My good friend Bob Adorjan called me a few weeks ago. For those of you who don’t know Bob, he is the retired head of sales and marketing for Fernco. I always credited Bob with making Fernco a household name in plumbing. Rather than walk into a supply house and ask for an adapter fitting, most plumbers ask for a “Fernco.” This isn’t a unique marketing approach. It’s been done with Kleenex, Xerox, etc. You get the idea.
Bob asked the question, “What’s the weakest joint in the plumbing system?” I laughed out loud. Bob and I have had this conversation off and on for the past 20 years. I answered in typical fashion, “The wax ring on the water closet.” Bob started laughing, too. I still knew the answer. We talked, as we often have, about the “immortal” wax ring. While Bob was employed by Fernco for eons, he never forgot he was a plumber first. He always thought like a plumber when a new product was needed. I think that is why he was so successful. As a plumber, he never forgot his apprenticeship instructor who commented about the stupidity of using wax to make one of the most precious joints in a drainage system.