Meet the Team
Principals and Management Staff
The principals, Phil Derrenbacher and Joe McLaughlin have over 60 years of combined experience in water and wastewater management. They complement the on-site staff to create an efficient and effective environmental facility. Our staff makes weekly reports about facility operations and meets frequently with VRI principals and managers to assess the effectiveness of operations and monitoring. Our team makes any adjustments necessary to optimize the facility, fulfilling the client’s and VRI’s objectives to meet or exceed all regulatory standards, all while reducing short and long-term operating costs.
Principals
Joe McLaughlin (Principal, President, Operations)
Joe is a NYS Certified Grade IA, IIB, C, and D Water Treatment Plant Operator. He has over 30 years’ experience in the industry and is experienced in Tertiary Filtration systems, including Microfiltration, and the Pall Aria Systems. While his primary function is the oversight of the company’s day to day operations, he also oversees the VRI maintenance division and is the primary contact for all VRI Tertiary Filtration facilities. This includes onsite consultation for operation and maintenance as well as the ability to utilize the computer interface system to dial into the Pall Aria SCADA system and diagnose and troubleshoot issues for our on-site staff any time day or night from a remote location.
Phil Derrenbacher (Principal, Vice President, Operations)
Phil holds a NYS Grade 3A Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator certification and a IIA Water Treatment Plant Operator certification and has 39 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry. He also has an A.A.S in Applied Science. Phil provides support with the operations and safety compliance. His responsibilities have included working with Town Engineers and comptrollers in budget preparation, facility start-up, and facility operations, including sampling, laboratory testing, chemical addition, regulatory reporting, collection system maintenance, SOP’s, process control, safety, and preventive maintenance. Mr. Derrenbacher is also a member of the NY section of the WEF and a 26-year member of the American Water Works Association.
Managers
Tyler Post (Operations Manager)
Tyler holds a NYS Grade 3A Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certification and Grade IIA, IIB, C and D Water Treatment Plant Operator Certifications. He has 9 years of experience in both water and wastewater fields and has experience with Tertiary Treatment Systems including Pall Aria & Siemens Microfiltration systems.
Dan Whiteley (Maintenance Director)
Dan has been working at VRI as a maintenance technician since 2013. Before beginning at VRI, Dan worked as a mechanic for the Town of Poughkeepsie Water Dept. for 9 years where he operated and maintained a 5 MGD distribution system. Dan has experience in plumbing, mechanical pipe fitting, electric and carpentry. In 2018 Dan became the Director of Maintenance for VRI which includes daily oversight and supervision of the dept, estimating, scheduling and maintenance support to all employees. Dan holds a NYS Grade IIb, C and D water certification. He is certified in confined space entry, OSHA 10 and is a level 1 and 2 E-One certified technician.
Contact Us to Find Out More About VRI’s Water Filtration Experience!