464 Corrosion Coupons, Brand Building, and Having Fun at Trade Shows with Will Ritter
Release Date: 02/20/2026
494 Preparing for AWT 2026: Leadership, Change, and CWT Growth with Matt Coffindaffer, Part 2
Scaling UP! H2O
A strong convention outcome starts before the first session and continues long after the exhibit hall closes. Association of Water Technologies Executive Director Matt Coffindaffer explains how deliberate preparation, wider professional relationships, and volunteer service can turn AWT 2026 into practical value for an industrial water treatment career or business. Find the Right Place to Volunteer AWT offers yearlong committee service, shorter task-force assignments, and opportunities across technical research, marketing, membership, regulatory affairs, business resources, young...
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493 Preparing for AWT 2026: Leadership, Change, and CWT Growth with Matt Coffindaffer, Part 1
Scaling UP! H2O
Strong professional associations do more than provide programs and credentials. They create an environment where members can exchange knowledge, build trusted relationships, and prepare their businesses for what comes next. As the Association of Water Technologies enters a new operational chapter, Executive Director explains how AWT is strengthening that environment without losing the culture that makes it distinctive. From the Arts to Association Leadership Before entering association management, Matt built a career behind the scenes in theater. His...
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492 AI for Water Treaters: A Thought Partner, Not a Replacement
Scaling UP! H2O
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491 Environmental Microbiology and Legionella: Managing Building Water Risks with Dr. Rajiv Sahay
Scaling UP! H2O
Reliable Legionella results begin long before a sample reaches the laboratory. of explains how building conditions, field collection practices, and laboratory methods influence the quality—and usefulness—of the data water professionals receive. Building Water Conditions Shape the Risk Modern buildings rely heavily on controlled mechanical systems, yet water can remain an overlooked part of the indoor environment. Stagnation, low flow, dead legs, temperature, pH, disinfectant residuals, corrosion, and accumulated organic material can all influence biofilm development and microbial...
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490 From Plans to Prevention: Water Management Insights with Dr. Abe Cullom
Scaling UP! H2O
A water management plan protects people only when the facility uses it to guide decisions. Dr. Abe Cullom, Director of Water Safety & Management at Pace Analytical, joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to examine why Legionella programs break down—and how testing, communication, and consistent implementation can strengthen them. Implementation Is the Bottleneck Five decades after Legionella was identified, researchers understand much more about the organism, its ecology, the conditions that support its growth, and the interventions available to control it. However, Dr....
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489 Copper-Silver Ionization Technology and Legionella Control with Tory Schira
Scaling UP! H2O
Copper-silver ionization offers building operators a persistent approach to Legionella control—one designed to carry an active disinfectant residual throughout complex plumbing infrastructure. LiquiTech CEO Tory Schira explains how the technology works, what operating data matters, and why successful implementation requires more than installing equipment. How Copper-Silver Ionization Works Copper and silver ions are introduced through a flow chamber containing sacrificial electrodes. A controlled electrical charge releases the positively...
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488 Managing Legionella with confidence: A Conversation with Patsy Root
Scaling UP! H2O
“Our goal is not zero Legionella pneumophila bacteria. Our goal is zero cases.” – Patsy Root Legionella risk becomes harder to manage when building teams treat every detection as equivalent—or collect samples without first deciding what a positive result will trigger. , Senior Manager of Government Affairs at , explains how a clear water management program can replace uncertainty with defined responsibilities, routine monitoring, and proportionate action. Focus Testing on the Organism of Concern Patsy distinguishes between the broader...
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487 The 60‑Minute CFO: Tracy Bech on Making Business Finance Less Scary
Scaling UP! H2O
“Our gross profit margin is truly the battle we have to win in order to win all of the downstream wars.” - Tracy Bech Financial statements become useful when leaders can translate the numbers into decisions. , founder and author of , explains how business owners, managers, salespeople, and field professionals can develop financial fluency without becoming accountants. Turn Financial Data into a Meaningful Scorecard Tracy teaches finance through stories and relationships rather than isolated numbers. Revenue alone does not reveal whether a company is...
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486 Meter Optimization: Air in the water with Anthony Giudice
Scaling UP! H2O
Water meters register the volume passing through them, but what happens when that volume contains both water and entrained air? Anthony Giudice, president of AquaFlow, explains how turbulent flow can influence meter readings and how AquaFlow’s calibrated valve is designed to help meters reflect what he describes as true water consumption. Why Flow Conditions Matter at the Meter Anthony connects entrained air to the pressure required to move municipal water and the turbulence created as water travels through piping, changes...
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485 Questions from the Nation Around the World with Trace Blackmore, CWT
Scaling UP! H2O
Ten questions from water professionals around the world become a practical decision-making session with Trace Blackmore, CWT. Drawing on earlier Scaling UP! H2O conversations, Trace explains how to evaluate treatment changes, use emerging tools responsibly, begin water reuse projects, strengthen teams, and continue growing professionally. Evaluate the Entire System A proposed treatment change should be evaluated by more than its purchase price. When comparing chlorine dioxide with traditional chlorine, Trace recommends examining biocide consumption, chemical storage,...
info_outline"Don't be afraid to say I don’t know. - Will Ritter”
Corrosion is expensive, relentless, and easy to underestimate—until a “lasagna battery” turns aluminum foil green and reminds you what electrochemistry can do in the real world. This conversation reframes corrosion coupons as what they actually are: a repeatable field test that can sharpen your decisions—if you treat the process with consistency.
Respect the coupon, protect the data
Trace breaks down why coupons became non-negotiable in his systems: they turn guesswork into usable corrosion-rate intelligence. Will Ritter of MetaSpec (formerly Pacific Sensor) explains the fundamentals—pre-weighed coupons, exposure time, cleaning, and calculating corrosion rate in MPY (mils per year). The point isn’t that the coupon is your pipe; it’s that the coupon becomes a reliable, relative gauge over time when variables are controlled.
The “five things” that make results repeatable
Will outlines practical failure points that quietly ruin comparisons quarter to quarter: alloy selection (and staying consistent), surface area (and what happens when hardware covers the coupon), surface finish (including why scratches and pits matter), weight accuracy (and why kitchen/postage scales don’t belong in the workflow), and protective VCI packaging that prevents premature corrosion in storage and transit.
Brand building, trade shows, and getting comfortable saying “I don’t know”
Will shares his path from Pacific Sensor to MetaSpec and what it looks like to merge brands intentionally heading into 2026. The discussion also moves into trade show presence and digital marketing, plus a simple confidence framework: get comfortable saying “I don’t know, but I can find out,” and build communication reps—he points to Toastmasters as a low-stakes way to do that.
Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Timestamps
02:20 — Trace sets the stage: why corrosion coupons matter as diagnostic data
04:05 — What a coupon is (size, pre-weighed precision) and why tiny changes matter
06:14 — Trace’s “four things” water treaters manage (and what microbial control is not)
07:07 — The “lasagna battery”: anode/cathode/electrolyte/path in a real-life example
08:50 — Defining corrosion (ISO 8044 and NACE definitions referenced)
09:50 — Corrosion cost perspective: “2.5 trillion” and “3.5% of global GDP” (as cited)
10:53 – Words of Water with James
12:38 – Events for Water Professionals
14:56 — Will Ritter introduction and why the podcast helped him understand the industry
18:30 — How Will got into coupons: Pacific Sensor, mentors, and early AWT exposure
24:36 — Trade show mindset: don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
27:50 — Toastmasters as a practical system for better speaking and confidence
31:25 — Pacific Sensor → MetaSpec; co-branding and planned transition “starting in 2026”
34:06 — Coupon basics and MPY explained in clear operational terms
36:51 — The big misunderstanding: coupons as a relative gauge (not “the pipe”)
40:06 — The “five key characteristics” behind usable coupon data
58:10 — Best-practice takeaway: treat coupons like a lab test brought into the field
01:06:35 — Close: why Trace “owes a lot” to that “little slip of metal”
Quotes
“Use the coupon as a relative gauge of the corrosivity of the system.” - Will Ritter
“Surface finish is critical… a change in surface finish is going to impact corrosion results.” - Will
“Treat your coupons… like you are taking a laboratory test and bringing it into the field.”
“It’s not a piece of metal. It’s very special. Treat it as such.”
“Digital marketing is free… small businesses need to take advantage of free resources.”
Connect with Will Ritter
Phone: (713) 882- 1427
Email: williamrritter@gmail.com
Website: Pacific Sensor - Buy Corrosion Coupons and Test Specimens
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamryanritter/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/pacific-sensor/about/
Guest Resources Mentioned
Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway (Audiobook)
Steel Isn't Hard (To Learn) by Shane Turcott (Paperback)
Pacific Sensor Corrosion Coupon Installation Guide
Water Treatment Flyer- Pacific Sensor
Metaspec Capabilities Presentation
ASTM-G1-25 Standard Practice for Preparing, Cleaning, and Evaluating Corrosion Test Specimens
TP25-18 The Impact of Metal Surface Roughness on Corrosion Monitoring Water Treatment
Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned
AWT (Association of Water Technologies)
Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses
304 Pinks and Blues: Corrosion Coupons
075 The One that’s All About Corrosion Coupons
AWT Guidelines on Corrosion Coupons
Corrosion cost perspective: “2.5 trillion” and “3.5% of global GDP”
Words of Water with James McDonald
Today's definition is any of the elements found in Group VIIA, also known as Group 17, of the Periodic Table, including fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine, characterized by the ability to disinfect water.
2026 Events for Water Professionals
Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we’ve listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.
