Happy Birthday Muffin Monster – JWC Rep Insider
Whiskey, Words and Wisdom
This month, JWC Environmental celebrated its 50-year anniversary. In honor of this historic milestone, I thought I would give a short history lesson.
The company was established in 1973 by Joseph (Joe) and Woodie Chambers under the name Disposable Waste Systems. While there was skepticism in the wastewater industry that a dual-shafted grinder could destroy anything found in wastewater, including feminine hygiene products (muffins), the product proved to be an overwhelming success launching the legend of the Muffin Monster®. What started as a 2-man operation has grown into a company with nearly 200 employees worldwide today.
With over 40,000 JWC units shipped around the world, there are a lot of milestones to highlight. Here are some of the best:
- Received first Muffin Monster patent in 1975.
- Revolutionized high-flow capabilities of wastewater grinders with the invention of the Channel Monster® in 1986.
- Introduced the Auger Monster® in 1996, a small footprint screening system that incorporated grinding, screening, washing, dewatering, and conveyance of solids in an all-in-one package. The Auger Monster won the 1997 WEF Innovative Technology Award.
- The Screenings Washer Monster® won the 2001 WEF Innovative Technology Award for producing the cleanest screenings from a washer compactor.
- The Honey Monster® won the 2003 WEF Innovative Technology Award for improving the efficiency of septic waste handling.
- JWC entered the screens market in 2003 with Monster Separation Systems®. Monster Separation Systems won the 2006 WEF Innovative Technology Award.
- Launched Wipes Ready® technologies to address the menace caused by flushed wipes in sewer systems. Wipes Ready won the 2017 WEF Innovative Technology Award, which was a record fifth award for JWC.
- Acquired IPEC Consultants in 2015, enhancing our screens portfolio.
- Awarded over 70 patents worldwide in our history, including over 30 in the United States, with more pending.
- The list could continue for pages.
I would be negligent not to recognize you, the best reps in the wastewater business, for the contribution you have made to our success. We have plans to celebrate Muffy’s birthday throughout the year. I hope you enjoy our celebration.
Muffin Monster University
Our inaugural Muffin Monster University training on April 11-12 was a huge success. We had 11 reps participate for two days of product training. Training included:
- Classroom session learning about the complete JWC product portfolio
- Building a grinder
- Grinder start-up and troubleshooting overview
- Review of our aftermarket services
- Tour of our manufacturing facility highlighting products that were in production at that time
- Meeting key support personnel
We received excellent feedback and are diligently working to implement some of those suggestions into our next training scheduled for August 15-16. There are still a few open spots available for what will be our biggest training session yet. Lunch is provided at the training, but you are responsible for all other travel expenses. We have negotiated a $199 per night room rate at the Homewood Suites which includes breakfast. Please email Peggy Sherer at margarets@jwce.com as soon as possible with your contact information if you want to reserve a spot at the August training or have a question about the training.
Meet Your JWC Support Team – Yesenia Esquivel
If you don’t already know this name, you should. Meet Yesenia Esquivel, our longest tenured member on the aftermarket inside sales team. Yesenia was recently promoted to Senior Inside Sales, Aftermarket. While she will continue to quote and process aftermarket requests, she will have a more active role training and supporting the aftermarket inside sales team. Yesenia celebrates her 15-year anniversary at JWC this year. She started as a document coordinator following-up on outstanding submittals and preparing O&M manuals. She also has spent time in order management for new units. Her last 8 years at JWC has been on the aftermarket inside sales team.
In her time on the aftermarket team, she has had to address a wide range of inquiries, from the mundane to amazing to puzzling. Just this month, she quoted a renew on a 28-year-old Muffin Monster®. She has learned customers refer to cutters by a variety of names, including knives and scissors. One memorable request was a replacement shroud for a 30002 Muffin Monster that required her to find the original job file in the archives in order to get the design details of the shroud. In case you were wondering, the shroud served as a transition flange. On top of all of this, she has heard all sorts of pronunciations of her name. We are not going to share some of the silly pronunciations, but here is the phonetic pronunciation, just in case you have doubts as to how to pronounce Yesenia: Yeh-SEHN-iy-ah.
Regarding her personal life, Yesenia is married. Time away from work is spent hiking, kayaking, and cooking, especially trying out new recipes. She and her husband love taking road trips visiting national parks. Favorite parks include Death Valley and Crater Lake, which is in the background in the above picture. The day that picture was taken, she hiked the Cleetwood Cove Trail and swam in the 60°F water. She calls the experience of cliff jumping into Crater Lake truly exhilarating.
If you have aftermarket quote requests, they should be sent to servicesales@jwce.com or call 800-331-2277 and select option 1, then option 1 again. If your inquiry is assigned to Yesenia, be sure to ask her about her latest road trip. Also, you now know how to pronounce her name correctly.
Competitive Replacement Program
When visiting your end-user customer base, don’t forget to be on the lookout for competitive grinders. We have the expertise to replace any competitive grinder with a Muffin Monster or Channel Monster. If your customers are ready to repair or replace a competitive grinder, be sure to enlist the assistance of your Aftermarket Regional Sales Manager to determine the best Monster grinder solution for their installation.
April Shout Out
Congratulations to Tom Roberson of MISCO Southwest for securing a drum screen order for over $500k.
Thank you for helping us be a strong player in the screens marketplace!
Marketing Spotlight
Mossy Oak camo caps are now in stock and available for purchase on Reps Only. These cotton/poly blend caps are mid profile with a structured crown and an adjustable self-fabric, flex-strap closure. Best of all, they feature an embroidered Muffin Monster logo. We receive a bulk discount and pass that savings on to you, making the caps only $8.58.
Protecting Pipes from Wipes is a Top Issue at Water Week
Protecting pipes from wipes made the Water Week 2023 partners’ list of the top 8 water challenges communities are facing. The Water Week 2023 partners are a broad range of organizations in the drinking water, wastewater, water reuse, and stormwater sectors who gathered in Washington, D.C. this past April to advocate to members of Congress on their top issues. The Water & Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA), of which JWC is a member, is one of the partners.
JWC has recognized for years the challenges wipes present to collection systems. We have promoted grinding, especially using our Wipes Ready technologies, as a solution to allow pumps and other equipment to operate trouble-free. While industry groups advocate for long term solutions to eliminate the flushing of troublesome wipes, keep promoting the Muffin Monster, Channel Monster, and Channel Monster FLEX as the immediate solution to protect vulnerable equipment from the problem caused by wipes in sewage systems. And don’t forget, if you happen to have a customer who would prefer to remove wipes from their system, we have the Vertical Auger Monster, which is ideally suited for screening at a pump station.