Industry Person of the Week – Grant Kissel

It’s so nice to see peers nominate each other to be Industry Person of the Week! Meet Grant Kissel, former marine and current President of Indiana Pump Works. Here is what he had to share!

Q. How did you get started working in your field?

Grant: I got started working in the water and wastewater industry by chance. I had joined the Marine Corps reserves out of high school and decided that I wanted to pursue a career in construction management. Once back home, I started working for my father-in-law, who is a land developer that had several projects going on at the time. He also had recently started a water and wastewater utility to serve some of the subdivisions that he owned, and some that he was planning for future development. I was working on a large scale apartment complex, and once it was finished, I started to get involved with the utilities in 2001. I started working full-time for the utilities and quickly got my wastewater operator’s license. Then I worked toward my water treatment distribution licenses. I worked for the utility company until early 2012, then I started my career in selling water and wastewater equipment.

Q. What do you love the most about your job? What are you most proud of?

Grant: I love talking with other like-minded people! I fell in love working in the environmental space, and I love water and wastewater treatment. The best part of my job is that I get to visit with lots of people on a regular basis, and I get to help people solve problems. I am proud to serve in this industry to ensure that future generations have clean water! My peers trust me due to the fact that I am a certified operator, and not just another “sales guy”.

Q. What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work or new to the field?

Grant: This industry is a great place to make a career. There are many folks who are retiring and we need the next generation to step up and help take care of our water supply. This career often goes unnoticed, but it is critical to our communities, and it is an exciting job. Become active in an organization! One thing that I often see is people who need to network. It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget that you have other resources nearby. I advocate that operators need to stay in touch with each other to share ideas, tips, and tricks. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, so get connected with your local operators association at any level.

Q. Can you talk about a project you recently worked on?

Grant: One of my recent projects had me go into a landfill to figure out a solution for pumping leachate from multiple sump sites on a daily basis. I was able to retrofit a tanker trailer with a generator and control panel, and then we installed submersible pumps into 7 sump pits across the property. They are now able to pump all of the sumps completely out and haul their waste to the local wastewater treatment facility. This saves them several hours from the way they had been doing this for several years, and the ROI was going to pay them back in under a year.

Q. Anything else you would like to add?

Grant: I started Indiana Pump Works LLC after working for a large pump distributor in Indiana for the last 7 years. With my experience, I am setting myself apart from the competition as a trusted source for pumping equipment and knowledge. Our main focus is to provide top of the line pumps and pump stations in Indiana. We make flow happen. We are a Veteran-Owned Small Business that is looking to help others out and do good for our communities. We represent EBARA and Keen pumps in the municipal market, and are working to round out our line card.