Starting from scratch in the 1970s, MPW has grown into a leading provider of integrated industrial cleaning, water purification, facility management and total waste services in North America. Hard work, full commitment and always putting the customer first are only some of the factors that have helped the family-owned-and-operated company to its leading position, says its founder and CEO Monte Black.

MPW Industrial Services’ reach into industry is deep and wide. For example, MPW’s mobile deionization fleet is one of the largest in North America and features the best equipment – fabricated in-house – in the industry. Its customized industrial water solutions as well as industrial air utility services set the industry standard for reliability, based on customer-specific requirements and innovative technology.

Within its Total Waste Program, the company develops customized equipment, technology and strategies to transform its customers’ waste-management systems into first class examples of environmental sustainability. These are only some of its outstanding contributions to making clients’ sites more efficient and better operating.

Monte Black, who founded the business in 1972, says that the original ethos and focus on professionalism and customer response has not changed, and is one of the factors behind MPW’s continued growth. “We have grown with the ‘can-do attitude’,” he says. “Supplying customers what they need, so that they can focus on their core business, has driven our business since its inception.”

And the result of that driver is impressive – the company that Monte manages together with his three children today is very different from the two-man truck-washing business that he started 50 years ago. With over 4,000 people in more than 100 locations in North America, MPW is proud to provide its services across the continent, bringing innovative solutions based on safety, efficiency and sustainability, while continuing to grow.

Nationwide expansion

The story of MPW Industrial Services started in May 1972, when Monte Black, then aged 22, registered the name Central Ohio Mobile Power Wash for his truck wash business, targeting large fleets of transportation trucks in the region. Entering what was even then a highly competitive industry, Black was convinced that hard work, innovation and a commitment to exceed customer expectations would enable MPW to succeed. And he was right.

“Our goal was to not only compete but to lead the industry as the best truck-washing service company,” Monte says. “To gain a competitive advantage, we built our own equipment to offer more capabilities and longevity. We acted professionally from the start, with logos and uniforms. Providing the service round the clock was a clear differentiator, and so was quality – we focused on executing at a high level with trained people, the right equipment and the right products, with a view to making our customers’ lives easier and creating a longer-term relationship.”

Jared Black, Monte’s son and MPW’s President, agrees that having very good customer service has been paramount for the business. “We don’t say no very often to the customer. We are always looking for ways to help them and support them. And that’s also how we’ve gotten into a lot of different service lines over the years,” Jared says. “For example, because industrial plants have to run 24/7, we have adapted our business to support them, running multiple shifts and stocking large inventories and equipment to provide the required response.”

This ‘can-do attitude’ has helped the company to expand its range of services and sectors, seizing new opportunities with higher pressure water and vacuum trucks, followed by demineralised water and paint stripping. Today, MPW provides a diverse range of industrial cleaning, industrial air, water treatment, and facility and environmental services to thousands of clients throughout North America. Its broad customer base includes automotive manufacturers, petrochemical refining, paper mills, steel mills and food processing plants, to name just a few.

A family company

Jared Black is from the second generation of the family, which now runs and develops the company. He muses that he has been learning about the business since he was two years old, sitting in his father’s truck, a few years later shredding paper with his siblings in the office, and later still spending school holidays helping wherever needed.

After graduating from Ohio University with a business degree, Jared started as a management trainee in the Industrial Water Treatment business, moving across various functions. He became General Manager of the business in 2007, and in 2015 the Company President. In continuing his father’s work, he affirms that getting to know all parts of the organisation inside out was key when he started so that new opportunities could be identified, and further improvements implemented.

“We have continued to expand our engineering footprint, our IT footprint and our fabrication footprint over the last few years. I also focused on our employees—people are everything in a service company, and the reason why we are successful,” Jared says. “We continue to offer different training and development to help them be more successful, we ensure a good working environment, and we do a lot of promoting from within.”

Despite the labour market constraints, MPW does not face major staff shortages and is regarded as a good employer. Monte points out that about 30% of the company’s hires are referrals, which speaks for itself. “MPW truly is a family business. Today we have hundreds of people who have relatives working here, whether it’s a daughter, a son, or a wife. And to me, that’s probably the nicest compliment I’ve ever received being in the business. It shows that we are a solid, respected organisation.”

Vehicle for sustainability

They both affirm that personal interaction is fundamental internally and externally. “Being in front of customers is the cornerstone of this business. We have the same approach to our vendors as they are an integral part of our success,” says Jared, adding that the pandemic has refined the way the company looks at its supply chain.

“We now multi-source our products and we have added a few really good suppliers and products over the last few years which have again enhanced our overall performance. On the other hand, we have expanded our fabrication and engineering capability so that we can internalise some more work to have a better control of the speed and response to our customer base. In a way, the pandemic, with all its challenges, has changed MPW for the better.”

Jared further points out that just like people, technology has always been fundamental for MPW’s success. The company has two fabrication sites to produce its own, in-house designed equipment and has invested heavily over the last decade in IT to further increase effectiveness and response time.

Investment has also been made in environmentally friendly practices such as solar panel installation, deployment of ultra-light vehicles to reduce fuel consumption and the environmental footprint, and measures to reduce water consumption at the water treatment facilities. The company’s paint stripping business helps with recycling products and returning parts into service as opposed to scrapping.

“We have implemented a lot of sustainability initiatives internally but also have a strong external impact. By making our customers more efficient, we are in fact a vehicle for improving our customers’ ESG and sustainability goals,” Jared says, adding that MPW is now preparing its own first ESG report with hard data and impact assessment included.

A legacy to continue

Going forward, MPW is set to continue along the guidelines that made the business successful by focusing on customers and its employees. “Our strategic target is to grow by 6% -10% annually at a steady pace. We continue to look to expand to the western part of the United States and Canada, and we are potentially looking at acquisitions to help us expand our footprint and offer different services,” says Jared.

“It all comes back to what we can do and how we can help our customer base, to keep finding new opportunities,” says Monte. “It’s important to avoid complacency. We can’t ever take our customers for granted. We must continue doing what got us where we are today. And that’s being in front of customers, taking care of our employees, driving the organisation, listening to customers’ needs and applying technology and innovation to keep us moving into the next generation.”

Looking back, Monte can be rightly proud of the flourishing business he started more than 50 years ago. Still, his biggest achievement is of a different sort, he says: “I have been married to the same lady for 52 years, all three of my kids graduated from college and all have the same passion—the love for business that I have. They all started at the ground level, and I think they learned at an early age how we serve our customers, and how we look after the people that built this organisation.”

“Building MPW from one truck to where it is today is exciting, but I just happen to be the quarterback on the team. I’m surrounded by a lot of quality people that have helped over the years to build this organisation. With seven grandchildren, the third generation is growing, and I’d like to see some of them as part of this organisation going forward.”