Water purification is a natural business for plumbing contractors. Why aren't more of them going for it, asks Jim Olsztynski in this month's Editorial Opinion.
The total market for residential and commercial water treatment equipment is pegged at approaching a whopping $2.5 billion a year. It has been growing at a compounded annual rate of between 6 percent and 7 percent throughout the 1990s, according to the Frost & Sullivan market research firm.
Yet, at present, only about 38 percent of U.S. households have some kind of water treatment system, according to the Water Quality Association (WQA). This means the market has plenty of room for further growth, and it shows no sign of slowing down.