Underground Construction - December 2019 - 27

REHABTECHNOLOGY

Ray Bahr III

I grew up in Cheshire, Conn., with the Bahr
family legacy in underground infrastructure
maintenance and repair - which is a long
one. My father, Ray Bahr Jr., got his
start from my grandfather, Ray F. Bahr,
who owned a company that sold bucket
machines and plumbing equipment.
In 1955, one of the worst floods in
Connecticut's history hit, created by two
back-to-back hurricanes that saturated
the land and several river valleys. Eightyseven people died during the flooding
and property damage was estimated at
more than $200 million, or roughly $1.9
billion based on the value of today's dollar.
The floods prompted changes in safety
measures, river monitoring and zoning
laws. My father saw the need to support
our communities in the aftermath and
started his own pipe cleaning business,
New England Pipe Company, which was a
charter founding member of NASSCO.
I followed in my father's and grandfather's footsteps and at just 12-years old
started working on Saturdays cleaning out
trucks and other small jobs around the
shop. When I turned 16 and was old enough
to go out into the field, I joined a cleaning
crew running bucket machines, cleaning
pipes, operating a hand winch for TV inspection, grouting and performed manhole
rehab. I worked from 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.,

five days a week during summer breaks
from high school and well into my college
career at the University of Connecticut.
After graduating with a bachelor's
degree in civil engineering in 1979, I briefly
worked for a couple of consulting companies, Loureiro Engineering and Flaherty
Giavara Engineering. Knowing that my goal
was to return to the family business, I came
back to the New England Pipe Cleaning Co.
wanting to be a larger part of my family
legacy. With my years of field experience
and a professional degree under my belt,
I was ready to make a real difference. I
learned everything I could about our industry and became involved with NASSCO.
Back in those days, NASSCO conferences were held every other year at a ski
destination such as Lake Tahoe, Park City
or Winter Park. As an avid skier, I remember my excitement when I was invited to
attend a NASSCO meeting at one of these
great destinations. I hold special memories
of the 1984 conference in Winter Park, because the Winter Olympics were happening
at the same time.

Growing up
The industry was still in its infancy back in
the mid-1990s and NASSCO was struggling
to gain a real foothold in the industry. I
remember only 15 to 20 people attended the
annual conference in Park City, UT. At that
time, Bill Thompson agreed to serve as president for a second time if my father would
agree to follow him in that role the next year
to ensure the continuation of NASSCO. As
the industry grew, membership also grew,
both nationally as well as in Canada.
The family business was sold in the
early 1990s and I was getting restless and
wanted to expand into other trenchless
technologies. In 1995 I went to work
for Avanti International as a regional
sales manager. Selling grout came easy
to me since as a young person I had field
experience and also ran a grout truck. I
understood how contractors think and

EDITOR'S NOTE:
NASSCO, now in its 45th year, continues
to set standards for the assessment
and rehabilitation of underground
infrastructure. A vast array of individuals
has contributed to the success of the
association, both in the past and present,
that has driven NASSCO's industry mission.
This series of articles recognizes those who
have not only been critical to the success
of NASSCO, but the industry as well.
This month, industry veteran Ray Bahr III
is profiled. He is the third generation
to work within the underground
rehabilitation market.

what they need. After five years selling
grout, I got a call from Allen Thomas,
NASSCO's former executive director and a
business associate I had met through a long
relationship with CUES. At that time, he
was with Re-Pipe and was putting together
a conglomeration of companies and asked
me to join his team. I met Tim Vivian,
the current NASSCO past president, and
worked for his division of Re-Pipe, Pipeline
Products, from 2000-2004. The timing was
great because my children were getting
older and this job allowed me to spend
more time at home during those early teen
years. Unfortunately, after only a couple of
years, the parent company shut down their
Northeast operations. I moved on to a sales
position for Godwin Pumps. This led to a
14-year career in the pump industry, which
expanded my knowledge in collection
systems and beyond pipes even more. It
also allowed me to utilize my engineering
degree at a much higher level.
Over the years NASSCO has been an
important part of my ongoing education,
networking and professional growth. I had
the opportunity to sit on the board of directors from 1988 to 1992 and have been very
involved in many of NASSCO's committees.
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