I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to tell the founder’s personal story on the business website, but I’d like you to get to know me. My name is Kevin, and I graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1982, a small engineering school located in Terre Haute, IN. Rose’s claim to fame is that it has been selected by U.S. News and World Reports as the nation’s top undergraduate engineering school for 24 years in a row as of 2023.

I have received a BS in civil engineering, and specialized in environmental engineering, with a specialty in water and wastewater. I worked for a consulting engineering firm during summer breaks while in college, and stayed with that firm after I graduated for a few years. Afterwards, I was a project engineer for a large private water company in northwest Indiana, and worked in their operations division. I became an Indiana licensed water treatment plant operator, and most importantly, learned how to design projects, help build them, and operate the water treatment facility.

After a couple years at the water company, I had the opportunity to move back to my hometown, and become the city engineer and wastewater utility manager. I became an Indiana licensed wastewater treatment plant operator, and learned a great deal about hands-on operation, equipment maintenance, and utility management. I became a licensed professional engineer in 1986, and designed the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure improvements. I also became experienced in drainage, streets, and building design since I was also the city’s building inspector. This was also a very hands-on job, as I learned how to install sewers, work on equipment, and build projects.

I began moonlighting with the city’s approval as a consulting engineer on projects outside the city, and in 1989 I resigned my government position, and started my own engineering firm. Over time my company grew to several engineers, support staff, and surveying crews, and we worked on projects for municipalities, industry, business, and private developers. We began to specialize in water and wastewater projects, and became experienced in designing systems for small communities.

These projects were very interesting, but were also challenging, as we had to try and keep costs affordable for the residents of these communities. It seemed we could always obtain funding for the design and construction of the systems, but it was a challenge to keep the operating and maintenance costs affordable. We had some of these projects fall apart after investing considerable up-front engineering resources, and it was frustrating for both us, and the residents of these communities.

In the mid-1990’s, I began to research alternate wastewater collection and treatment systems to try and find a solution to the high costs of conventional systems. I developed a package recirculating media filter called the EnviroFilter, and obtained several patents on this technology. I ended up licensing the technology to several companies over the years, and there were more than 300 of these systems installed in several states. Patent licensing was a good and bad experience. Some of our licensees did very well, and provided excellent service to their customers, while others did not.

I learned to fly in 1996, and had purchased several planes to use for business and personal travel. In 2004, I began searching for a well-equipped Cessna 182 with the turbocharged engine and retractable landing gear. I spent several months looking for the perfect airplane, and finally found a good candidate in Sarasota, FL.