Mortal Reflections From An Old Tank Vacuum Builder by J.E. Rose
There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3)
I built my first commercial vacuum sweeper in 1990. I was working for my friend Tom’s company at the time and he was launching a new business in the asbestos industry, manufacturing and selling “high efficiency” vacuums for hazardous material situations. Not a naturally handy-man, it took me some weeks of frustration to learn the job but over time I actually began to enjoy the simplicity of building something and standing back in satisfaction at a job well-done.
I did other things for Tom during the next eight years but in 1998 he shocked me with an offer I could not refuse: buy the vacuum company myself. He even made the financing easy: a kind of ‘pay as you go” offer so I could afford to do it. Over the next years I expanded the business, teaching my kids to build them, and in the course of events making a lot of money. For nearly 20 years “Fortress Environmental Services LLC” built and sold them, not just to asbestos companies but eventually to lead paint contractors and even mold remediators.
But, there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. By 2018 my manufacturing crew (my kids) had all grown and gone. The HEPA vacuum industry had developed new price structures, modern looks and new technologies. And I knew it would soon be time to shut it down. I kept some replacement parts on hand for the next few years and every once in a while got a sales call. But by the time COVID hit, the only thing left of Fortress vacuums was a few boxes gathering dust in my shop. When we moved to a new home in 2025 I had to get rid of them also, unceremoniously hauling several boxes of motors, housings and tanks to the junkyard. I had to actually pay to get rid of the “entrails” of a business that had been part of my life for 25 years.
It was no doubt short-sighted of me, but I got rid of everything, not imagining I might need a vacuum in my new shop. Be that as it may, that meant I had to order a new one. I did so this week. I didn’t need a high efficiency vac so I didn’t have to spend the big bucks for “99.97% efficiency down to .3 micron sized particles!" After shopping on Amazon I found a cute little four gallon unit. It was a quarter of the size of those I sold but has a lot more horsepower. I sold them for $500 each and this one was only $50. Obviously, it isn’t for hazardous materials but it will be perfect for picking up sawdust in my shop.
Today, the Amazon guy delivered it to my door. I just finished opening the box and putting it all together. And, in the process, began having many thoughts about tank vacuums and about the seasons of life.
Before I get nostalgic I need to comment on how impressed I was with the packaging and the assembly process.
My old “crew” will appreciate it when I say, Fortress could have done a lot better at the details, even the way we packaged them for shipping. As I opened the box today everything was tight and fit snugly in the container. There were no handcut spacing pieces; nothing rattling around in the bottom of the box. The packaging tape was not wrinkled either!
I loved how easy and idiot-proof the assembly was. And I won’t rave about the more sleek, streamlined contours–you get my point I’m sure. All these developments make me appreciate God's timing and why my decision to close down the business was timely and sensible: a time to build and a time to tear down.
But I must admit that while I was attaching the four wheels to the tank I got a bit teary-eyed (it doesn't take much these days), remembering what once was.
I remembered the biggest purchase contract ever from a nationwide company, choosing my equipment to sell to mold contractors in every state. I even remember where I was and what I was doing when I got their call (my boys and I were on a camping trip in Northern Michigan). I remember the time I sold a unit to the Disney Land maintenance department (not Micky I don' think) and that heady moment when I saw a bridge painting company using one of our vacs on a bridge painting job on I-75!
I remember our mini-assembly line and how we could build a dozen units at a time. I remember a couple of tense, heated exchanges with my eldest “crew member” in a dispute over quality control issues. Just to be clear, i was the one who wanted to cut corners, not him. And I also remember many stressful seasons when demand was outpacing our ability to supply it. I wish I had taken pictures of this part of the business. As it is, the only pictures are in my mind where, over the years, they have no doubt lost much of the gritty reality and been replaced by idealized fantasy..
As I once again put a vacuum together, I can’t help but reflect on what Ecclesiastes said: there is a time for every purpose under heaven. Fortress fulfilled an extraordinary purpose in our lives while it lasted. As such, it was a good gift from God.
But, Ecclesiastes is not just a book about nostalgic reflection. It is one of the most profound (not to mention misunderstood) books of wisdom in the Bible. I won't go into the details here. I’ve written a complete Bible study about the mysteries it contains. But I will conclude with the important warning, apropos for me today as I reflect on my own experience: When I was assembling my new little tank vac God wanted me to remember–not just the past but the one who made the past and to recall with gratitude what he gave. But, in that memory of what was, realize that the "past is prologue." God used all that to accomplish. much greater works than paying bills.
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”— 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; 3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim 4 when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; 5 when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home and mourne go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (12:1-7)
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