Alpine Softener Corp.

By Nate Legue

BusinessRockford.com

Owner/top executive: Andrew Leatherby

Address: 1230 15th Ave., Rockford

Telephone: 815-962-7070

E-mail: salpinewater@aol.com

Incorporated: 1963

Products and services: Manufacture, installation and service of water treatment systems

Why did you get into this business? I started in 1976 when they needed somebody to haul salt and clean brine tanks. I worked my way up the ladder and purchased the company about 10 years ago.

What advice can you offer others who are thinking of entering the business? If someone wanted to join up or get into the business, hang around and talk to people that are in the industry. Get to know them. And join the Water Quality Association.

How has your business grown since opening? It’s always steady. We’re not a roller coaster-type business. We’ve grown slowly but at a pace that keeps us where our customers aren’t numbers. We know them personally. Our growth is able to accommodate service calls and installations in a matter of days, not weeks. Our systems are built right here in Rockford. It’s all service.

Where do you see your business in the next five years? Two things: One is the field of purification of water, drinking water, city and well. We would like to expand on that aspect. The other is what’s called brine reclamation. It’s not going green, but it’s conserving salt and efficiency beyond what standard systems are, being able to reuse it and not just put it down the drain.

What is most satisfying about your business? After a job is completed, that we know that we applied the correct equipment for the problem water that we ran into. ... We test all our water here at a lab. What’s satisfying is taking water that someone thought was undrinkable or untreatable and turning it into something where the family feels safe drinking it.

What’s the biggest challenge about your business? Unscrupulous salespeople who sell equipment that is applied improperly to someone’s home. We get a lot of the tail ends of these jobs, where someone spent quite a lot of money on that equipment with the belief that it would be covered for its life, and they call them and find out they’re not getting any help.

To nominate a business for Snapshot!, send candidate’s name, place of employment and phone number to Rockford Register Star Business Desk, 99 E. State St., Rockford, IL 61104; fax 815-987-1365; e-mail nlegue@rrstar.com.

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