Pumps might qualify as the unsung heroes of the industrial world. “Pumps are actually the second most common piece of rotating equipment, second only to electric motors,” says Tom Henderson, President of Chandler-based Capital Pump & Equipment, which caters to a wide variety of customers, including large city infrastructure projects such as sewer lines and potable water lines, mining, oil and gas, manufacturing and agriculture—all the way to dust control for contractors.
Henderson got his start in the industry living in Arizona while managing western U.S. distribution for a pump manufacturer in Oregon. “It was becoming harder to find knowledgeable pump distributors that could size pumps correctly and apply them correctly,” he says. “In 2013, I approached the company I worked for and said I wanted to go out on my own and be a distributor. They said go for it, and that I could have their line.”
In the subsequent eight years, Henderson has grown the business to include pump rentals, as well as distribution. “That’s pretty unique in the marketplace—most companies are either one or the other,” he says. “We always had our eye on the pump rental business, but it’s massively capital intensive.”