Each month, WQP provides the latest in water quality treatment products and services, as well as top-notch business advice, in its regular issues. The Faces of the Industry special issue is a chance to peek behind the curtain to look at the people and organizations that keep the industry running.
The water treatment industry has always been a family-focused business. Many dealerships that exist today are independent, family-run operations that have been operating for decades. We shine a light on some of those in the Dealerships Through the Generations section on page 16. Each of the three dealerships profiled has been in business for at least three generations, and each hopes that legacy continues.
Family businesses are just as much about business as they are about family. Maher Water, featured on page 17, has been a family affair since its inception. In a 1949 letter to his parents, Paul Maher wrote about an opportunity to purchase a water softener business. He wrote, “So of course, here I come again, Dad. If you have $3,000 kicking around that you could lend out I might be asking for it.” His father’s support launched a successful business that thrives to this day, still under the Maher name.
The theme of family succession extends to this year’s Industry Icon, featured on page 6. John Packard, president of Packard Culligan, inherited his business—and business know-how—from his father, who started it more than 70 years ago. Packard hopes to one day pass the business along to his son, Derek.
From his father John learned the value of maintaining relationships with other dealers. “Somebody in the same industry has always been more of a partner than anything else,” John said. “Yeah, we’re competing with one another, but we’re sort of in the same fraternity.”
John spoke of the value found in the Water Quality Assn., which allows dealers to form extended families of sorts, an environment in which water quality professionals can learn from each other.
This communal spirit also can be found in this year’s Young Professionals, featured on page 12, whose work ethic and volunteer efforts are making strides in the industry. And the regional associations, who provide their updates on page 28, are working collectively to enact change on a legislative level.
Whether brought together by blood or community, the water treatment industry is continuing its legacy of working together to accomplish greatness.
