History
John P. Place founded John P. Place Company in 1952 with a focus on engineered sales of specialty valve and pump products to the iron, steel, and aluminum industrial wastewater markets. By 1960 the business had grown and expanded to become John P. Place, Inc. and Edward A. Baldinger and John S. Wolf joined the company bringing extensive experience in the municipal water and wastewater market. In 1977, J. Mark Place, the current president, joined the company bringing process equipment manufacturing experience and a Business Administration degree with a marketing emphasis.
Today JPP serves the municipal water and wastewater markets in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania, but from our roots in 1952 we have maintained our focus on engineered sales for premier manufacturers in each product category that we represent. We strive to build long term relationships with our manufacturers, engineers, and end users. We are proud that some of these relationships have lasted for nearly 40 years. In an industry constantly challenged by globalization and consolidation, we strive to provide a measure of stability to our customers.
Over the course of over 60 years in business we have found that three principals are timeless: trust, service, and knowledge. To earn and keep our clients’ trust we keep our promises; earn loyalty with quality and value; and act with integrity by conducting ourselves with the highest level of honesty and responsibility among ourselves, our clients and our principals. In serving our clients we aim to be friendly, professional, and serve memorably. We believe that not only is it important for us to understand our product offerings, but also to take the time to understand our clients’ needs and pay attention to the details that will allow us to provide creative knowledgeable solutions. Additionally, we strive to dedicate time each year to provide educational opportunities to our customers. In a typical year we present or sponsor as many as 12 educational seminars through industry associations and third-party agencies such as the WV Environmental Training Center. Knowledgeable application of our equipment by JPP, engineering, and client staff is one of our most effective selling tools in an “or equal” market.
As JPP moves into the future, we realize that success also depends on the ability to change in these turbulent times. We are committed to finding and developing those new best-in-class products which will best serve our customers’ needs and enhance the product lines we already represent.