HammerHead Trenchless names president
Charles Machine Works appointed Kevin Smith president of HammerHead Trenchless Equipment. He had been serving as president of MTI Equipment, a Charles Machine Works company — as is Ditch Witch, where Smith worked as director of product definition and research, product planning manager, business manager and salesman.

“Kevin’s incisive vision comes directly from his solid industry background working with leading manufacturers within the Charles Machine Works family of companies,” says Rick Johnson, CEO of Charles Machine Works and interim HammerHead president during the selection process. “This means he knows every aspect of the business from multiple angles. He not only sees where HammerHead Trenchless Equipment can go but how to get there.”

Tiffany Sewell-Howard, executive chair for Charles Machine Works, says, “Throughout his admirable career, Kevin has been an integral part in achieving the goal shared by our family of companies: ensure our customers success by providing the most complete solutions for the installation, replacement, and maintenance of underground utility pipe and cable.”

FVOP hires 7 new employees
Fleis & VandenBrink Operations and Resource Management (FVOP) has hired seven new employees for its expanding operations. Three senior project managers with F-1 water licenses — George Regan, Jay Ouzts and Stewart Beach — joined the firm, as did operations specialists Donald Bicknell, Michael Prout, Eric Barnowski and Rob Pearson.

Grundfos Pumps appoints new vice presidents
Grundfos has named Thomas Morrison vice president of service and Rob Montenegro vice president of municipal sales.

Morrison joined Grundfos in 2007 and will report to Duncan Cooper, regional managing director. He will oversee the company’s service group across all business units and sectors, as well as factory service centers. Morrison will retain his current business development responsibilities within North and South America for the water utility segments, where he will oversee municipal water utility product development, supply chain and marketing efforts.

Montenegro will lead water utility sales, a post previously held by Morrison, which encompasses a broad range of water supply and wastewater applications solutions for municipal markets. He has more than 20 years of experience leading commercial teams in the U.S. municipal market.

American Water employees log thousands of hours of service
More than 2,000 American Water employees participated in 113 different volunteer projects throughout 16 states and Canada as part of AmerICANs in Action!, a companywide volunteer event held in September. It marked the fifth year of the event and set a record for participation and results — more than 5,500 volunteer hours were logged. Projects included a beach cleanup, a diaper drive, a wildlife refuge cleanup and volunteering at the Special Olympics.

WWEMA Member Survey reflects market growth
The Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) has released the results of its 2015 Member Market Indicators Survey. Results show an upward trend in the market with 70 percent of respondents indicating they saw domestic sales improve from September 2014 to August 2015. The full report is available to WWEMA members at www.wwema.org.

Environmental Dynamics International celebrates 40 years
Environmental Dynamics International (EDI) is celebrating 40 years of service to the water and wastewater industry. Founded in 1975 by Charles “Chuck” Tharp, EDI has grown from a company with a few employees and annual sales of $27,000, to a multinational company with more than 105 employees and sales of over $27 million.

Ovivo awarded large infrastructure contracts
Ovivo has been awarded two major contracts in the U.S. municipal market worth a combined $13 million, the company has announced. The first contract is for the supply of seven 160-foot-diameter clarifiers in duplex stainless steel to Miami-Dade County, Florida. Due to high chloride concentrations in the wastewater, a special corrosion resistant material was required for the pure oxygen application. The second contract is for a new wastewater treatment plant in DeKalb County, Georgia, for which Ovivo will supply equipment and control systems. The facility will be the largest plant of its kind in the world, serving about a half-million residents.

Envirosight offers free CCTV crawler wheel configuration poster
To help crawler operators select the best wheels for a given pipe, Envirosight has created a complimentary inspection crawler wheels setup poster. The poster illustrates wheel configurations most appropriate to various combinations of pipe diameters, materials and conditions. Residents in the United States and Canada can request to get the free 18-inch by 24-inch poster mailed to them, or download a PDF of the poster at www.envirosight.com/wheelguide.