For nearly four decades, Mersino — the company my parents launched out of their garage in the ‘80s — built its reputation by showing up and solving problems when industrial operations have needed it most.
Whether it was at massive civil construction sites, within petrochemical facilities or large utilities, or supporting local municipal water and sewer authorities and their systems, we have delivered engineered pumping solutions that have kept projects moving and societal services flowing. It’s a legacy I’m deeply proud of.
This past spring, when we announced the launch of Ironclad Powered by Mersino, it didn’t mark the end of that legacy but instead signaled a new stage of growth for a powerful company and culture that puts its customers and people first.
Ironclad Powered by Mersino is the formal integration of three legacy organizations: Mersino Water Solutions, Ironclad Environmental Solutions and Global Pump. The result is one of the most comprehensive water, liquid and solid waste management companies in North America.
My parents founded Mersino in 1988, two young risk-takers operating out of their home’s garage and basement with the conviction that a service-first approach to pumping solutions could earn a lasting place in a competitive industry. I joined the company full-time in 1995 when we were still operating out of that basement. From those early days, the operating principle was straightforward: Show up, solve the problem and leave the customer better off than you found them.
That principle scaled, and over the following three decades we expanded across markets and geographies, building expertise in groundwater control and pumping solutions. Ironclad Powered by Mersino is now accelerating that steady growth. Today, we operate from more than 70 locations across the U.S., support 1,200 employees and deploy a diverse fleet that includes more than 5,000 proprietary pumps and 40,000-plus specialty containment assets.
The industries we serve have historically managed water or liquid and solid waste through a fragmented network of specialty vendors. A contractor might engage one company for pumping solutions, another for containment, a third for treatment and discharge and yet another for waste transport and disposal. Each relationship introduces coordination complexity, schedule risk and potential gaps in accountability.
This is not a new problem, but it is a costly one. As projects grow in scope and environmental compliance requirements become more stringent, the friction created by multi-vendor jobs expands.
Ironclad Powered by Mersino eliminates that friction. By integrating the engineering and pumping expertise of Mersino, the containment leadership of Ironclad Environmental Solutions and the in-house manufacturing capabilities of Global Pump, we serve as one accountable partner across the liquid and solid waste management spectrum. One call, total solutions, outcomes to trust.
Putting total solutions into practice
The phrase "total solutions" is used frequently in this industry, but it’s worth defining, loud and clear. For Ironclad Powered by Mersino, "total solutions" means the capability to engage at the earliest stage of a project via site analysis, application engineering and system design, submittal development, equipment and personnel deployment, installation, operation and maintenance and finally project completion and demobilization.
For clients, this integration matters. Operations inside and outside the fence, including turnarounds, pipeline maintenance, process water management, groundwater withdrawal and stormwater compliance require a partner who understands the regulatory environment as well as the technical one. Our integrated service offerings include:
- Pumping and Dewatering: Temporary bypass pumping, groundwater control via dewatering and every other type of pumping system required from water transfer and flood control to mine unwatering and process pumping across industrial and civil applications.
- Liquid Containment: Frac tanks, boxes, custom-engineered containment systems and spill response assets deployed individually or as part of integrated systems.
- Solid Waste Containment: Roll-off and specialty containers for industrial solid and hazardous waste streams managed alongside liquid assets for fully coordinated site programs.
- Treatment and Filtration: Water treatment systems designed and operated to meet discharge and reuse requirements for industrial, construction and municipal applications.
Total solutions in action
Since our merger we have already experienced our total solutions put to work, successfully delivering the desired results. In the Mojave Desert, we helped move 2.5 million gallons of water through 32 miles of a newly constructed pipeline to fill and then hydrostatically test the system. The water transfer was supported by our IronMax above-ground storage tank where there was no municipal water source on site.
In Miami, we completed a 75 MGD bypass at a wastewater treatment plant, creating a custom engineered solution that — due to the depth of the sewer — utilized vertical turbine pumps that incorporated in-house designed cutter blades to shred and pass the rags and debris within the sewerage. The pumps were suspended upon a designed and installed scaffolding system that we provided to keep the weight of the pumping system from damaging the F1 chamber structure of the plant. The system was completely automated, and our crews provided 24/7 on-site operations and maintenance to ensure continuity of services for the community.
In Indiana, our company has deployed dewatering solutions to lower the groundwater table for the installation of the infrastructure network for a large data center being built. The applications required on this site included drilling and furnishing deep well dewatering, horizontal collection trenches installed via our one-pass trenching method and the provision of more than 50 frac tanks for the containment and filtration of pumped surface water and groundwater. We have staffed the site with dozens of operators providing 24/7 maintenance, and we have been engaged to flush and hydrostatically test the newly installed permanent water supply pipeline to the facility.
These projects demonstrate the wide variety of applications our integrated model serves, as well as the depth of our capabilities.
To successfully deliver total solutions to clients across the country, geographic reach is not just a marketing metric, but an operational consideration. With more than 70 service locations, Ironclad Powered by Mersino can mobilize quickly in most major industrial markets, and the size of our fleet, coupled with a continuous production line of new pumps supported by a vast inventory of parts, means our equipment is always available. That can make all the difference for large-scale projects with demanding schedules for completion that must be met.
Mersino, Ironclad and Global Pump each built their reputations on similar foundations: technical competence, client responsiveness and a commitment to over-deliver on promises made. The Ironclad Powered by Mersino team shares an orientation toward accountability and partnership that clients will experience and appreciate whether they are working with an application engineer during project planning, an account manager reviewing contract terms, a field technician on a jobsite or a project manager delivering results on the provision of a total solution.
This year’s launch of Ironclad Powered by Mersino is a powerful new beginning. We are actively expanding our service capabilities, refining our integrated delivery model based on early project experience, while developing the workforce and systems that will allow us to scale responsibly.
What will not change is the standard that built this company. My parents started Mersino because they knew that doing good work to provide supreme customer satisfaction was the only sustainable model. That conviction has guided every stage of our growth. It guides Ironclad Powered by Mersino today — and will continue to do so well into our future.
For more information, visit ironcladenvironmental.com.
