Without question, the last 18 months have been difficult—unprecedented, challenging, we’ve all heard and said this countless times since the pandemic began. But we as an industry would be short-sighted and overly pessimistic if we ignore the bright spots that we have all experienced since 2020 began.
First and foremost, I want to recognize SIGMA’s stellar inside sales and warehouse teams. They have shown up in every way, moving inventory, finding product for customers, and maintaining frank, transparent communication through every transaction. There is no longer an “easy order”—even the simplest requests prove challenging due to shortages up and down the supply chain. Regardless, our team continues to find solutions, move product, and tell the truth, serving customers at the highest level every day. I am consistently humbled when I see how hard our teams work, always going the extra mile to support our customers and each other in ways large and small.
We are also pleased and proud to see the continued growth of SIGMA Raven, which has been steadily expanding since we entered the HDPE world. Our recently launched Denver facility is operating at capacity, and we just opened a new plant in Akron, OH to meet the increasing demand.
Overall, the construction and infrastructure industries are strong and continuing to trend up, and that is good news for the waterworks market.
On a personal level, the Webb family is split on the start of the school year. Annie and I were thrilled to have the kids back in their routines, but they were less enthusiastic, preferring to keep soccer and football practice as their primary focus and not having homework cut into their leisure time.
Can you blame them?