Drying Out

BY DENNIS P. CARMODY

ASSISTANT BUSINESS EDITOR

Steve Vyrostek isn't lacking for business these days.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he's one of dozens of contractors using a Jackson company's

patented method to dry out buildings in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf region.

"We're going to be down here for quite some time," said Vyrostek, who dried out the famed

Antoine's restaurant in New Orleans' French Quarter.

Vyrostek was one of the early businessmen to buy into Water Out, the brainchild of Charles S.

Cressy, a 60-year-old heating and air-conditioning contractor who came up with what he says is 

 a more efficient way to dry out waterlogged buildings.

It's gone from an idea to a $4 million-a-year business that's already outgrowing the building in

Jackson where his staff of nine has been assembling and selling the machines since 2002.

"I had no idea this would become as big as it has become," said Cressy, an Ocean Township

resident, "but when we saw the opportunity, we didn't miss it."

Cressy's story starts in 1994, when he found out Neptune City pet products maker TFH needed

away to dry out its dog biscuits.

Controlling humidity is a major concern in several industries, such as paper products,

pharmaceuticals and food preparation, Cressy said.

Traditionally the job is done with big humidifiers, but Cressy's work in the field convinced him it

could be done more efficiently by forcing hot, dry air in to replace moist air removed from the

room. It's a process akin to a blood transfusion, he said.

The dry air is exceptionally dry. Desert air usually has 20 percent humidity; the air Water Out

pumps in has about 2 percent relative humidity, Cressy said.

Herbert Axelrod, then the owner of TFH, decided to spend the $100,000 it would cost to make

the idea a reality. "Dr. Axelrod gave me the opportunity to build this system when most people

would have gone the safe route and gone with the conventional method," Cressy said. "For

that, I owe him a lot."

From there he started wondering if he could make a portable version of his system. He says he

didn't even know at the time that water-damage restoration was an existing field, let alone a $9

billion-a-year industry.

Eventually he came up with a system that can be stored in a trailer. He named it Water Out and

started servicing the Shore area. The machine can run off an extension cord plugged into an

ordinary household electrical outlet, or a small portable generator.

Traditionally, restoring water-damaged buildings means dumping the carpets, the molding and

part of the walls where the water collected. Cressy says his method works efficiently enough so

thatthose parts of the building can be salvaged, saving money for the building owner in the

long run.

That's not necessarily the case if there's been widespread flooding, Cressy cautioned, because

pollutants in the water may force the removal of contaminated surfaces. But even in those

cases, Water Out can work faster than many traditional methods and result in a cleaner smell

afterward, he claims.

Only about 10 percent of wall water damage is storm-related, Cressy noted. Most of the time,

mechanical problems such as sprinkler systems, broken water pipes and malfunctioning sump

pumps are the cause of the damage. "It's really a mundane business for the most part," he said.

Cressy's local Water Out business did well, so he decided he could expand by making and

selling the patented equipment to contractors. He opened his doors in 2002, selling the

machines and accompanying trailers for $70,000 each, plus a $15,000 licensing fee and a

monthly fee of $300 to $1,000.

The early going was tough. Not only did Cressy and his staff have to convince contractors and

insurance companies that this method would work, they also had to fight a lawsuit Water Out

filed against water-damage restoration giant Munters Corp. of Amesbury, Mass.

The suit alleged Munters was defaming Water Out's technology among people in the industry.

Munters and Water Out reached a "substantial financial settlement" last year, Cressy said.

Cressy's persistence has paid off. Annual revenue has grown from $300,000 to $4 million, and

the company has sold about 150 of the machines and trailers to 60 different contractors, both in the

United States and abroad. Somewhere around 120 to 130 of those trailers are working in the

Gulf region now, he said.

Now that Water Out has developed more of a track record, it may switch to a franchise form of

ownership, which is more complicated than simple licensing agreements, Cressy said.

He's also looking to expand the company's manufacturing capabilities. Right now Water Out can

assemble about three trailers a week. He is considering moving the manufacturing to another

location in New Jersey or perhaps to another state where production would be cheaper.

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