If you've worked with us before, chances are that you have seen our Technical Support Specialist, Dan Hammill, out on site. Dan works with our approved applicators and helps with training, overall problem-solving, and making sure everything runs smoothly while adapting to sometimes sudden changes in the field. We recently took a few minutes to speak with Dan about his work with EPRO and how he collaborates with all trades to properly protect each and every building envelope .
Let’s start by discussing your time at EPRO: How long have you been with the company and what is your background?
I’ve been with EPRO since March 1, 2020. My previous company, Kingfield Construction Products, was purchased by EPRO to fill out their waterproofing portfolio and I came along with the product lines.
My background is in genetic research, and I eventually moved to customer-directed business management. From there, Kingfield recruited me to provide direct technical assistance and training for local and national projects. In the same role at EPRO, I’ve continued building on my field experience and in detail design.
You spend a lot of time in the field. What have you learned about working with customers during your time as part of the EPRO team?
EPRO has allowed me to work directly with our approved applicators in the trenches, continually learning the waterproofing trade, troubleshooting in the field, and discovering that real-world situations can vary significantly from lab conditions and detail designs.
Multiple levels of learning are required when you are in the field and behind a computer, helping with waterproofing details and determining the best approaches to protect the building envelope. I have had the great opportunity to work with our CAD master, Robert Taylor, translating project information provided to us to make robust and warrantable detail assemblies that the designers, engineers, contractors, and laborers can understand.
Can you highlight an interesting project – and explain how you overcame any challenges?
In December 2022, I was called out to a project in Washington, D.C., by one of our EPRO Approved Applicators, Osprey Contracting Company. I had to perform a substrate review, new pump setup and training, and provide project start-up assistance for a mixed system project utilizing EPRO’s Geo-Seal EV40s and E.Proformance Shoring. This project was not lacking on complexity.
When I arrived on site, the elevator pit had been dug out and formed, exposing the pile caps that required detailing. Excavation had exposed an underground creek that was moving directly across the elevator pit, and dewatering activity had not been able to divert the flow. This was a major complication, because the substrate needed to be dry and clean before the vapor and water barrier system could be pre-applied under the elevator pit slab and around the pile caps.
Luckily, we worked with a very proactive general contractor who recognized the issue and collaborated with Osprey and EPRO over the next several weeks to install an extensive dewatering trench network and remove the mud left by the flowing creek.
Without the experience, knowledge, and ability of EPRO’s technical team to understand and handle fast-paced project complications and quickly adapt and provide agreeable and warrantable solutions, the project would have led to costly delays and hardship. I am very grateful to be a part of such an experienced and well-rounded team.
What would you say to a team potentially interested in working with EPRO?
EPRO is a very welcoming and exciting family-owned manufacturer with whom to work. Our markets are expanding every year, and I am constantly amazed at the breadth of work coming in and keeping me busy.
And of course, we would love to know what is your favorite thing about working with EPRO?
One of the key benefits of working with EPRO is that the company is decentralized. Our headquarters are in Wichita, Kansas; our primary manufacturing and warehousing facility is in Kansas City, Missouri and our technical sales teams are located throughout the US and Canada. This enables us to serve our customers across the continent and easily travel within our key markets.