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| August Issue Post Date 8/17/06 | www.mcelroy.com | |
| CONTENTS |
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Note From The Editor I wonder to myself what Scheele could possibly be working on that he failed to finish before he left the office at nine that night. "Ya see the rat," Scheele says as he points with the cell phone after hanging-up. Scheele seems to take pleasure in the whole scene and silently watches him forage for several moments. Scheele's eyes brighten and a slight grin appears. I look back at the rat and see it is making its way back down the fire escape after scoring a fat stick of French bread. Scheele looks happy. He looks as if all along he was hoping that the rat would be rewarded for the climb. When Bill Scheele first expanded his pipe and fusion equipment operation some twenty odd years ago, he didn't know what to do with all the new space. You see, the new location was a one bedroom apartment and a huge upgrade from the previous location which was the trunk of his car. He suddenly had a whole walk-in closet in which to store fusion equipment. With that in place, all he needed was an ambitious employee and SECOR would be on the map. He found the right man. John Trimble was the kind of young guy who didn't mind working on the living-room floor of the apartment with the promise of a chair and desk to come. Together they put their noses to the grindstone and today SECOR is an operation which spans seven states with six locations and a new home facility which covers 30,000 feet on 13 acres. In many ways, SECOR's history is like that of the rat. Not only is SECOR surviving in a competitive world, it is thriving. The company has earned a reputation for solving problems and getting the job done, but I quickly understand that the company's success is the result of a work-ethic which hangs in the air of their facility like the thick Houston humidity. After the rat takes his bread and disappears down the alley, I ask Scheele what his goals are for SECOR in the future. He is still staring down the alley as if he wants the rat to come back. I am expecting an answer about expansion and growth, or something eloquent about the polyethylene industry. Instead, he starts to answer several times but is silent for a few moments. Finally, he turns to me and says only one word, "dependability." McElroy In The News It's The Pipes Stupid! Oil of the 21 st Century Dakotas 'epicenter' of drought-stricken nation Judge rules against Florida in tri-state water dispute Lubbock joins other cities with mandatory water restrictions Links North American Society for Trenchless Technology American Water Works Association American Society of Civil Engineers Foundation Newsletter Links Water World - Receive news from WaterWorld, Industrial Waterworld and Water & Wastewater International. Water Tech Online North American Society of Trenchless Technology Insider and Pipeline Newsletter ISCO Pipeline Newsletter If you would like a link to your newsletter posted in McElroy Connections, contact Drew L. Wilson at 918-831-9286 or McElroy Connections welcomes your feedback, story ideas, tips, or anything else related to PE Pipe and Pipe fusion. Please email your comments and story ideas to: FOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe, visit http://www.mcelroy.com/fusion/forms/newsletter.htm McElroy Connections is published by McElroy Manufacturing Inc. The information contained within each issue is meant as a service to our customers, distributors, and those involved with Polyethylene Pipe applications.
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On
a sticky summer night I stand on a street in downtown Houston peering
down an alley at a giant rat that could easily beat the hell out of my
cat. He hops up the steps of a fire escape to a second story landing and
knocks the lid off a small trashcan to see what's inside like he has done
it a million times. I have just completed a late-dinner interview with
Bill Scheele, owner of SECOR, who is in the process of directing some
employee from his cell phone while we stand by his truck. It's 11:30 at
night.
