Vac-Con IVT
Vac-Con IVT
Vac-Con IVT
Workhorses
TAM Enterprises
grows around
Vac-Cons reliability
DEALER PROFILE
19 Be Your Guide
Let The Pipe
Darrell LeSage
President
Vac-Con, Inc.
8 Sanitary Transformation
COVER STORY / UTILITY PROFILE
12 Whatever It Takes
DEALER PROFILE
15 A New System
ASK THE EXPERT
Sales Manager
Todd Masley
(904)529-1318
toddm@vac-con.com
VA C - C O N IV T
DEALER SPOTLIGHT
CARING FOR
CUSTOMERS
Atlantic Machinery makes
employees and customers feel
like theyre part of the family
BY
PAUL NICOLAUS |
DEN NESTE
VA C - C O N IV T
EASTERN DISTRIBUTORS
Atlantic Machinery
(301) 585-0800
atlanticmachineryinc.com
Maryland, Virginia, D.C.,
West Virginia and Delaware
Peirce-Eagle Equipment
(908) 203-0999
peirceeagle.com
State of New York and New Jersey
VAC-CON.COM
855.336.2962
e-mail: vns@vac-con.com
Trius
(631) 244-8600
triusonline.com
New York City and Long Island, NY
(860) 589-3629
newenglandmunicipal.com
Connecticut, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Vermont,
New Hampshire and Maine
US Municipal
(800) 222-1980
usmuni.com
Pennsylvania
VA C - C O N IV T
AsktheExpert
BY
MIKE SELBY
POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT
The positive displacement machine was
invented around 1860 as a more efficient
water wheel. Made of wood, it was put into the
millstream and as water flowed through it, the
rotors turned and power was generated from
the output shaft. Over time, wood components
swelled and ruined the clearances, causing the
mill to stop. The unit would then have to be
taken out of service and dried out, shrinking
the components to their original dimensions. As
soon as the rotors would turn, a power source
was connected to the output shaft to speed up
the drying process. Someone noticed that this
arrangement could move a significant quantity
of air, and the use of air blowers began.
Cupola blowers became the first application
for this newfound technology. Each rotation of
the rotors represented a specific amount of air
being forced into the furnace, thus allowing the
furnace master to develop the theory that the
more rpm the blower turned, the hotter the fire
became. The positive displacement machine
was originally intended for pressure applications, which led to the original nickname,
blower. Only in the last 30 years has the
machine been adapted to provide negative pressure in truck-mounted vacuum applications.
The PD machine is constructed with two
lobes that rotate in a cast steel housing in
opposite directions of each other. The design of
the PD is such that each lobe traps a specified
VA C - C O N IV T
Transfor
S A N I TA RY
VA C - C O N IV T
mation
Plainfield ramps up maintenance on
its aging infrastructure and drastically
reduces sewer overflows
by Dan Heim
PHOTOS BY JOHN OBOYLE
THE CHALLENGES
Were very proactive in our approach, Dessino says. When we
first started, the system was in terrible shape. But now we have
very few backups, and overtime is almost zero. A lot of that is
from how we use our Vac-Cons. Theyve been real workhorses.
PMUA has 110 miles of pipe, ranging from 8 to 24 inches in
diameter. Some of that pipe has been replaced with PVC using
VA C - C O N IV T
DYNAMIC DUO
VA C - C O N IV T
Sewer technicians
Steve Bouie (left) and
Joseph Mistretta set up
their Vac-Con and feed
the jetter hose down
the manhole to begin
cleaning a sewer line.
and the other in 2014. Dessino is required to go through the usual open-bidding process, so several companies were allowed
to make their pitch. He bought Vac-Con both times, $230,000
for the first, and around $300,000 for their second larger tandem-axle model.
I have to listen to the sales reps, but honestly, when I look at
the price, the warranty, the service and the capabilities, I havent
found anything yet that tops the Vac-Con product, Dessino says.
Ours are out there eight hours a day, five days a week, and they
just keep running and hold up well.
For front-end engine work and general maintenance, PMUA
handles it in-house. For any back-end vac issues they go to the
dealer. With a regular maintenance schedule, Dessino has kept
his Vac-Cons running with very few problems.
RECOVERY WORK
While neither of the PMUAs divisions is responsible for the citys
stormwater system, its jet/vac trucks are sometimes called in to
provide assistance.
On occasion, weve needed to assist the city with stormwater cleanup, especially after big weather events like Hurricane
Sandy back in October 2012, Dessino says.
Hurricane Sandy inundated much of the East Coast with
a perfect storm surge. Power outages, emergency response
11
DEALER SPOTLIGHT
WHATEVER
IT TAK ES
Best Equipment provides the
training and mobile service
necessary to make sure
customers stay on the road
and ready for any job
BY
KYLE ROGERS |
PHOTOS BY CHRIS
BERGIN
12
VA C - C O N IV T
A SOLID RELATIONSHIP
Those who purchase a Vac-Con truck through Best Equipment find themselves in a relationship that extends far beyond
the sale, Dahlmann says.
We feel that superior service is a differentiator between
ourselves and the competition, he says. We invest a lot in our
service.
It starts with a thorough inspection of the equipment prior
MIDWESTERN DISTRIBUTORS
ABM Equipment
Best Equipment
(800) 229-5451
abmequip.com
(317) 823-3050
bestequipmentco.com
(800) 522-2808
ejequipment.com
Illinois and Eastern Missouri
Frontier Equipment
(405) 354-2611
frontierequipmentsales.com
(501) 268-1987
henardutility.com
Oklahoma
Arkansas
Wisconsin
Mid-Iowa
Red Municipal
(515) 276-3352
mid-iowa.com
(816) 231-2005
redequipmentco.com
VAC-CON.COM
855.336.2962
e-mail: vns@vac-con.com
E.J. Equipment
VA C - C O N IV T
Mike Dahlmann
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Vac-Con parts on
the shelf.
When a truck requires service, there are Best Equipments
Indianapolis and Cleveland facilities, as well as a road service
crew that can travel directly to customers and get a truck up and
running quickly. Four service techs are dedicated solely to road
service and are able to assist customers
located in Indiana, Ohio or Kentucky.
Its basically a service department on
wheels, Dahlmann says of the $200,000
Kenworths the road service techs are
equipped with. They have a welder, an
air compressor, a torch everything you
need to make repairs on the road. Weve
spent a lot of money to make sure our
service techs have the proper equipment.
We can provide service very quickly on
the road.
Dahlmann says Best Equipments customer service approach is also about building a relationship that extends well
past a single truck purchase.
We do whatever it takes to make sure they have a great
Best Equipment and Vac-Con experience from the cradle to the
grave, he says. We dont want to just sell a truck to a customer
and that be the end of it. We want to do everything we can to
keep that customer. We want to be their choice again in seven to
10 years when theyre looking to buy another truck.
AsktheExpert
BY
JAVIER RESTO
A NEW SYSTEM
n early 2014, we started developing a new vacuum management system for our trucks. By
that summer, an experimental
prototype was ready and now
approximately 80 Vac-Con trucks are out in the
field utilizing the system.
Weve coined it a vacuum management
system rather than simply a control system,
because thats what it does: It manages the operating speed of the truck engine alongside the
hydrostatic system running the vacuum source
so the truck as a whole can run more efficiently.
Avoiding driveline failures was a big reason
behind developing this system. Thats something we discovered could happen while operating the vacuum with the truck engine running
at certain speeds. The solution was a system to
manage engine speed in those situations.
Under our vacuum management system,
the truck engine will automatically run at the
speed needed to produce enough horsepower
for the vacuum to operate at the power level
the customer has selected. Weve made it simple. All the operator has to do is flip the on
switch and select the proper vacuum speed:
low, medium or high. From there, the electronic control module sends signals to the engine
directing it to go to a specific speed setting
based on the selected vacuum power level.
Its the solution to preventing driveline
failures that we were looking for, but the
Name ____________________________________________________
Address __________________________________________________
I am a:
Combination Machine
Hydroexcavation
Industrial Vacuum
Jetting/Rodding
Private Contractor
Municipality
Dealer/Distributor
Other ____________
Company _________________________________________________
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904-284-3305 REGISTER ONLINE: www.vac-con.com/cap
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DEALER SPOTLIGHT
Municipal Maintenance
Equipment owners Helen and
Frank Wheeler III share a common
focus with their staff: customer
satisfaction. The companys 29
employees serve customers from
four facilities in California.
RISING
OCCASION
TO
T HE
PAUL NICOLAUS |
PHOTOS BY LEZLIE
STERLING
VA C - C O N IV T
BUILDING A TEAM
What first began as one location and a team of four has since
grown into four California locations and 29 employees total, and
all MME staff share a common focus: Customer satisfaction is
our goal.
Part of the secret to success is finding ways to add a personal
touch whenever possible. We try to have a friendly face when
they call on the phone, Wheeler explains. We also try to make
WESTERN DISTRIBUTORS
Balar Equipment
(602) 944-1933
balar.com
Arizona
MME
(916) 922-1101
source-mme.com
California
VAC-CON.COM
855.336.2962
e-mail: vns@vac-con.com
Enviro-Clean
(503) 491-3393
envirocleanequip.com
Oregon and Western Washington
Enviro-Clean Intermountain
(801) 413-1413
envirocleanequip.com
Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana
Williams Equipment
(303) 573-0149
williamseqpt.com
Colorado
VA C - C O N IV T
AsktheExpert
BY
MIKE SELBY
When you start getting into larger diameters, you still use pressure to remove the
material off the walls of the pipe, but much
like a river, if you dont have enough flow
youre going to have sediment that settles. If
youre going to use a 30 or 50 gpm system in a
pipe thats 56 inches in diameter, you might as
well use a garden hose its just not going to
convey the material.
At that point it is important to have higher
flows of anywhere from about 50 to 120 gpm
so the material removed from the pipe can
be sent back to the manhole and physically
removed. In other words, you have to make
sure the nozzle is properly sized so you can
both effectively clean the pipe and remove the
material from the infrastructure.
Keep in mind that theres no shortage of
nozzle manufacturers out there, and most are
examining the dynamics of how the water is
routed inside these nozzles. In years past, the
nozzle was just a throwaway part. Now, they
can run all the way up into tens of thousands
of dollars and many come backed by extended
warranties.
Some use percussion that utilizes the water
flow as a propellant or driving force almost like
VA C - C O N IV T
19
Right
g
Combinat
THE
s Tony Lasaponara was establishing his pipeline and industrial cleaning business, TAM
Enterprises in Goshen, New York, he was also
busy building a reputation for reliability a
critical attribute for handling emergency jobs
where every minute counts.
And while the scope of the companys service offerings has
expanded dramatically over the years, one thing has remained
constant: Lasaponaras reliance on equipment manufactured by
Vac-Con.
Weve grown together, says Lasaponara, a former electrician
who established TAM Enterprises in 1994 with nothing more than
a service van and a small drain cleaning machine. Vac-Con was
starting out right around when I was starting out. And I would
have to say its been a very good, productive relationship.
Within six months after starting TAM Enterprises, Lasaponara bought his first jet/vac truck. He decided to make the investment in larger, more productive equipment when he saw an
opportunity to expand on his existing core service, unclogging
lateral sewer lines, by getting into cleaning municipal sewer and
stormwater lines.
VA C - C O N IV T
tion
TAM Enterprises President Tony
Lasaponara stands with the companys
newest Vac-Con hydroexcavator in
Goshen, New York.
VA C - C O N IV T
21
PRODUCTIVITY MATTERS
Hydroexcavation is an important part of TAMs business, and its
a market that has helped the company grow.
In one instance, a utility company hired TAM and several other contractors to expose a long section of gas main. The utility
had originally hired an excavation contractor to do the job with a
backhoe, but then hired TAM and the other contractors when the
backhoe damaged a section of pipe. Lasaponara had three VacCon hydroexcavators on the job.
The utility wouldnt let a backhoe finish the job, so we exposed the rest of the pipe along with two other companies, each
operating with one truck, Lasaponara explains. Our trucks exposed more pipe in one day than any of the other trucks on the
job. In all, we exposed about 2,000 feet of pipe. After a couple
days, the utility sent the other trucks home and we finished the
job by ourselves.
Getting more work done per day boosts customer satisfaction and increases profit margins, and quality equipment helps out there, too. A good example is TAMs
newest hydroexcavator. I believe its one of the
best hydrovac trucks out there, Lasaponara
says. Its the biggest hydrovac on the
East Coast and the only one in the
United States with twin blowers.
Its the talk of the town
around here.
22
VA C - C O N IV T
in four hours. With a bypass and conventional open-cut digging, youre looking
at eight hours. So were cutting the time
roughly in half and digging safely, too,
plus its less expensive for our customers.
SUPERIOR SERVICE
One of the main reasons Lasaponara prefers Vac-Con equipment is dependability, a critical factor when his crews are under
the gun repairing water main breaks and handling other municipal emergencies. And even if a truck does break down, service
personnel help to get things running again quickly.
Vac-Con really takes time to educate us and service us, he
explains. When something isnt working, you can actually talk
to someone who can walk you through it and tell you how to fix
it. That really helped us tremendously when we were just starting out. At the time, we didnt have a full-time mechanic, so get-
23
DEALER SPOTLIGHT
FINDING
NEW WAYS
TO SERVE
Southern Sewer continually
looks for opportunities to improve
the customer experience
BY
KYLE ROGERS |
PHOTOS BY ANDREW
STANFILL
VA C - C O N IV T
EMPHASIS ON CUSTOMERS
That emphasis on service has been in place since the early
days of the company. Southern Sewer and Vac-Con, both founded
in 1986, were together from the start. In 1991, Felix and Sherry
Denmon bought Southern Sewer and built it into one of the largest Vac-Con dealers in the country.
They took it from $750,000 a year in revenue to more than $20
million in annual revenue, Wood says. Way back in the beginning, Felix would go and make sales calls during the day and then
work on the trucks at night. It really entrenched the company with
the customers. I mention the very beginning to show that this was
SOUTHERN DISTRIBUTORS
Carolina Tractor
Adams Equipment
(770) 745-0819
adamsequipmentco.com
CLS
(972) 479-1335
sewertools.com
Texas
Georgia
Ingram Equipment
(205) 663-3946
ingramequipment.net
Alabama and Central Tennessee
Southern Sewer
Covington
(225) 664-7427
covingtonsales.com
Louisiana and Mississippi
Southern Municipal
(803) 358-0221
southernmunicipal.com
North Carolina and South Carolina
VAC-CON.COM
855.336.2962
e-mail: vns@vac-con.com
(772) 595-6940
southernsewer.com
Florida
IT STARTED FROM A
COMMON THREAD BACK IN
THE BEGINNING OF MAKING
SURE CUSTOMERS WERE
TAKEN CARE OF, AND THAT
THE TRUCKS WERE UP AND
RUNNING NO MATTER WHAT
IT TOOK. THAT STILL RINGS
TRUE TODAY.
Mike Wood
not some magical service program that we started two years ago
and now all of a sudden we do all this business. It started from a
common thread back in the beginning of making sure customers were taken care of, and that the trucks were up and running
no matter what it took. That still rings true today.
Though quality and prompt service has been a staple since
the beginning, Southern Sewer continues to find ways to improve. In 2014, the company opened a third facility in the Miami
area to go along with a shop in Orlando and the headquarters in
Fort Pierce.
Weve got three full-time mechanics down in Miami, along
with office staff, and they are extremely busy right now, Wood
says. The timing was right to open up
a facility there. With the amount of VacCons in the area, there was a need.
Southern Sewer also recently brought
back a program that had been on hiatus
for several years after its initial startup
a decade ago a dedicated parts truck
that roams the companys territory carrying an assortment of truck accessories.
People can throw a catalog down
on a desk and talk about a product, but
it really helps when you have someone
that actually has the equipment on the
truck, Wood says. And the beauty of it is, the person we have
driving the truck has mechanical knowledge as well. If he
rolls into a place and notices an issue with a truck, he can take
care of it while hes there. Its a hybrid position. Hes got parts,
but hes not just a parts guy. Hes got tools, but hes not just a
service guy.
GOOD AS NEW
Recent years have also seen the company putting an emphasis on its refurbishment program. We have always done
that type of work, but about 2007 is when we started pursuing it
more aggressively, Wood says.
It was around that same time that the economy was in de26
VA C - C O N IV T
PRE-OWNED EQUIPMENT
1996 MACK
350 HP / 4716RR
330,297 MILES / 19,424 HOURS
Hydroexcavator
www.redequipmentco.com