WWEMA Window: Why Gamble On The Future? SHAPE IT!
By Deborah LaVelle, Bestt Consulting, LLC
Chairman, Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association
Why Gamble on the Future? SHAPE IT! is this year’s theme for the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association’s 2012 Annual Meeting, being held November 1 to 3, 2012, in Las Vegas, NV. With the future of the industry continuing to face uncertainties, the members-only program will include motivational speakers, industry professionals, and local government representatives who are currently engaged in shaping the future. The program will tackle the challenges of meeting customer needs and understanding market and technological trends, funding, and regulations… among the key challenges facing the water industry today.
The Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) has been shaping the future of the industry for over 104 years. WWEMA has taken a leadership role in the legislative and regulatory environment by informing members of relevant issues, advocating members’ positions to the appropriate stakeholders, and influencing decisions and outcomes affecting members’ businesses during times of turbulence and tranquility.
Perhaps it is time for every individual, industry professional, business, and, yes, even federal, state, and local government to embrace SHAPE IT thinking. The crystal ball to our future is missing, and if we are to capitalize on opportunities and meet the challenges before us, our “call to action” must be a “call for action”.
A recent report entitled 2012 Water Market Review (Maxwell, 2012) states the opportunities within the environmental market today and in the future will require strategies which include thinking globally, acting locally (river basins and watersheds), education, incremental technological advances, and strong advocacy for smarter laws and policies. Every individual committed to this industry can identify with one or more of these basic principles and make a siginificant contribution.
As water industry professionals, we live in rewarding times. We have the ability as manufacturers to build better and more efficient equipment. We can develop improved technologies. Private investors are helping to bring new technologies to the market. We can also provide technical experience and expertise to federal, state, and local governments on how to meet tough treatment objectives at the lowest cost of ownership. Our profession understands the value of water and is being given an opportunity to educate the public and many times each other.
We live in challenging times and must shape every challenge into an opportunity. Continuing to voice our support of federal, state, and local funding and procurement methods that are good for our communities and do not include provisions that are detrimental to our businesses is essential. Supporting fair and balanced regulations and enforcement policies that provide public safety and are attainable at a reasonable cost to the community can be done. Therefore, whether you are an individual or a group of individuals, such as WWEMA, you have the choice to be part of — or a provider of — these industry solutions.
So why gamble on our future when you have the ability to SHAPE IT?