Get to Know Us - Faces Behind Filtrexx
Get to know: Jeff Schmitz, Business Development Manager
What is your role at Filtrexx?
My role in Business Development is to foster business relationships at the strategic level with end use customers to match our corporate sustainability mission with their sustainability initiatives and show how our products can help them achieve their goals.
What do you like most about working for Filtrexx?
Filtrexx is on the cutting edge of developing new and expanding current technologies and applications for erosion and sediment control. It’s exciting to be part of a team dedicated to this mission and knowing the results of our teamwork will have long lasting environmental, corporate and social benefits. We are uniquely positioned as the industry leader to leverage our internal capabilities with our extensive industry experience to drive positive change in our marketplace.
What do you find the most challenging about working for Filtrexx?
Finding ways to tell our story to the correct audience with the best message is a day-to-day challenge as we analyze the drivers behind purchasing and use decisions of our products. We stand alone in our industry in our approach and strategy for telling the Filtrexx sustainability story.
What has been one of your favorite projects to work on while at Filtrexx?
The Filtrexx team was able to convert one of the largest real estate development companies in California to use SiltSoxx on their projects by promoting the environmental sustainability of our products. The development company offset the carbon footprint they generated by land development equipment by using the GHG values saved by diverting organics from landfills into our product. This will have huge positive impacts when these values are included in the environmental impact report used in the permitting process for several very large current and future development projects in Southern California. Filtrexx is well positioned to help the entire state of California reach their recently legislated organic diversion goals in many different industries needing erosion and sediment control.
What have you learned that you didn’t know before becoming a Filtrexx employee?
The sustainability concept in general is a bigger deal than I thought and the environmental aspect of sustainability is getting increased attention all the way from the consumer level to the board room. Clearly, we are moving closer to a potential hockey stick effect on sustainability as political, economic and consumer drivers of environmental initiatives become more influential in our industry segment and others. It has been a long term initiative in some industries we serve but a new and growing initiative in others. Staying on top of these changes and how we can efficiently impact the outcome is an ongoing challenge.
What are some of your hobbies outside of work?
I do most of the maintenance and repair work on my vehicles at home. It’s been a challenging adventure… and is also my own little economically sustainable activity which blends aspects of work and home! Think sustainably!
Any random facts we should know about you?
Our college marching band participated in President Reagan’s inaugural parade in 1981. It was my first airplane ride and first time in D.C. The Iranian hostages were released that day after 444 days and the crisis delayed the parade. Never forget it.
Jeffrey Schmitz serves as the Business Development Manager for Filtrexx International. He is charged with helping large customers across the US in the oil and gas, utility and construction industries achieve their sustainability and environmental goals with the use of Filtrexx products and EcoPractices, our 3rd party environmental benefits verification partner. He has 13 years in the building materials industry, a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business from South Dakota State University and an MBA from Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.