A Rising Star In Industrial Water Treatment

Mark Dickman, senior VP of sales for ChemTreat, explains the company’s capabilities for the industrial water treatment market.

The following is an excerpt from a Q&A with Water Online Radio. Click on the Radio Player above to hear the full interview.

Water Online Radio: Take a second and tell us a little bit about you and your background.

Mark: I’ve been with ChemTreat for 15 years, joined in ’97, [when it was ] about a $50-million company. Pretty unique growth story: went to $100 million in 2000, $200 million in 2007, and we’ll eclipse $350 million this year.

Water Online Radio: Go deep on ChemTreat. What do you do? How do you serve your market?

Mark: ChemTreat is industrial water treatment primarily. We play across power, steel, refining, petrochemical, mining – all the major verticals in the business.

We’ll eclipse 500 customer-facing representatives this year. We are just completing our ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. I think a lot of that is due to how our business philosophy has played out.

We have a unique model. Our business is about water and energy conservation, but it also goes beyond that. I think our representatives and technical capabilities provide an unparalleled value proposition in the space today.

Water Online Radio: Tell us something about that philosophy.

Mark: Sure. In our business trust is a big part of the relationship. Our average representative in the business has over 17 years of water treatment experience. The model is different in that our field representation is invested in the community; they’re practically business owners. When we hire them, it’s with the idea that they will retire there. The customers value this. There’s a linear correlation to the value that you provide in our business from a service rep standpoint and the amount of years that that person has been in business.

You could learn about water treatment – the basics and the foundation, through engineering principles – but the nuances, the expertise that is particular to steel or refining, that comes with experience. That has been a big part of our success, and I think the other thing is hiring ahead of the curve.

Water Online Radio: Well, Mark, you’re no doubt in a competitive market. What makes ChemTreat stand out?