From Run-to-Failure to Predictive Operations: Transforming Water Infrastructure with Nick Valdez

Most people take for granted that clean water flows when they turn on the faucet. Wastewater disappears when they flush. Episode 15 of Practitioners Unplugged pulls back the curtain on this critical infrastructure with Nick Valdez, Automation & Controls Business Development Manager at Vessco Water. He reveals how digital transformation is revolutionizing an industry that quietly serves every community.

Operating across 41 states through a portfolio of acquired companies, Vessco Water represents the evolution from component supplier to comprehensive solutions provider. Nick’s journey—from culinary school dropout to manufacturing to leading automation initiatives for water/wastewater systems—provides unique perspective on bringing change to an industry historically resistant to modernization.

This conversation explores a different dimension of Industry 4.0: not sexy manufacturing facilities, but the essential infrastructure that determines whether communities can grow, whether rivers stay clean, and whether taxpayers get value from their utility investments.

As Nick puts it: “A lot of our customers don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know that there are great products that can help them be smarter and better. They really lean on us as a platform to help them solve their problems.”

Key Insights from Our Conversation

Here are the five key insights from our conversation with Nick:

1. The Virtuous Cycle—Starting Small Creates Unstoppable Momentum

Water and wastewater utilities face a classic chicken-and-egg problem. They won’t invest in sensors and data infrastructure until they see value. But they can’t see value without data. Nick’s team has mastered breaking this impasse by creating what he calls the “virtuous cycle.” (Originally “drinking the Kool-Aid” before our marketing expert Sree upgraded the terminology.)

“Once they start, it continues, it perpetuates. It’s almost incredible to watch how customers really do drink the Kool-Aid and say, oh wow, this is incredible. We’re able to have this information, now we can use it, and then it makes their lives a lot easier.”

How the Pattern Repeats

Across municipalities, the pattern repeats consistently. Initial reluctance gives way to pilot projects. Pilot results then drive broader deployment. Suddenly, utilities that ran equipment from the 1970s until failure are calling to retrofit entire station networks.

What’s the key? Demonstrating tangible benefits in the first installation. This includes energy reduction, better operational visibility, or predictive maintenance that prevents costly failures.

Moreover, this insight challenges the “big bang” digital transformation approach. In water infrastructure, patience and proof points matter more than comprehensive strategies. One successful pump station with VFD controls and smart analytics generates more momentum than any presentation about Industry 4.0 possibilities.

The challenge Nick identifies is clear: “We struggle with people really understanding what information they need and what’s the best way to achieve that information because not everyone in the water wastewater industry is on the modernization train.”

2. Regional Diversity Demands Flexible Solutions—41 States, 41 Different Mindsets

Vessco Water’s geographic spread—41 states and growing—provides insight into how dramatically water infrastructure approaches vary across America. New York City faces completely different challenges and regulations than Iowa communities. This requires solutions that adapt while maintaining quality standards.

“In New York City, our platform partners there have a different challenge and different mindset of their customer than say what one in Iowa does. The real trick to it all is for us as a platform to have the resources and the availability of equipment and engineering and manufacturing to make a holistic approach to solving each of the different mindsets of our customers.”

The Pillar Strategy

Consequently, this diversity drives Vessco Water’s pillar strategy: service, aftermarket, automation and controls, pumps, and distributed products. Rather than forcing one-size-fits-all solutions, they combine specialized capabilities from different regional partners to address local requirements. For example, an Iowa partner specializing in pump distribution might team with a regional automation expert to serve an engineering firm’s specific needs.

The lesson extends beyond water infrastructure to any organization serving diverse markets. Standardization matters for capabilities and quality. But application requires flexibility. Build pillars of expertise that can be combined differently depending on customer context rather than rigid solutions that ignore regional differences.

Nick’s point about becoming “subject matter experts” resonates here. Customers lean on Vessco Water precisely because they understand the nuances of different regulatory environments, population densities, and community expectations across geographies.

3. Relationships Trump Transactions—Equipment That Lasts Decades Requires Trust

Unlike consumer goods or even most industrial equipment, water infrastructure investments span decades. This time horizon fundamentally changes how buying decisions happen and what matters to customers evaluating partners.

“People buy from people in our industry. It’s very rare someone looks on the internet and just says, oh, I wanna buy a flight pump. They know the local community uses them. They call their local rep or distributor. They call one of our platform partners, come out and talk to me. Let’s build a relationship because the equipment that you’re gonna put in and the solution you’re gonna provide has to last for decades. That’s the expectation.”

Building Trust Through Education

This relationship focus shapes Vessco Water’s entire approach. They offer free training classes on drives and pump optimization. They provide arc flash studies and safety training. They bring mobile equipment demonstrations to municipalities and colleges. These investments build trust and educate customers who “don’t know what they don’t know” about available solutions.

The strategy addresses a critical industry challenge: water infrastructure expertise is retiring without adequate knowledge transfer. Vessco Water’s “new leaders group” creates mentorship paths where experienced professionals transfer “ancestral knowledge” about handling specific situations and selecting appropriate equipment.

The Broader Lesson

In industries with long equipment lifecycles and high switching costs, customer education and relationship building deliver better returns than transactional selling. Your ability to help customers make informed decisions matters more than any individual product sale.

4. Run-to-Failure Is Expensive—Predictive Operations Deliver Multi-Dimensional Value

Nick’s Minnesota success story illustrates how modernization transforms economics and community impact simultaneously. A municipality running pumps with “archaic” starting methods moved to variable frequency drives with smart analytics. This generated benefits across multiple dimensions.

“They were able to reduce the amount of energy they were gonna have to use for their treatment of wastewater. They were able to support more people moving to that city. We could interpolate and predict high flow scenarios. So when it was gonna rain or when people were getting off work, we were gonna have more of an intake to the facility.”

Multi-Dimensional Benefits

Energy optimization reduced costs for taxpayers. Predictive capabilities prevented overflow events that would contaminate rivers and trigger regulatory fines. Better operational control enabled the municipality to support population growth. The technology investment paid dividends far beyond the initial business case.

Nick emphasizes downstream effects people don’t consider: “If they don’t have equipment in place that can understand that and predict that, or recognize that scenario in real time and then augment and change to mitigate it, then they do have these events where maybe they flood a whole bunch of houses or there’s regulatory fines and penalties for them having to divert effluent into a creek or a river.”

The parallel to manufacturing is clear: digital transformation delivers value across multiple dimensions simultaneously. Don’t evaluate investments purely on energy savings or maintenance reduction. Consider community impact, regulatory compliance, growth enablement, and risk mitigation together.

5. Culture and Quality Control Drive Insourcing Decisions—Brand Promise Matters More Than Cost

While many manufacturers outsource to reduce costs, Vessco Water makes the opposite choice. Nick explains their decision to keep manufacturing, engineering, and quality control in-house despite seeing competitors find success with outsourcing.

“If we outsource some of that work, the quality control measure gets limited. We want to control the quality that our customers get and the experience that they have so we can put our stamp and brand on it and we know for a fact what the outcome’s gonna be.”

Brand Promise Over Cost Optimization

This reflects a broader philosophy about customer experience versus short-term cost optimization. Vessco Water offers service agreements guaranteeing pump replacement every five years and 100% operational uptime. Delivering on these promises requires controlling the entire value chain.

Furthermore, Nick’s passion for company culture is evident: “Everybody is important. Everybody has their role and responsibilities that contribute to it, and we all breathe and believe in the same thing as we have one common goal. The most beautiful thing about our company is our culture.”

Addressing Talent Challenges

In addition, the insourcing decision also addresses talent challenges. Rather than struggling to find experienced engineers in a tight market, Vessco Water invests in developing people through mentorship, cross-platform learning boot camps, and technology that amplifies individual capabilities.

The strategic lesson: outsourcing and cost reduction aren’t always optimal strategies. When brand reputation and customer experience drive competitive advantage, controlling quality through vertical integration may deliver better long-term value despite higher upfront costs.

Conclusion: Essential Infrastructure Deserves Modern Operations

Nick Valdez’s perspective reveals that digital transformation reaches far beyond traditional manufacturing into infrastructure that touches every home and business daily. Water and wastewater systems represent critical infrastructure where modernization delivers community benefits that extend well beyond operational efficiency.

Key Takeaways for Practitioners

First, start small to create momentum through demonstrated value. Build flexible solutions that adapt to regional requirements while maintaining quality standards. Invest in relationships and education because equipment lifecycles demand trust. Evaluate modernization through multiple value dimensions including community impact. Consider whether vertical integration better serves brand promises than cost optimization.

As Nick advises those hesitant about modernization: “Pick up the phone and call somebody. Reach out, go to your local distributor, go to your local channel partner. Learn what’s out there. Really give yourself the opportunity to understand that there are incredible products and technology that can reduce the amount of headache and heartburn. Be proactive, not reactive. The more proactive you are, the less reactive you have to be.”

The Bigger Picture

The water infrastructure story provides valuable perspective for all digital transformation initiatives. Technology alone doesn’t create value. Technology combined with trusted partnerships, customer education, and commitment to quality experiences drives lasting change.

While manufacturing often dominates Industry 4.0 conversations, infrastructure modernization demonstrates how these same principles apply to essential services that most people never think about until something goes wrong. The municipalities transforming from run-to-failure to predictive operations create value that reaches every constituent, even if that value remains invisible when everything works properly.

The ultimate measure of success isn’t impressive technology demonstrations but communities where clean water flows reliably, wastewater disappears safely, and infrastructure adapts to support growth while protecting the environment. That requires exactly the combination Nick describes: smart technology, trusted relationships, and commitment to customer experience over transactions.

Final Thoughts

While people may take clean water for granted, the professionals modernizing infrastructure understand that reliability requires constant innovation and partnership. The transformation from archaic pump stations to predictive operations happens one relationship, one pilot project, and one virtuous cycle at a time.

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