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The history of Sewer Equipment started in 1941 in a small garage on Courtland Avenue in Park Ridge, Illinois. It began as a simple idea that gave birth to a product line that’s been growing and evolving for over 80 years. H.T. O’Brien was tinkering in his garage when he connected a hand drill to a two-foot piece of flexible cable. He quickly discovered this simple tool could safely and effectively open a clogged kitchen sink better than anything he had ever used. He built a few dozen of these tools, put them in the trunk of his car, and drove into Chicagoland to call on plumbers, hospitals, restaurants, and hotels. Soon, a company was born.
O’Brien continued to launch innovative products, including cable and bucket machines, jetters, and the world-famous hydraulic root cutter. After much success, he retired from the industry in 1970. In 1970, following his retirement, Sewer Equipment moved from Chicago to Maquoketa, Iowa. We produced the same equipment that we still assemble in our current facility. We also started utilizing a dealer network in 1980 at the Maquoketa facility. After more than 10 years in this location, the business moved to Chadwick, Illinois, following a fire at the Maquoketa building.
Throughout his career, H.T. O’Brien maintained that product simplicity was critical. A simpler machine was safer, easier to operate, easier to maintain, and thus more productive and cost-effective. After his retirement, his son, Jim O’Brien Sr., continued developing and manufacturing sewer-cleaning machines, carrying on the theme of simplicity. For over 20 years in the rural town of Chadwick, Jim created several unique machines that helped solve the everyday pipe-cleaning problems faced by municipalities, contractors, and plumbers alike.
Today, our current factory is located in Dixon, Illinois. You may recall that Dixon is Ronald Reagan’s boyhood hometown, a great president, and a friend of American businessmen and women. However, many don’t know that Dixon is also the birthplace of one of the simplest product innovations in US history that revolutionized the agricultural industry.
In 1837, a blacksmith in Dixon, John Deere, invented the scoured-steel plow. Replacing the cast-iron plow, this simple John Deere plow revolutionized farming. The steel plow changed history by enabling early settlers to migrate throughout the central Midwest and the western United States. Similar to John Deere, H.T. O’Brien produced simple products that generated magnificent results in the sewer cleaning industry.
Today’s industry, particularly the manufacturers, has gone out of its way to make equipment more complex. Unfortunately, all this complexity comes at the expense of the operators and the mechanics. In the interest of beating the competition, complex specifications for sewer systems that are more difficult for competitors to meet are common. In the long run, though, simplicity is the key.
A longer training cycle is associated with difficult-to-operate machines, especially if the operator turnover rate is high. Our equipment doesn’t have that; our machines are very simple to operate and even simpler for the mechanics. For instance, mechanics don’t have to spend six weeks in school to learn how to maintain the equipment, let alone troubleshoot it if problems arise. This is because only standard shop tools are utilized with Sewer Equipment products. Simple things. Simple to operate. Simple to maintain. Our history makes it no wonder our motto is “Best Products. Best Local Support “.
