50 Years and Counting

   Over the last 50 years, Metropolitan Industries’ ability to expand quickly into new markets sometimes leaves their customer base surprised and unaware of all of the products they engineer and manufacture. For instance, some customers may not know about their customized booster systems for the high-rise buildings or are unaware that they market their own line of residential flood control products and battery back-up systems or never heard that they formally announced the creation of an HVAC department in fall 2007 and so on. Given the passing of their 50th year in business, we thought it would be timely to look back over 50 years and explain exactly what they do. 
   Founded in 1957 by the late Marty Martinson, Metropolitan Pump started out as a simple pump representative out of a tiny office in Western Springs, IL. Martinson later hired future Chairman John Kochan Sr., and the company evolved into a one-stop shop for pumps, controls and ancillary equipment serving residential, commercial, municipal and industrial markets. Metropolitan employs around 130 people, operates nine different divisions, holds 16 patents and plans to relocate to a new 150,000 sq. ft. building to keep pace with future growth in 2009.

Municipal Sales

   Metropolitan’s Municipal Sales Department delivers pumping solutions inherent to municipal water pumping installations dealing with raw water supply and treatment, water distribution and wastewater collection. This department headed by Bob Wedell, works closely with Mayors, City Managers, Engineers and Public Works officials offering them single source pump and control systems.
   On the water side of the business, such systems include housed booster systems, water treatment systems, Supervisory, Control & Data Acquisition systems, valve and control stations, pressure reducing valve vaults and large pump stations. Wastewater equipment includes prefabricated lift stations, wastewater treatment plants, pumping control stations, seal water systems and non-potable water systems.

Wholesale Sales

   The wholesale side of Metropolitan’s business specializes in the sale of residential domestic sump and sewage pumps, controls, basins and battery back-up systems. Metropolitan serves as a manufacturer’s representative offering such brands as Hydromatic Pumps, Grundfos Pumps, Topp Basins and Myers Pumps.
   Battery Back Up Systems are paramount to this industry and Metropolitan serves as a leader with their popular SUMPRO system. The SUMPRO, brainchild of Metropolitan President John Kochan, Jr., is one of the best back up systems on the market in terms of reliability and is sold through a network of distributors across various states. Since the inception of the SUMRPO over a decade ago, Metropolitan has expanded their back-up line to include the StormPro system, which serves as a less expensive alternative to the SUMPRO but with the same quality engineering and reliability users have come to expect.

Commercial Sales

   Metropolitan’s Commercial Sales department serves applications related to high-rise buildings, stadiums, museums, hospitals and universities. Headed by Brendan Bates, this department is known for pumping water in some of the most famous landmarks in Chicago such as Soldier Field, The United Center, The John Hancock Building and The Field Museum.
   The bread and butter of this department are the skid-mounted, variable speed, prefabricated water booster systems. These systems pressurize water in the building so the tenant living on the top floor has just as much pressure as the tenant on the bottom floor. Other products sold by this department include self-priming sump and sewage ejector pumps, control packages and other related accessories.

National Sales

   National Sales, headed by Mike Tierney, sells their products through a network of distributors nation-wide. Products offered nationally include Housed and Skid-Mounted Booster Systems, Protected Water Systems, Seal Water Systems, Commercial Sump and Sewage Packages, Prefabricated Submersible and Self Priming Lift Stations, Custom Control Packages, Lift Station Valve and Control packages and generators.

Control Integration 

   In order to be more competitive in the marketplace, Metropolitan established a controls division in the late 1980s to allow them to keep pace with the rapid growth of pumps and systems technology. Having a control division allows Metropolitan to offer “the whole package” in terms of delivering a complete system and allows for “single source responsibility” putting us entirely responsible for system performance. 
   Metropolitan’s control division includes a panel shop that manufactures panels under various UL Listings allowing them to meet the needs of individual end-users. Energy efficiency and performance are two words paramount to this division. A system from Metropolitan delivers savings on your energy bills while offering peak performance during the highest demands.
   A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA) is a specialty of Metropolitan’s control division. SCADA systems allow municipal water operators to integrate their entire water system infrastructure into a network that allows quick communication access to system information, status, control, alarms, etc. The ability to monitor vital pumping equipment from anywhere via an internet connection, puts the operator at an advantage. 

HVAC

   With the acquisition of PACO Pumps in 2007, Metropolitan Industries recently announced the creation of a new HVAC division.
   This department specializes in Primary and Secondary Chilled Water Systems, Boiler Feed and Condensate Return Systems, Condenser Water Pumps, Cooling Tower Pumps and Heating Circulation systems. Metropolitan celebrated the launch of the department back in September 2007, with a formal dinner reception for engineers held at the Sears Tower.
Drawing on the experience of operating and maintaining O’Hare Airport’s HVAC system and other HVAC systems they designed and fabricated over the years, Brennan hopes to become the standard supplier for all HVAC systems in the City of Chicago.
   There are many moving parts associated with Metropolitan that allows them to stay ahead of the technology curve and offer niche products and innovative designs to their customers. However, what goes on behind the scenes is not always apparent to their customers due to the sheer size of Metropolitan’s operation. This section will take an inside look at day to day operations at Metropolitan in an effort to provide a “big picture” to customers who may or may not be aware of all the Metropolitan has to offer.

Research and Development

   This is an area where Metropolitan surpasses many large corporate pump companies. Success in this area is due to their management style, ability to think outside the box and the allocation of personnel and money to the endeavor. 
   Metropolitan has a down/up management style that allows its employees the ability to swim in a sea of creativity. This creative freedom motivates employees to dream big, and leaves them unafraid to suggest a concept. This “hands off approach” works for Metropolitan mostly because employees know if they have a good idea, they will have the support of management, which ultimately means time and money. In fact, Metropolitan has four dedicated research and development employees strictly dedicated to innovation, which is more than most large corporations. During the last ten years, research and development has been responsible for acquiring over 16 patents for such things as variable speed operation, processor based pump control systems, DC pump control systems operation, flow calculations and more. This translates into better products for end-users. 

Engineering

   Metropolitan’s engineering department is an important aspect of behind the scene, day-to-day operations at the company. Headed by Chief Engineer Paul Larson, P.E., his department serves a crucial role during system design and modeling, production and testing. Metropolitan’s Engineering Department also offers design assistance to customers, contractors, and engineers for green water systems, booster pump systems, control systems, water and wastewater treatment plants and seal water systems. Also, systems can be designed to UL and other third party standards.
   Our experienced engineering staff considers important factors such as motor protection, variable speed control, wet well level control monitoring and control systems. Evaluations of physical, mechanical, electrical and environmental parameters are conducted prior to selection, procurement and installation of OEM equipment and components comprising the system.  
   “We’ve learned that each installation has a unique set of challenges that must be met,” says Larson. “We start by thoroughly understanding each system’s initial performance parameters, as well as any long –term requirements that address future growth and design a system that meets the application’s needs.”

Education

   There is a belief at Metropolitan that, “An educated consumer is an empowered consumer.” Management’s belief in this philosophy is evident by Metropolitan’s proactive effort of investing time and money into seminars that educate industry leaders in various areas of pump maintenance, control troubleshooting and technology advances. Many of the seminars that Metropolitan offers are certified through the Environmental Protection Agency so attendees can receive “continuing education” credit as mandated by the ILEPA. Other seminars Metropolitan offers are certified through the Illinois Department of Public Health so that licensed plumbers may satisfy their educational requirements. As for Engineers, Metropolitan has many classes worthy of Professional Development Hours so that they can keep up on their mandated education requirements as well.
   To streamline the registration process, Metropolitan developed three websites that allow users to view schedules, syllabuses and register online. Anybody registering a group of ten or more has the ability to choose the class topic from our list of over 13 and pick the day and time that best suites the group. The best part of the education process is there are never fees associated with this service and lunch is catered. Engineers can log onto www.pdhcredit.com, Water/Wastewater operators from Illinois log onto www.ilceu.com and Water/Wastewater operators from Indiana log onto www.indceu.com.

Future

As for the future, Metropolitan Industries, Inc.,  remains committed to customer service, innovation and quality products designed to advance the industry. Furthermore, they look forward to being a partner during the design, manufacturing and installation of your next pump system.