will help keep your optimism and efficiency at a high level.

Is your telephone answered before the third ring? Do you have a person answering your telephone? You can certainly get by with an automated system and voice mail more easily if you have professional branding on and offline. But a live person works best, even if it’s just a virtual answering service.

Return all phone calls from clients ASAP. Never let customers or important vendors feel as though they’re hanging by a thread while waiting to hear from you. Unless I’m in a meeting, I never let the person wait more than two hours for a return call.

In the case of an email, it’s best to confirm receiving the message right away, even if you don’t have an answer to a question. (Naturally, make certain your smartphone is turned off when you’re in a meeting.)

DRESS THE PART

If it’s not customary in your industry to wear a suit and tie, do what’s best for your style, and be in distinctive, good taste. Remember Socrates’ statement: “Know thyself.”

As a business-performance consultant since 1992, I’m a dark suit person with a relatively small clientele on a regular basis. I’ve had both an outside office and a home office.

I want clients to know it’s a special event for me to work with them. That’s been the company uniform for employees, too. No matter what anyone says – it’s still the professional appearance that will command respect, and separate the winners from the wannabes – especially when a lot of money exchanges hands.

Once, when a blue-collar marketing client seemed worried that I usually wore a business suit, I started to remove my coat and reassured him, “You’ll find I know how to roll up my sleeves to get strong results.” He was immediately convinced.

If such folks still seemed uncomfortable, they’ve always chuckled when I’ve said, “By nine o’clock, I always seem to spill coffee on my tie.” They appreciated my humanness and quickly relaxed. (It’s true about the spilled coffee.)

All such clients have accepted my preferred style. Moreover, they have come to expect it.

I’ll never forget when I’d been in business just a few years on a Friday afternoon at the start of a three-day holiday weekend, I was dressed casually when I dropped off a marketing document at a valued client’s office. Normally, I visited such clients two to three days per week in business attire. (This was a client who spent a hefty five figures a month with my firm.)

He seemed shocked. He took me aside and quietly asked me, “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Where’s your suit? I’ve never seen you in jeans and boots. Is everything OK?”

I laughed and said: “Everything’s fine. This is how I sometimes dress when I leave town to visit my parents in rural Oregon, but today I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to wait for this paperwork before I jump on the freeway. I’m really just a cowboy at heart.”

At that point, I learned how much he grew to value my uniform, which leads me to another point. Clients like consistency in all dealings.

HANDSHAKES & THANK YOUS

For me, that also means consistently showing gratitude and preventing buyer’s remorse.

My client-meeting agendas always start by bringing up her/his concerns. This immediately alleviates any tension the client might have. I do my best selling when the client does most of the talking. I ask a lot of pertinent questions, list the results of my work, and never end a meeting without saying “thank you” with a handshake. The attitude and gratitude goes for all memos and emails, too.

If the client doesn’t thank me, I subtly ask for strokes, too, such as: “So you like the results?” Over time, this grooms the client to show appreciation for my results. I’ve learned it’s vital to have appreciative customers.

If you don’t receive appreciation for results, you won’t be doing business with the customer for very long.

As business owners, you put in a lot of hours expanding your expertise in the field, learning about new products and services to offer, and establishing industry relationships. If you’re on a growth trajectory with your GOM services, increased revenue is likely accompanied by expenditures on industry-specific training, finding the right equipment to do your work more efficiently, and expanding your business horizons.

How you choose to spend your valuable time and finite financial resources to build the business is critically important. A vibrant and diverse trade show event is a great place to start. And I would argue that the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International can pay off big if you take advantage of its many networking opportunities.

If you haven’t already, you can still make plans to attend the Expo at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis later this month, Feb. 27-March 1. Go to www.pumpershow.com to learn everything you need to know about attending. If you’re picking up this magazine at the Expo, you’ve obviously made a commitment to expand networking efforts in 2012. Congratulations, welcome, and please look me up on the show floor to say hello.

THE MISSING LINK

Over the years, I’ve been impressed by the vast collection of equipment for the environmental services industries found at the Expo. With about 500 exhibitors, it’s a tall order to see all of the new technologies energy and mining support services contractors might benefit from. At the same time, the collection of seminars on topics like business marketing, best technical practices and safety has always been impressive.

Some attendees have told me they’ve bought valuable equipment at the Expo. Others have fulfilled continuing education credits on Education Day. But what surprises me is that as much as anything, contractors tell me going to the Expo is most valuable for linking them to like-minded professionals to forge new partnerships and friendships. Their biggest benefit is the networking … with equipment manufacturers, other business owners, even representatives of trade associations.

If you want to make the most of networking at the Expo, here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years to build new, long-standing business relationships:

Lunch with new friends.

Breaking bread together has long been the way business gets done. At the Expo, look for a group of friendly strangers when it’s time for lunch. Introduce yourself around the table and strike up a conversation. I know many business owners who have built lifetime mentorships over burgers and fries at the Expo. They enjoy the frank conversations they couldn’t have with competitors back at home. You might not want to share successful business initiatives with the guy down the street, but it’s a whole different matter talking to folks from across the country who share your passion for the industry.

Gather around the COLE Pub.

Let your hair down a little bit and share a beer with some of the other 12,000 professionals at the Expo at the COLE Pub venue in the exhibit hall. You can also attend the Industry Appreciation Party to share some lighthearted time with new friends away from the hustle and bustle of the exhibit hall. Networking can’t be all work and no play.

Rub elbows at Education Day seminars.

Map out seminars you want to participate in on Education Day. Take your time and choose carefully so you get the most bang for your buck. If you look for offerings that most closely fit your business needs, you’ll also meet and hear from more contractors who face the same challenges you do. I’ve witnessed some of the most productive Expo networking between like-minded business owners just before and after each seminar. And if you really want to get in on some of the best conversations, make your way toward the podium after an interesting seminar and listen in as the speaker addresses specific questions from other contractors.

Build rapport with suppliers.

There’s no question it’s becoming more of a virtual world when you plan to buy large-ticket equipment and consumable supplies. The last time you ordered a new service truck or other equipment, you likely went online to start gathering information for the purchase. While comparing products on websites is a heck of a convenience, it doesn’t fully replace the personal touch of one-on-one interaction with a supplier. And there’s a degree of comfort gained when you can get an up-close look at a piece of equipment on the exhibit floor.

The Expo is the perfect place to meet new manufacturer’s representatives and reconnect with your regular suppliers. The handshake meetings show vendors you mean business, that you are willing to invest in personal, long-lasting relationships. And this commitment on your part may encourage suppliers to be extra responsive to you in a time of need – say when you have to have a repair part shipped overnight in an emergency or if you need to find a piece of equipment in a hurry to satisfy a new customer.

Make contact with trade associations.

Maybe you’ve thought about joining a trade association, for instance the National Association of Wastewater Transporters if you run a fleet of vacuum trucks. But you’ve never found a practical opportunity to meet the trade group’s leaders and learn how membership in the organization can help your business. The Pumper & Cleaner Expo is a great place to hook up with members of environmental services trade associations.

First, industry trade associations organize several seminar tracks on Education Day (Feb. 27). Spending the day listening in on a host of presentations can enhance your technical knowledge and help you determine if these associations will provide tools you need to grow your business. Secondly, trade groups often have a booth at the Expo staffed by their active members, or they may hold business meetings at the Expo that you can attend.

Take part in Roundtable Discussions.

The Expo’s Roundtable Discussions breakfast, scheduled for 8-10 a.m. March 1 in the Indiana Convention Center’s restaurant area, promises business networking at its best. Contractors in a variety of environmental services industries are invited to participate in moderated discussions on topics ranging from marketing to sludge processing. Show up, move from table to table, and meet other contractors grappling with the same challenges you face.

Tell me your story.

I’ll be at the Expo as well, looking to network with you and other support services contractors in the gas, oil and mining industries. I will be on hand at Education Day seminars, checking out new products on the exhibit floor and available to meet GOMC readers. I’d love to network with you, learn about your business and find out what you’d like to see covered in the magazine. See you at the Expo!

Extensively renovated starting in 1993, the building houses entertainment and events in the Fountain Square Theatre, art galleries and studios, two restaurants, seasonal rooftop dining, a cocktail bar, and duckpin bowling in either of two vintage alleys.

Duckpin bowling was born in Baltimore in 1900 and was a favorite of Babe Ruth. It uses smaller balls and pins and has different rules. The Action Duckpin Bowl has been restored with authentic 1930s vintage bowling equipment and eight lanes. A café area seats up to 120 guests, and surrounding windows give a great view of downtown.

The Atomic Bowl Duckpin, in the building’s basement, has seven lanes with authentic 1950s and 1960s bowling equipment, along with displays of mid-century bowling collectibles. A café seats up to 90 guests. Visit www.fountainsquareindy.com.

Bar and lounge

The ball & biscuit, two minutes from downtown at 331 Massachusetts Ave., is a bar and lounge set in the cultural corridor of the Mass Ave neighborhood. True to its eclectic surroundings, it has the laid-back atmosphere of a Prohibition-era speakeasy.

From the 150-year-old quarter-sawn wood floor, to the distressed leather chairs, the exposed brick walls and the tin ceiling, the place is a neighborhood bar at heart. The menu includes craft beers, boutique wines and unique cocktails that range from pre-Prohibition classics to modern concoctions. Unique bar foods are served in an atmosphere of background music conducive to good conversation. Visit www.ballandbiscuit.com.

Casual dining

Black Market is a new gastro pub at 922 Massachusetts Ave., four minutes from the Convention Center. It serves up “comfort food” with an Indiana flavor along with local beers and wines. Foods made with old-fashioned pickling and preservation methods often appear in the restaurant’s dishes. Entrees like ale steamed mussels, rainbow trout, mushroom dumplings and the Black Market burger are served in a casual atmosphere where diners in a suit or jeans are equally welcome. Entree prices range from $12 to $22. Visit www.blackmarketindy.net.

Historic site

Dominating the five-block picturesque setting of War Memorial Plaza in downtown Indianapolis, the Indiana World War Memorial sits 210 feet above street level. This mausoleum-style limestone and marble memorial honors Hoosiers killed during World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

The memorial, at 431 N. Meridian St., includes multiple standing figures that symbolize courage, memory, peace, victory, liberty and patriotism. The Shrine Room, with 24 stained glass windows, provides the setting for a 17- by 30-foot American flag suspended from the ceiling. A military museum in the basement follows the history of Indiana soldiers from the Battle of Tippecanoe through the most recent conflicts. Visit www.in.gov/iwm.

Shopping

Midland Arts & Antiques in downtown Indy can keep you occupied for hours with four floors full of art and antiques from more than 200 dealers from around the Midwest. Located at 907 E. Michigan St., four minutes from the Convention Center, the market has been a destination for more than 15 years. Merchandise includes decorative items, works by local artists, furniture, pottery, vintage jewelry, 1950s collectibles, china and a great deal more. Visit www.midlandathome.com.

Like it is the other 51 weeks of the year, social media is a source of news and information during the Expo. But, during Expo week when so much is happening in one place at one time, social media can be even more crucial to your business communications. While attending the Expo you can use social media both to keep track of what is happening at the show and to share information with others at the show and back home.

SOCIAL MEDIA AT THE EXPO

If you are on Twitter, search for comments about the Expo using hashtags and also use them in your own tweets so other people interested in the show can find them. The hashtag symbol (#) used before relevant keywords in a tweet categorizes the tweet to show more easily in Twitter search. Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other tweets in that category.

Similarly on Facebook and LinkedIn, you can announce your company’s attendance at the Expo as well as any related news and events. You’ll also want to keep an eye on Facebook to see what’s being posted at www.facebook.com/GOMCmag and www.facebook.com/pumpershow, and share thoughts and impressions about the show.

COLE Publishing, which creates this magazine and organizes the Expo, will have a mobile site for attendees to use at the event. The site will feature a searchable list of exhibitors and booths, a general schedule, and a more detailed educational schedule. Check out the mobile site at http://m.pumpershow.com.

One thing you don’t want to do is waste time at the Expo, so make sure your team has Internet-ready smartphones or tablets set up with the right applications for social media use. Be sure to bring chargers to power up devices at night and have a large enough memory card if you are going to take a lot of pictures or video.

In general, using social media at a trade show is easiest on a mobile device. A laptop computer can be inconvenient and cumbersome to carry around on the floor, but handy when you want to download photos off your phone at the end of the day.

While at the Expo, you can send out real-time updates of what’s going on all around you using Facebook or Twitter. You can also use YouTube to stream videos and Flickr to upload photos.

Another use for technology on the Expo floor could guarantee you get the “show discount” on a purchase. Suppose you see a product you like, but need authorization to buy it. Now you don’t have to wait to discuss it after you get home. Simply snap some photos and email them to the boss. If he or she doesn’t understand how the item works, make a video of the sales representative demonstrating it.

I SPY … QR CODES

While walking around the Expo, you may see QR codes on printed materials in some exhibitors’ booths. QR stands for “Quick Response” and refers to those black and white squares that are really a two-dimensional barcode readable by a variety of devices including smartphones.

The amount of information that can be contained in a QR code is about 4,300 characters. That’s enough for a business professional to include contact information and some personal background or product information, which is more than will fit on a standard business card.

Newer smartphones come with QR code readers installed. If your phone doesn’t have one installed, try Google Goggles or on an iPhone, the App Store to download a free reader.

Once you have the QR code reader installed, simply activate the application and take a quick snapshot of the data label with your camera.

If you’d like to use a QR code on your own company materials, the technology for creating them is usually free. There are also dozens of Web services that will create them for you.

There are plenty of places a QR code can be used, especially at a trade show. Try putting a code that contains all your contact information on your business card and then attach it to your show badge so people you meet can simply scan your card. If you want to be more memorable, have the QR code put on a baseball cap and ask people to scan you!

You can also put a QR code on flyers, brochures and other print collateral. That way, people have the option of scanning or taking these items with them. Those who are more technology oriented will appreciate you lightening their load. You may find after the show you’ve distributed fewer business cards, but made more contacts. And having your contact information scanned to someone’s phone makes it much less likely to get lost.

THE PARTY ISN’T OVER

When the show is over and you’re back at the office, don’t assume your Expo social media efforts are over. Follow up with the leads you generated by connecting with them on LinkedIn or sending follow-up notes via email. Upload more media and recap the event for those who couldn’t make it this year.

And then … begin planning your social media strategy for next year’s Expo. Did you observe other attendees using technology and social media applications in ways you hadn’t thought of but would like to try? Could some of the things you tried have been done more effectively or efficiently? You’ve got a year to gear up for next year’s Expo!

Atkins’ compelling American success story continues with his next musical challenge: Entertaining the throngs at the 2012 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International. Atkins will bring a bushel basket of heartfelt hits when he arrives on the stage on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the grand ballroom of the JW Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis.

Atkins’ 7 p.m. performance will follow the ever-popular Industry Appreciation Party – with its festive atmosphere and 25-cent tap beers – which begins at 5 p.m. The evening of fun caps off the opening day of the Expo exhibits at the adjacent Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indy. The Industry Appreciation Party and Atkins’ live performance are included with full Expo registration.

Atkins is well-known for a string of top 10 hits that started in 2003 with “Honesty (Write Me a List)” from his first album entitled Honesty. A familiar voice on country radio for almost a decade, Atkins struck gold in 2006 and 2007, when his singles, “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)” and “Watching You,” hit No. 1 and were named the top country songs of the year by Billboard magazine.

Rags to riches

While country music fans can hum along with Atkins’ many hits, they might not be so familiar with his inspiring personal story.

After being born in Knoxville, Tenn., in March 1969, he was put up for adoption and was twice returned to the Holston Methodist Home for Children by prospective parents who couldn’t deal with his numerous illnesses. Though his ailments worsened, Margaret and Allan Atkins, from Cumberland Gap, Tenn., adopted the boy.

With his dedicated adoptive parents, Atkins thrived and became interested in music during high school. After school, he eventually signed a recording contract, but didn’t release his first album until Honesty. The string of hits has never stopped, with the album If You’re Going Through Hell gaining platinum status and producing additional No. 1 hits in “These Are My People” and “Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy).”

Atkins followed with his third album It’s America, with a single of the same title, then “15 Minutes,” and “Chasin’ Girls” heading up the charts. In 2010, Atkins hit with “Farmer’s Daughter,” and he’s currently touring with the lead-off single of his fourth album, the title cut “Take a Back Road,” which hit No. 1 just a few months ago.

While he’s built a solid career in Nashville, Atkins is proud of the family he’s built, including his wife, Tammy Jo and his son Elijah. Along the way, he’s found it important to give back to others. He is a spokesperson for the National Council for Adoption and often returns to the orphanage that helped him find a loving family. In 2011, Atkins headlined the Nashville Give Back Concert to support tornado-ravaged communities through the American Red Cross.

A helping hand

“It is important for us to give to all of those in need. As an artist, I have performed in just about every town that has been hit by the many storms and I feel that this concert is a great way to reach out and help as many people as we can,” he told the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, which helped promote the relief effort. “We wanted to … call people to action to continue to support the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund in any way that they can.”

While Atkins is devoted to family and causes he finds important, he hasn’t taken his foot off the accelerator, musically, either. According to his website, Atkins has sold four million singles in the past five years, and the sales have been going viral for “Take a Back Road.” He credits the easy, heartfelt lyrics and laid-back, identifiable message of the song.

“‘Farmer’s Daughter’ was one of the craziest download songs we had. It was peaking at 15,000 to 16,000 a week,” Atkins says. “And now ‘Back Road’ is knocking on 40,000 a week. That was a validation for me to follow my heart … It’s one of those songs that, the first time I heard it I thought, ‘Boy, that feels good.’ And then it’s catchy and something you want to just crank it up. But then, the more you hear it, you realize it’s not just a ditty; it’s about … getting right with your soul, coming down to earth.”

“Back Road” is about discovery … both literally – exploring the beauty found in your backyard countryside, and symbolically – the simple joys of family and life. The emotional tune and the album in general present a winning formula for the thoughtful Atkins.

“I’ve had some success with my songs, and you’ve got to sit back and ask yourself, ‘Why did these songs connect?’ With a lot of songs, the approach is about how perfect things are, or how messed up things are – It’s one or the other,” he explains. “But for me, real life is there are ups and downs, and if you can, get both sides of that in a song.”

And he’s taken a reality check when it comes to love songs, too. Atkins says he was never interested in recording conventional love songs until he found several tunes that scratch beneath the surface of complex relationships. He includes several of these on the latest album. And they’re songs hardworking family business owners who attend the Pumper & Cleaner Expo can surely relate to.

“Love is not all blue skies and no bills,” he says. “It’s gutters leaking and the cat messed in the fireplace. It’s not convenient at all, and you’ve got to make time for it – that’s the toughest part of it.”

A treat on stage

Love songs, simple slice-of-life songs, or just about anything Atkins performs, he promises an energetic live show. He likes to change up the set list night after night to keep the audience and band in tune and engaged. Expo attendees can expect an edgy and fun time with Atkins and his band.

“Sometimes you just want to cut loose and have fun, and you have to do something unexpected … You just have to kind of roll with it,” Atkins explains. “That’s how I try to be on stage, and the shows get better the more spontaneous they are, the less the band knows what’s going to happen.

“I’m low-key, but I get excited on stage. I think that if I didn’t have that outlet of playing live, I’d be frustrated a lot,” he says. “Music was definitely my savior. It’s a way of saying things that, hopefully, because it’s in the form of music, will stay around awhile.”

Fountain Quail was founded in 2002 by oil industry veteran Delzon Elenburg, who was looking for a way to recycle shale operation wastewater. The company’s head office is located in Roanoke, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, on top of the gas-rich Barnett Shale.

Elenburg found a technology compatible with the company’s business plan in Calgary, Alberta-based Aqua-Pure Ventures Inc. Aqua-Pure’s offering: a series of evaporation units designed to purify landfill leachate, and industrial process water, including water used in the Alberta Oil Sands. What Aqua-Pure needed most: a service business capable of generating recurring revenue.

“In a traditional Texas shale operation, it takes about 120,000 barrels of water to frac a well,” says Richard Magnus, chairman of Aqua-Pure. “The cost of deep well injection in Texas, for example, is only about 65 to 75 cents a barrel. It’s the cost of transporting the water from the shale play to the injection well that’s the clincher. When you figure that a really big tank truck holds maybe 130 barrels, you can see that anything that reduces water transportation costs helps the bottom line.”

EVAPORATING TECHNOLOGY

Aqua-Pure recycles fracking water by employing patented Mechanical Vapor Recompression evaporation, a process that combines evaporation with state-of-the-art heat exchanger technology. In 2002, however, the technology required some fine-tuning to target the Barnett Shale. That task was masterminded by current Fountain Quail/Aqua-Pure CEO Jake Halldorson.

“Jake put engineers on the case and redesigned the technology so the units could fit on lowboy trailers,” says Magnus.

The first ready unit, dubbed Nomad, was built and deployed in 2004, the same year that Aqua-Pure purchased Fountain Quail outright. The Nomad is transported on three skids each – about 12 by 40 feet – standard lowboy trailer loads. On the ground, the system footprint occupies about 60 by 60 feet. Full out, the Nomad produces about 2,000 barrels a day of distilled water at a rate of about 65 gallons per minute.

The company’s first client was Devon Energy Corporation working in the Barnett Shale. Hydraulic fracturing techniques were pioneered in the Barnett by George P. Mitchell, whose Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. was sold to Devon in 2001.

“We thought we’d be raking in the green in short order,” says Magnus. “In reality, it was a little harder to get going. The first year we purified about 30,000 barrels with two units, but we gained valuable shale play expertise that’s made us far more efficient. We’re oil and gas guys who got into the water business, not water guys making a late entry into oil and gas.”

OPERATIONS RAMP UP

To date, the company has purified in excess of 700 million gallons of water in shale operations. The company currently operates nine Nomads with more in the works.

Standard operating procedure for a shale contract involves working with the shale operator to determine the optimum location for the Nomad. The units are either placed in a central location, roughly equidistant from several wells but no more than 15 miles away, or placed in near-field settings, moving along with the drilling action.

“It’s a game of logistics,” says Fountain Quail chief operating officer Brent Halldorson, Jake’s son. “Natural gas exploration leases offer a window of time to drill and fracture and if that expires, the exploration company needs to release that property, so there’s a lot of financial pressure to drill on schedule. If the client is in the north end of the Barnett and decides it’s time to look at some leases in the south end, we’ll move to where the activity is.”

When the call comes, the contractor loads the equipment on trailers then drives it to the new well area. The ground is prepared for the Nomad by the shale operator who flattens the soil and lays down a pad of crushed gravel or limestone. The Nomad is then hauled into place on lowboy trailers and is offloaded using a crane. Although the unit can operate on a number of fuel sources, it most often uses the most readily available fuel –natural gas from the wellhead itself.

FLOWBACK TREATED FIRST

Once slickwater and fracking sand are pumped into the well, the first water to return to the surface from the well bore – flowback – is driven not only by water pressure, but the additional pressure of released natural gas. The process water contains polymers used to reduce the viscosity of water, biocide, dirt, clay, salt and trace metals. Initial flowback represents up to 30 percent of the water injected into the shale.

“The next round of water is the much saltier ‘produced water,’ which continues to flow from the well at rates of up to 200 barrels per day,” says Halldorson. “The average Barnett well produces about 50 barrels per day.”

Between 15 and 30 percent of the water appears to remain permanently underground.

“We don’t really know how much of that will come back over the long term,” says Halldorson. “Every shale is different, but undoubtedly some of it will remain in the shale formation.”

The flowback and produced water is transported by truck or fused poly pipe the short distance to the Nomad site, then stored in raised ponds, separated from the ground below with an impermeable liner.

Solids are removed from the process water using a clarifier, and the remaining salt water is sent to tanks, to be distilled in the evaporator. Employing the evaporation technology, the water is converted to steam using about 5 percent of the energy required for traditional direct-fired distillation.

Concentrated saltwater is pulled off and stored in brine tanks. “That can either be used as kill fluid to contain gas while work is being done at the wellhead, or injected into a saltwater disposal well,” says Halldorson. “We’re also working on other reuse options such as using the concentrate as a component in water-based drilling mud.”

The distilled freshwater is pumped into a large pit that can store up to 17 million gallons of purified water. In the Barnett Shale, that water is transported back to new wells for fracking using temporary aboveground aluminum irrigation pipelines called “fastlines.”

“We operate the units 24/7 across 364 days a year, with a day off at Christmas,” says Halldorson. “Typically we have two to three people per shift at a site, although it takes the same number of people to run three or four Nomads at a site as it does just one.”

During occasional maintenance breaks, one unit is taken offline, cleaned and put back in operation by the end of the shift.

MUST BE COST-EFFECTIVE

“We’re very much a water management contractor,” notes Halldorson. “Recycling water has to be cost-effective to be useful. If deep well disposal is cheaper than recycling, we make recycling less expensive by cutting down the transportation cost and eliminating disposal cost simultaneously. Depending on the available sources of freshwater in the shale play, we can provide the operator with recycled water for the next round of hydraulic fracturing, offering that water right where production is happening.”

However, water issues differ from region to region. In Texas’ Barnett and Eagle Ford Shales, water is a scarcer commodity, and deep well disposal is permitted, but transportation costs are high. Arkansas’ Fayetteville Shale and Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale plays have access to ample freshwater, but environmental concerns are constraining disposal options.

It’s the efficiencies developed on the Barnett Shale that have poised the contractor for expansion into shale plays across the continent. Increased concerns about shale gas water disposal coupled with tougher environmental regulations have made the technology more attractive.

The company has operated in the Marcellus Shale in partnership with Eureka Resources for more than a year. There, the region’s geology makes underground disposal problematic. Process water is often transported as far away as Ohio for deep well disposal. In May, the Marcellus Shale Coalition agreed to end the grandfathered practice of discharging wastewater brine from shale gas drilling operations into area waterways after processing it through metals-precipitation plants only.

“We already have three Nomads at Eureka’s facility in Williamsport, servicing a range of exploration companies in the area,” says Halldorson. “We expect that site to become even busier.”

In June, the company announced a five-year deal with NAC Services, LLC to set up operations on the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, says Halldorson. “This operation will be similar to the one in the Marcellus – a shop to service multiple shale gas producers.”

Fountain Quail has also been approved for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit under the federal Clean Water Act in Arkansas. Concerns that deep-water injection wells may be contributing to earthquakes has seen many of the state’s injection wells shut down.

REPUTATION IS PARAMOUNT

“We’ve already bought a plot of land for a site right in the middle of the Fayetteville play,” says Halldorson. “Recent issues limiting disposal options have led to an increased interest in water recycling in the state. For Arkansas, we’ll be using Nomads for creating freshwater that will be reused to irrigate crops. This benefits the environment by retaining the water in the hydrological cycle.”

Fountain Quail is counting on emerging environmental regulations and an increased emphasis on shale gas extraction as part of the North American energy mix to fuel future business. But building on its reputation is just as important.

“You have to be capable of delivering what you promise,” says Halldorson. “In the oil field industry, a service company’s reputation is sacred.”

Allerion Oilfield Services Inc. spun off its research and development and product division into Mixer Technologies Inc. MixerTech was created to design, manufacture and sell products for resource recovery, waste minimization and blending for the petrochemical and wastewater industries.

Atlas Copco Names Wasel President, Barton Training Specialist

Horst Wasel, president of the Specialty Rental division with Atlas Copco Compressor Technique, was appointed president of the new Quality Air division. The company also appointed Bryan Barton to the new position of product support and training specialist – Underground Rock Excavation.

Groeneveld Expands U.S. Dealer Network

Groeneveld Group, supplier of oil management devices and safety systems, expanded its U.S. dealer network with the addition of North American Trailer as exclusive dealer for Southern California and the enhancement of FQS Bear Equipment’s territory in the Southeast.

Witte Offers Vibration, Fluidization Literature

The Witte Co. offers technical literature that explains how to combine vibration with fluidization for efficient heat transfer between process air and solid particles. The brochure, Vibrating Fluid Bed Dryers & Coolers, can be downloaded at www.witte.com/free-literature.php.

Colfax Names McKay Account Manager

Colfax Corp. appointed Rick McKay account manager for Colfax Fluid Handling’s Power Generation and Industrial Solutions. His territory includes Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Wallwork Kenworth Opens Parts, Service Center

Wallwork Kenworth opened an 18,400-square-foot parts and service center in Minot, N.D. The dealership has seven service bays, 1,000-square-foot parts showroom, 7,000-square-foot parts warehouse and driver’s lounge.

Godwin Donates to National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Pump manufacturer Godwin made a donation to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The organization works to eliminate domestic violence, empower battered adults and children, promotes and unifies direct service programs, alerts and educates the public and promotes partnerships.

Gardner Denver Completes Robuschi Acquisition

Gardner Denver Inc., Wayne, Pa., completed the $200 million acquisition of Robuschi S.p.A. in December. The pump and blower manufacturer, based in Parma, Italy, has annual revenues of approximately $92 million.

Godwin Pumps Changes Name to Xylem Dewatering Solutions

Godwin Pumps of America Inc. changed its name to Xylem Dewatering Solutions Inc., effective Jan. 1. Godwin will remain the brand name for the company’s Dri-Prime series of pumps.

That’s because the company, an affiliate of Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources Inc., used to require two cranes and at least four employees to lift extremely heavy loads. But all that changed more than a year ago when the company bought a PK 150002 knuckleboom crane, made by the Tiffin Loader Crane Co. (a member of the Palfinger North America Group).

With a maximum lifting capacity of about 44 tons, there’s no longer any need to double up crews, says Joe Martin, safety supervisor for Maxxim, which rebuilds and repairs massive equipment used in surface and underground coal mining.

SAVING MANPOWER

“We needed something larger to work with,” Martin says. “Generally, we used to send out two smaller knuckleboom-type trucks for extremely heavy lifts. But now we can send this one out by itself, and it can handle pretty much anything we throw at it.

“That also benefits us in terms of allocating manpower,” he adds. “We can send out one unit with one operator and one assistant, then send out the two smaller cranes to other smaller jobs, rather than having the two smaller cranes tied up on one job. Before, we’d need at least two crane operators and two support personnel to do big lifting jobs.”

The crane also boosts productivity because it takes less time to set up one crane than two cranes.

“It’s so much less time consuming and less complicated with just one crane,” Martin says. “For example, we recently were rebuilding a 785 Caterpillar haul truck that weighs 218,000 pounds. In just one action, the Tiffin crane can lift the hauler’s bare frame – which weighs 25,000 pounds – and load it onto a trailer to be brought inside the rebuild shop.

“In the past, we’d have to put a crane on both sides, and it takes 30 to 45 minutes to set them up, depending on how things go,” he continues. “In all, with two cranes, you’re looking at a minimum of an hour to get both of them lined up and synchronized – you don’t want more weight on one side than the other.

“Overall, we probably save about an hour in setup time,” he adds. “Over the course of a year, an hour here and an hour there all start to add up. If it takes less time to set up, it translates into more billable hours on other jobs.”

SAFER LIFTING

Martin also notes that the new crane saves the company thousands of dollars a year by eliminating the need to rent a larger crane when its two smaller cranes couldn’t do the job.

Martin says the company also benefits from safer operations. For starters, the crane automatically stops operating if the weight of an object exceeds the crane’s lifting capacity. Second, remote-control operation keeps operators out of harm’s way.

“Before, our operators worked directly at the unit because the controls were located just behind the truck cab,” he says.

As an added productivity bonus, the crane’s 62-foot boom enables Maxxim workers to reach inside a service bay from outside the company’s shop building, remove a large piece of a machine or vehicle, then load it onto a truck. Before, that process took longer because workers had to move large pieces of equipment outside, then lift them onto a truck for transportation to the coal mine, Martin says.

Martin notes that the machine projects a good image for his company.

“People are impressed when they see that machine,” he says. “When it arrives on a job site, they look twice. We get a lot of comments about how well it’s built and what it can do.

“Overall, it’s been a good investment for the company,” he adds. “It’s exceeded our expectations, especially how easy it is to maneuver into places I didn’t think we could go. It’s worked out really well.”

Even if Maxxim workers no longer see each other as much on job sites.

There are two options when it comes to hiring debt recovery assistance: a debt collection agency or a lawyer who specializes in debt collection. And there are several factors to consider when choosing the option that will best serve your business.

When to hire a professional

First consider the amount the delinquent customer owes. Hiring a collection professional for a minimal debt is impractical. But you have to decide what a practical cutoff amount is for your company … $100? $500? $1,000? Also consider how important it is to your business to have this particular customer pay back the debt in question. If it’s someone you never plan to do business with again, hire a collection professional as soon as possible. If it’s a long-term customer you’d like to retain in the future, you may want to continue trying to work out payment arrangements with them privately.

A good rule of thumb is to get serious about collections when an invoice is 90 days delinquent (120 days after it’s sent out). But number of days isn’t the only indicator that you aren’t getting paid. Aside from missing payments, there are other warning signs a customer is not planning to pay. These include:

Relocating without submitting a change of address with the postal service

Refusing to respond to your phone calls, bills or final notice letters

Denying that he or she owes you money

Disputing the quality of service provided in an attempt to justify refusal to pay

If your debtor shows any of these signs, you may not want to wait past 30 days to hire a collection professional. Time is of the essence because, in general, after three months you can expect to collect only about 75 cents of every dollar owed. After six months the amount drops to about half. After a year you’re lucky to get a quarter of the delinquent amount.

The Collection agency Route

Collection agencies essentially do the same things you do when a customer is delinquent – make calls and send letters – however, they have the time, personnel, equipment and technology to do it efficiently and effectively.

When it comes to technology, make sure the collection agency you hire employs skip tracing. This means if your debtor moved without leaving a forwarding address and has disconnected the telephone, the collection agency can access databases to locate them.

Also make sure the agency you are considering is licensed in the states where the debtor is located. You don’t want your debt illegally collected through an unlicensed agency.

Finally, verify the collection agency has errors and omissions insurance. This protects you and the collection agency if a debtor sues over tactics used to collect on behalf of your business.

The cost of hiring a collection agency varies, depending on the amount of business you bring them as well as the amount of debt in question. Most agencies keep 25 to 30 percent of the amount they collect, but it can go as high as 50 percent.

The Collection Attorney Option

The main difference between a collection agency and a debt collection attorney is that the latter can ultimately take your delinquent customer to court. If the debt is large enough to sue over and you are willing to go the distance and take the delinquent client to court, hiring a collection attorney from the beginning makes sense.

A collection attorney may charge an hourly fee, retain about one-third of the amount recovered, or both. Some attorneys have a set minimum fee, or require the debt be of a minimum amount. Court-related fees and any other charges related to a lawsuit will be your responsibility. Considering this, if you’re not willing to take your customers to court over a past-due account, then there’s probably no reason to hire a debt collection attorney.

More About Costs

Before you hire either a collection agency or collection attorney, ask firms you are considering to provide a client list. It may be a benefit to you if they have other clients in industries similar to yours. Meet the owner or manager of the collection agency, or the partner in the law firm before you decide. Consider their success rate, any up-front or hourly fees and the percentage of collections they retain.

If an agency’s success rate is 70 percent, meaning they collect 70 percent of every dollar they go after, plus they retain 20 percent of any amount they collect, and you hire them to help collect a $20,000 debt, they’ll retain $3,080 ($20,000 x 70% = $14,000 x 22% = $3,080). In other words, probably the most you can expect to recover of a $20,000 debt you put in this agency’s hands is $16,920.

To avoid any surprises, get rates in writing up front. It’s not always wise to base your decision on which firm comes in with the lowest rates, however. There is an argument to be made that the agency who keeps a higher percentage of any debt they recover will be the more motivated to bring in cash.