General Info

L/B Water Service was founded by Lehman B. Mengel in 1970 in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. L/B Water Service was founded in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, in 1970 by Lehman B. Mengel as a supplier of water and sewer products and services to contractors and municipalities. Lehman, a successful contractor and businessman in the region for more than 30 years, instilled a strong sense of company pride and dedication to customer service that still make up our company's culture today. Growing the business took some time and a lot of hard work during these early years as we developed relationships with our core manufacturers. Jim App and Walt VanNuys eventually purchased the company and led L/B into several new markets. We're proud to say that six of the original seven manufacturers are still our primary vendors. Our business model to this day includes recruiting and retaining knowledgeable staff, providing superior customer service, and maintaining a specialized inventory for our clients. L/B Water offers its customers application expertise, combined with real-world experience in the use of water and sewer products. L/B's reputation grew quickly in the central Pennsylvania region, with not only our product application expertise, but our service and inventory. As a customer of L/B, you can count on us having the products in inventory, helping you understand how to use them, and being there for any service and supports needs you may have. As our reputation for quality grew, so did the demand for our services. In 1984, armed with our proven philosophy and a handful of established relationships, we opened a full-service location in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. For the next 10 years, we continued to build life-long partnerships as we flawlessly executed our mission to provide expert knowledge and service to our customers. L/B's dedicated and sincere desire to make our customers our number one priority was beginning to catch on. In 1994, we opened our third location in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, to provide better service and quicker response to our customers' orders. We continued to work diligently and intensified our employee training as we became recognized by engineers and customers alike as industry experts. Our sales staff focused on finding accurate and innovative solutions that created long-term value for our customers. Our sales philosophy led us to location number four in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, in 2000. The L/B brand, which was already strong in western Pennsylvania, coupled with a broadening product line and 30 years of knowledge and experience, enabled us to quickly establish Ebensburg as a premier location. In April of 2002, a major change took place in our structure; the company was sold to the employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The employees now own 100% of the company. An increasing sense of pride and ability to influence our own destiny has provided a boost to our commitment and has elevated our motivation to succeed and grow. L/B expanded further west to Stoneboro, Pennsylvania, in 2003. The location marked a step outside of our existing footprint and into an area where we did not have an existing client base. The dedication and commitment to our staff to deliver on our promise of superior service and expert knowledge continues to earn respect as Stoneboro grows and solidifies friendships in that region. In 2007, we opened two new facilities, extending our reach beyond Pennsylvania borders. The Frederick, Maryland, location opened in May and was another move to provide better service to our customers in this area. Our most recent expansion occurred in Hainesport, New Jersey, where L/B offers a different product focus, including water meters and related items for the New Jersey, Delaware, and eastern Pennsylvania markets. L/B Water Service Company Principles: Our company has principles that will not be compromised. Our customers have the right to be greeted with a warm smile and a polite, positive attitude. O