JCS Industries Brings Innovation To Chemical Feed Technology

Brian Whitmore, president of JCS Industries, talks to Water Online Radio about the company’s chemical feeders for liquid, gas, and dry feed, including the new JCS Model 4150 vacuum polymer feeder.

Todd Schnick: We are coming to you live from Dallas, Texas. This is day four of AWWA ACE 2012 and Water Online Radio. I am your host Todd Schnick joined by my colleague Todd Youngblood. Things are getting crazy here. We have people dancing in the aisles.

Todd Youngblood: Crazy. You were looking at the people dancing in the aisles and I was watching our guest dancing in his seat, which is something that I have never seen before.

Todd Schnick: It was really good of the Water Online guys to save this guy for near the end, because it would have been interesting to have this guy early on. I want to welcome Brian Whitmore, who is the President of JCS Industries. Welcome back to the show Brian.

Brian: Thank you, guys.

Todd Schnick: It is great to have you. Before we get into it, take a second and tell us about you and your background.

Brian: I started in the water and wastewater business about 25 years ago as a laborer shoveling sludge for the city of Houston, and got promoted through the ranks. I worked various jobs, in service and sales.

I decided that I needed a better living. I took a chance and started my own business and it ended up evolving into the manufacturing of equipment.

Todd Schnick: Tell us about JCS Industries. What do you guys do? How do you help and serve your market?

Brian: We manufacture innovative chemical feed technology. In other words we make chemical feeders for liquid, gas, and dry feed. We specialize in the area of using vacuum to convey, and meter, and control the chemicals, whereas everyone else, for instance with liquid, will use the conventional pump-type of system where we use vacuum to convey the chemical.

Todd Youngblood: Brian, let me first congratulate you on starting a business and being successful. Todd and I have great admiration for successful entrepreneurs so kudos on that. Talk about your customer. Who would be taking advantage of your services?

Brian: We primarily focus on the municipal industry or sector. Private industry is always thought to have a pocket full of money, but every time you get to the point that they are ready to buy, they get sticker shock and go back to the cheap old ways of doing things. They are more focused on the throwaway world than, say, the municipal industry would be.

Todd Schnick: Tell us about some of the new products that JCS Industries is putting out there.

Brian: At this show we have two products. One is the JCS Model 4150 vacuum polymer feeder. Typical polymer feed machines are metering pumps into a reactor chamber and the reactor fluid is pushed to the point of application.

What we do is a lot different.  We use vacuum to pull that chemical, mix it in the line, and then send it. It is safe, reliable, and it is more accurate.

Todd Youngblood: Brian, I love technology. I have always been fascinated by it. It is cool. It is always dangerous, though, to get enamored with technology and new techniques. Let’s talk about the money side of it. You have great new technology, but what does that mean financially for your customer?

Brian: It means that they can save on chemical consumption. Because of the technology that we employ they can find out if there is an issue of loss of chemical feed. We use flow sensors on everything.

The minute that you lose that chemical strain you get an alarm, whereas on the conventional systems you wait until you have a secondary process analyzer or some sort of device to fail or give you an alarm that creates bad water for you.

Todd Schnick: Let’s shift focus for a minute. Go up to 10,000 feet; look down on the water industry as a whole. What do you see as the important trends coming down the pipe in the next 3-5 years?

Brian: Larger facilities, automation, the reduction of the human factor. When you walk around here you see a lot of SCADA. You see a lot of membrane. You see a lot of analytical things that could be tied into running the plant with less manpower.

Todd Youngblood: What impact is that going to have on JCS?

Brian: We fit into that mold. Our devices are all SCADA capable. They look at real-time data instead of assumptions of calibrated feedback pots where we look at actual chemical feedback and whether we are functioning or not.

Todd Schnick: Brian, JCS Industries is exhibiting here at AWWA ACE 2012. How has the show gone for you? What were your goals and objectives coming into ACE12?

Brian: It was surprising. The response that we got from both the operations sector and the representation side was phenomenal.

Todd Youngblood: What kinds of things are you looking at? What are your plans? Do you have any new technologies that you are playing with, looking at or considering?

Brian: We are looking at some things. We are trying to focus on strictly chemical feed. A long time ago there were some big companies and they were it. They were engineers. They designed, they innovated, and you just don’t see that in this sector anymore.

Todd Schnick: Another side to new innovation and technology is if I look at water utilities they are not always the most famous for their willingness in forward thinking in adopting new techniques and technologies. Do you find that is true and, if so, what are you doing to get folks over that fear?

Brian: There are two ways. You can either embrace technology or you can be dragged kicking and screaming. I see a mixture of both. It depends on the management style of the municipality.

I see a lot of people that I am shocked that they are actually going into the SCADA systems, remote control, and remote indication. I also see some that are very large cities that seem to be back in the cave period. I do see it growing toward the technology side.

Todd Schnick: The whole area of drinking water treatment is so ripe for innovation. What can we do as an industry? What can JCS Industries do to help get us there an embrace that spirit of innovation?

Brian: Find people to distribute their equipment.

Todd Schnick: It’s that simple?

Brian: It is that simple.

Todd Youngblood: Take it a step forward. How do you do that?

Brian: There is ACE, there is WEF, there is Water Online; it is just about getting the word out.

Todd Schnick: Brian, I hate to say it but we are out of time. Before we let you go how can people get in touch with you and more importantly where can they learn about the good works at JCS Industries?

Brian: To learn more about us and get a hold of us go to jcsindustries.us.com.

Todd Schnick: Outstanding. Brian Whitmore, President of JCS Industries it was great to have you. Thank you so much for joining us.

Brian: Thanks.

Todd Schnick: That wraps up this segment. On behalf of our guest Brian Whitmore, my co-host, Todd Youngblood, and all of us here at Water Online Radio, I am Todd Schnick. We will be right back with our next guest.