July 15, 2015
We have been featured in the July 2015 issue of The Wholesaler!
Change has been a constant theme at United Water Works - and embracing it has served the company well. This California-based company has cultivated a strong background over the years and is expanding its reach for the coming years. For starters, United Water Works was originally founded as Wells Supply in 1985. Its current ownership is comprised of Chris Blasco, President and Jerry Canada, Secretary/Treasurer. Last year, they decided it was time for a little bit of change. They started with the company name. Seeing as it was over 20 years since its inception, Blasco and Canada knew it was the right moment to make a splash and propel the company into modernity.
The name change came about in a very organic and natural way as Blasco explained: "We'd been wanting to change the name for a long time and finally we said 'Let's do it.' We went through the whole process of coming up with a new logo, new name, and we boiled it down to United Water Works - a name that we are very happy with. And we also did the same thing with the logo. We spent a month or so working on different logos. We wanted to get away from a proper name that sounded small. We wanted a name that had a little bit more oomph and a bigger sound."
And who can blame them? Rebranding and recalibrating is something many companies would like to do, but only a few make the proper moves to do so. United Water Works is a testament to that fundamental viewpoint that change is good.
But the main story here is about their state-of-the-art valve tester. "We have a machine that is identical to the one used in the factories," said Blasco. "We provide this service by taking our machine from the Santa Ana office to our Perris office to our Coachella office and we test the product at our facilities [these butterfly valves]. The agencies witness the testing. And because of the nature of the machine we don't damage the valve in any way."
The process of actually testing the valves takes about 15 minutes. It'll be an hour-long total procedure with setting up the valve correctly and getting a read out. In short, it's a dream. These tests offer valuable information that is essential for the valves to do their job.
United Water Works is certainly not the first and only company to offer these tests. But they are the only ones who have the ability to carry out the test more efficiently and in a more modern fashion. Again, this is something that is at the core of United Water Works' ethos to keep things moving and modern.
They set themselves apart not only in this process but also in their relationships with hiring experienced staff, maintaining a large inventory, and fostering relationships with vendors. The company has a very high retention rate - six current employees have been in with United Water Works for 20+ years, and 15 have 10+ years under their belts. And that's not to mention the executive team who each has over 25 years’ experience in the field. This is another way they go above and beyond the competition and demonstrate their expertise in the field. Their ability to run tests quickly is also a testament to their business practices with their customers and the community.
United Water Works is involved in a number of different charities, notably the Wounded Warrior Project where they held a golf tournament to raise funds for the charity. They also support local politicians and the participation of local employees.
This article can be found at: http://digital.thewholesaler.com/
