WWEMA Blog

  1. WWEMA Window: 'Buy American' March To The Sea 1/21/2015

    Many of you may have grown up in the decades where your perfectly reasonable teenage parental “ask” was met with the story of lemmings blindly following their leader over the cliff to their death at sea.

  2. WWEMA Window: Do You Have A Seat At The Table? 11/14/2014

    What do a national expert in water reuse, a motivational speaker, a Chinese technology accelerator program operator, and an entertaining economist have in common?

  3. WWEMA Window: What's Inside Matters 10/16/2014

    Technological innovations are pervasive in today’s business climate as well as in our personal lives.

  4. WWEMA Window: The Need For Change 9/3/2014

    In the last week, I sent my youngest daughter off to her freshman year at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and my oldest daughter, a junior at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, off to Salamanca, Spain, to study abroad for three months. While these were much anticipated opportunities, they also came with a lot of questions, worries, and angst.  Change is never easy!

  5. WWEMA Window: The Necessity of Association 7/21/2014

    Keeping up with the changing needs, regulations, and nuances of the water and wastewater markets is too much to ask of any one individual or company.  That is even more true when you add in the complexities of an aging infrastructure, a growing population, and increasing industrial and agricultural needs that continue to provide new opportunities for the thousands of companies in our industry.  Most manufacturers recognize this overwhelming challenge and have come to depend on external nonprofit organizations and the role they play in the continued success and growth of our industries. By John Collins, JCM Industries

  6. Social Media In The Workplace – Friend Or Foe? 5/14/2014

    Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube — these are just a few of the more popular social media sites that have found their way into the workplace. In fact, use of these sites has begun to blur the distinction between home and office, particularly with the ubiquitous presence of personal devices such as Droids and iPhones. By Vanessa M. Leiby, WWEMA Executive Director

  7. WWEMA Window: Deferred Maintenance — What Are We Really Saving? 4/15/2014

    The United States continues to face water and wastewater funding issues. As the industry struggles, it consistently encounters the age-old problems of governance and funding, which has led to delays in accepting and implementing best practices for maintenance. By Michelle McNish, president, E & I Corporation

  8. WWEMA Window: Why 'Buy American' May Be Bad For America 3/19/2014

    “Buy American” is a sound bite that conjures up an image of a Norman Rockwell painting, motherhood, and apple pie. Ask most people on the street, in our state houses, and on Capitol Hill whether “Buy American” is good, and I suspect most peoples’ immediate response would be … “Of course it’s a good thing.” While it is good to promote the purchase of American-made goods, there is another very important side to this issue that is so much more complex and challenging than what can be conveyed in a simple sound bite. By Vanessa Leiby, Executive Director, WWEMA

  9. WWEMA Window: Decision Making – A Different Perspective 2/5/2014

    As water and wastewater industry professionals, our lives revolve around processes, with a capital “P.”  From the process of regulation, to solutions developed for compliance, to providing services for our customers and running our companies, we must have more than a basic understanding of any process in which we choose to participate. By Deb LaVelle, president, Bestt Consulting, LLC

  10. WWEMA Window: Tackling Today's Top Challenges 10/15/2013

    On September 24, 2013, the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) held its annual President’s Council at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. This is an informative one-day event where top executives of WWEMA-member companies get together to share and discuss industry trends, national and international economic news, and upcoming regulatory issues. This was my fifth year attending this event. Each year the insight that is shared is amazing, and 2013 was no exception. By Frank J. Rebori, president of Smith & Loveless, Inc. and vice chairman of WWEMA