Sharing Different Perspectives

There’s so much to be learned in the stories of your peers’ failures and successes.

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I always wonder if you read this column and what you think of it.

I’ve never lined a pipe, run a jetter or inspected a sewer main. I can’t share any technical wisdom. But I talk to you and your peers regularly. I hear your stories. I go to trade shows. I read about the industry. I certainly know far more about the work you do than your customers — you don’t need to explain to me the value of a CCTV inspection or the benefits of pipe bursting. Still, I’ve never done the work, and that’s where the real knowledge comes from.

I got a call the other day from Larry Larson at C&L Water Solutions in Littleton, Colorado. Larry has been in business since 1979, and he’s been in the industry longer than that. I’m not teaching him anything new about the work he’s been doing for 40 years, but he still reads Cleaner and called about my column in the October issue.

The column, coincidentally, was about the evolution of the trenchless industry, and Larry was inquiring whether I was familiar with the UV-curing process for CIPP lining. I told him I am, but only in the way I’m familiar with other technologies: I’ve read about them, discussed them and seen them demonstrated, but I’m not out in the field practicing them.

Larry told me about his business and the tremendous growth it’s seen in recent years since he and his sons have added and embraced new trenchless technologies. It was good to hear his perspective. It was also really nice to hear that he regularly reads the magazine and values my viewpoint. He referred to it as an outside perspective, and that was pretty interesting to hear — a useful reminder that no matter how much I write about the industry, I’m not out there doing the work.

So maybe I can’t teach you how to properly wet-out a felt liner, safely hydroexcavate a utility line in a congested area, or run your cable machine through multiple bends without getting it stuck. I can’t tell you which nozzle is best for the work you do and I can’t provide any tips on coding inspection video. But I can put the industry’s best and brightest in front of you every month. I can tell their stories. And I can give you the opportunity to learn from them.

There’s plenty to learn from people like Larry Larson, and the more I learn the better I can tell those stories and put them in a context that’s meaningful to you. People like Larry and their stories fill this magazine every month, and the vast breadth of knowledge and information they hold is the real value for you.

Keep your eye out for the profile on C&L Water Solutions next month. And in the meantime, enjoy this month’s issue.



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