Episode #31
Building The Toughest Pump In The World, Right Here In Duluth
There is a piece of equipment buried under nearly every city in America that keeps your water running, and most of us have never thought about it once. Today we're pulling back the curtain on it. I've talked about critical infrastructure a lot on this show. We've covered a lot of industries. But today is one of those invisible ones, something we all rely on constantly and almost nobody knows exists. Blake Kolquist is the Distribution Sales Manager at GPM, a Duluth manufacturer of the world's toughest submersible slurry pumps. Blake walked into GPM in 2008 for what he thought was an internship and never really left. He's spent time in manufacturing engineering, safety, marketing, service and sales, and watched the company grow from around 25 people to over 90. Along the way GPM expanded from its roots in mining and power generation into nuclear waste sites and, more recently, municipal water and wastewater. This is a company built right here in Duluth that is quietly showing up in critical systems across the country, and Blake has had a front row seat to almost all of it. KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS What a submersible slurry pump actually is and why GPM builds them different from anything you'd find at the hardware store The invisible system that gets clean water into your house and wastewater back out of it Why the real cost of a pump isn't the price tag, it's the electricity to run it over its lifetime What flushable wipes have actually done to sewer systems nationwide, and why it's worse than you'd guess What it took to walk into a brand new industry after fifteen years of expertise in a completely different one How the Build America Buy America Act is reshaping who gets to bid on public water infrastructure What Blake has learned moving through nearly every seat at GPM, and what it's like becoming the mentor instead of the new hire FAVORITE QUOTES "My opinion is it's all about relationships. The product has to work, but it's the relationships that make the difference." "The fact that people are frustrated means they care. I've seen people who were checked out of a job, and none of that complaining ever showed up at work." "There's not enough time to learn all the things I want to learn, so it's about prioritizing that." "It's the pump. It's always the pump. Except sometimes it isn't, and that's the interesting part." CHAPTER MARKERS 01:38 Blake's path from a Duluth childhood to GPM's front door 07:53 What "world's toughest submersible pump" actually means 14:14 The flushable wipes problem nobody wants to talk about 21:59 Walking into a room where you don't know a single person 25:51 How new funding rules changed who gets to build America's water systems 36:04 Reverse engineering fifty year old equipment with modern scanning tools 41:33 From the new guy to the one training the next generation YOUR TURN This week's reflection: where in your work or your life have you quietly become the person other people now come to for answers, and how does that sit with you? GUEST CONNECT (No links or contact info were given in the transcript for GPM — flagging this so you can drop in a website or careers page link before this publishes. Worth noting Blake mentioned GPM is actively hiring.) Links & Mentions: Lake Superior Consulting – https://www.lsconsulting.com/ If this episode sparked something for you, please follow the show, leave a review, or share it with a friend! MB01JSBMUU464ZQ
