The History of Brooks & Associates
Brooks & Associates was founded in 1970 by Charles P. Brooks. Mr. Brooks was a well-known and respected professional engineer and the inventor of the "Dickey" pipe tap.
Upon leaving the engineering firm of Haskel, Riddle and Sharp he became an independent sales agent for the Smith & Loveless Company, selling wastewater treatment equipment to numerous municipalities and land developments within the local area.
In 1973, Mr. Brooks died of a sudden illness, leaving the operation in the control of Mr. Leon Ziegler. At the time, Mr. Ziegler was partner and co-inventor of the patented Brooks "Anti-Septic" system and innovative extended aeration process for residential waste treatment.
In January of 1978, the firm was reorganized under the ownership and management of Leon Ziegler, Harry Morrison, Edward Winter, and Marvin Schucart. The addition of these individuals gained the company three major equipment lines: General Filter Company, Sparling Meter, and Wallace & Tiernan. These prestigious lines allowed the company to branch out into the water treatment segment of the municipal, an industrial market with great success.
The agency grew to an annual sales level of over four million dollars, with sales equally divided between water and wastewater.
During the early 1980's the federally funded grant programs for wastewater were drastically reduced, causing a depressed municipal market and at the same time the high interest rates had virtually stopped all land development sales. Then, in 1981, the company lost Mr. Schucart to a prolonged illness.
In December of 1983 both Mr. Ziegler and Mr. Morrison retired, selling their interests in the company to Mr. Winter. Under the sole management of Mr. Winter, the corporation was able to down-size and reorganize into a more efficient and focused operation.
During the period from 1984 to 1989 Mr. Winter broadened the company's capabilities and market base to include design, installation, and greater industrial equipment sales.
In January of 1990, Mr. Winter negotiated the merger of Rimbach & Associates into Brooks & Associates. This brought together two of the oldest representative firms in the St. Louis area, not only adding experience, but also substantially increasing the client base.
1992 became a record sales year with Brooks & Associates filling large equipment orders for the St. Louis County Water Co., St. Louis MSD, Hannibal Missouri, Highland Illinois, and the Cannon Wholesale Water Plant.
Since then, the company has maintained stability with planned growth into new markets by meeting new challenges with experience and sound business policies. Selling the first UF membrane water treatment plant in Illinois was one of many first-of-the-kind installations sold by Brooks.