Today’s Pump Person of the Week is Allen Johnson, who hails from Rock Hill, South Carolina. As a Product Specialist of Package Systems with EBARA Pumps Americas Corporation, Allen shares his story about how he got involved with the pump industry.

Allen: Well, I grew up in a ‘construction’ family. I worked for my family from a very young age – working in water, sewer, and a little grading. My family business shut down in 2009, so I started at EBARA in 2010. I knew Rick Thompson through a mutual friend, and he offered me a job working in the warehouse. I started from the bottom (literally).

I went from shipping/receiving and worked my way up to mechanic / assembler. In 2013, Rick found that I was somewhat computer savvy, along with my construction background and company knowledge. I was promoted to be part of our Marketing team as Product Marketing Coordinator. In this role, I did several things, including trade shows, tech document support, and managing our price pages.

At the beginning of 2018, I joined our engineering department as Product Support Specialist – Package Systems. I am responsible for oversight of all EBARA package systems, supporting all phases of the sale and production of systems in order to ensure accurate, on-time and profitable delivery of EBARA products to our customers. I am also responsible for assisting and coordinating the development, introduction and expansion of the EBARA Waster Water Package Systems for the purpose of sales growth.

Q. What is your favorite part of your job? What are you most proud of? 

Allen: My favorite part of my job would have to be getting out and seeing customers, job sites, and installations. Coming from a construction background, I still enjoy getting out there and being involved. I would have to say what I am most proud of would have to be how far I have come since I started at EBARA. I am grateful to work for a company willing to grow and promote their employees internally.

Q. What advice would you give to someone new to the industry?

Allen: My biggest advice to someone new would be to focus on learning more about the product that you manufacture or sell. Try to understand exactly what that part number means / stands for, or what exactly that kind of pump does and why it is better than others. This will go a long ways. Also, try to gain knowledge about your competition. Understand what they are doing and try to figure something out to help your company expand or grow.

Q. Can you tell us about a cool project you worked on?

Allen: The one that comes to mind for me is that job in Southside, Alabama (read “Expedited, Cost Effective Solution for Emergency Lift Station Upgrade“). I actually went down to the job site for the installation and to shoot some video, which we have shared with our customers to demonstrate our package system capabilities.

Thank you, Allen, for being our Pump Person of the Week! We look forward to keeping up with you through the #PumpTalk Community!