How A.Y. McDonald Brings Training Directly to You

How A.Y. McDonald Brings Training Directly to You

How A.Y. McDonald Brings Training Directly to You

Innovation is the act of bringing a new concept, process, or idea to life. While for most manufacturers, the act of innovating would mean the creation of new and improved products; A.Y. McDonald considers this the minimum. Due to a customer suggestion for more training opportunities in the industry, innovative practices are to thank for us being the proud owner of a traveling training truck.

With so much knowledge to be found in the water industry, there appears to be an opportunity for more training. And with nearly one-third of employees eligible for retirement during the next ten years, there is no better time than now to get into the habit of sharing more knowledge. Training not only brings clarity to one’s job, it also brings us closer together as an industry. This reasoning would be the building blocks for the A.Y. McDonald training truck.

The training truck’s responsibility is to drive location-to-location, providing hands-on presentations on the different topics that are most important to you. But what makes this opportunity stand out the most is the drivers behind the wheel, Calvin Willliams and Donnie Lathem. Both Product Training Coordinators hold decades of experience in the water works industry. Pior to joining the A.Y. McDonald Family, Calvin worked in the Tulsa, Ok area while Donnie worked for the City of Columbus. 

As Product Training Coordinators, Calvin and Donnie travel throughout the country, leading training sessions at different customers, distributors, municipalities, etc. on the different topics that are most important to you. Below are the benefits that come from attending one of their training sessions:

  • Convenient location since he travels directly to you
  • Helps get new employees up to speed on industry knowledge
  • Serves as a good reminder for industry veterans



2017 will officially be known as the year A.Y. McDonald brought training directly to you, evident in our traveling training truck and A.Y. McDonald University (AYU). With numerous long-serving industry peers soon to retire, there is no better time to organize and transfer their knowledge to the newcomers that will take their place. Between an employee with over three decades of experience or a newcomer with three weeks, we can all benefit from knowledge sharing.

Bringing water and gas to communities is so much more than providing a great product or service; it’s also about passing on our collective industry knowledge in order to make the work we all do better for generations to come.