Joe and Kamau tell us about the Pumper aka
Water & Wastewater Equipment Treatment & Transport Show
Did you enjoy your first pumper show experience and why?
Kamau: Yes, I got to meet a lot of vendors that I deal with on a daily basis.
Joe: Yes, I learned a lot, met a lot of people from our industry and made a lot of connections.
What did you think of Indianapolis?
Joe: It’s a really clean city compared to Pittsburgh
Kamau: Very walk-able, it took 5 mins to get downtown.
What hotel did you stay in and what was it like?
Both: The Alexander, it’s by the Lucas Oil Football Stadium. It was brand new and really nice.
What was your favorite bar/restaurant that you visited and why?
Both: There was a lot of them! We liked hanging out at Taps for darts, decent music and drinks. Morton’s meals were the best, but we honestly liked everywhere we went.
What is the most useful thing you learned on the trip?
Both: The connection with the vendors and all the different people you meet. We got to learn a lot about our industry, and network.
Most surprising thing you learned?
Kamau: How much people really want to sell you deodorizer.
Joe: How well respected Mr. John is by everyone there.
What product interested you the most?
Joe: Imperial Industries truck. It is like they took every problem we could have and fixed it. It’s the perfect truck!
What was your favorite booth at the show and why?
Kamau: Poly John – Happy hour 3-5 and everyone was there! Loved their sinks with LED lights.
Joe: Satellite, AmeriCan and JAG. It was interesting to see all of the restroom trailers. Oh, and of course, Imperial Industries, because they have the trucks that would solve a lot of my headaches.
Name three interesting people you met. What do they do? Why did you find them interesting?
Both: Scott Clegg – J&J –His personality and knowledge. Cam-Porta Pro-He has been around for so long! It was fun to listen to Cam and Jeff stories. Dave Andres-Bionic Filters Solutions-He is a trip and a straight shooter.
What is your favorite story that Jeff told while you were on the trip?
Both: He told us about a 25 toilet route that spanned over 300 miles and during one stop the ferry broke down. They guy jumped out and tied a paddle boat to the front of the ferry to pull it to shore. Finally the guy gave up then went to Jeff and said, well that’s not going to work. Jeff said, “Well I could have told you that!”
Any funny story of your own that you would like to share with everyone?
Both: The first night there, out with Matt, Rollin, Dave A and Scott at the Slippery Noodle. There was a lot of funny tension and they were all trying to outdo each other on the bar tab….
Overall, what was the best thing about your trip?
Both: We learned a lot and gathered a lot of information. We liked watching Jeff network with everyone. The whole experience was great.
If you were to do it over again, what would you do different?
Both: Prepare questions and map out the whole show to visit certain vendors.
Did you play basketball? (Gotta ask, it’s March Madness Month!)
Kamau: Yes, at Stone Mountain High School in Atlanta. I was the small forward.
Joe: I always played street ball.
Thank You!
Joe Hatherly
Kamau Gant
