Mid American Water and Mid American Water of Wauconda sell underground sewer and water material to contractors throughout the Chicagoland area.

Our founder, Chuck Dixon, started out as a top salesman of water meters in the Chicago area. In 1968 he started a supply house, selling underground sewer and water material to contractors, many of whom had their offices in their pickup trucks. When Chuck started his business, he would often drive his car to vendors on weekends, some in other states. The weeks' cash receipts were in his pocket and he would buy material to fill his customer's orders for the following week.

Chuck treated his customers like he wanted to be treated. His motto was "your word is your bond". A simple handshake got a lot of brand new contractors started with Chuck, long before they were ever able to secure a line of credit from a bank.

As time went on, Chuck built his business up and in addition to the pickup truck guys, his portfolio grew to include larger and larger customers. Chuck provided competitive prices, timely delivery, and service, service, service. He earned his customer's loyalty so that as they grew their businesses, they continued to buy from him.

As time went on, Chuck started a family. Eventually, he wanted to spend more time with his sons, Darren and Derek, so he sold his business and retired. He concentrated on raising his boys. After his sons were older, Chuck came out of retirement. He started Mid American Water, in Aurora in 1994. Chuck built yet another successful business from scratch, using the same principles which had made his first business successful. Darren and Derek spent weekends and summers "interning" at MAW. After Darren graduated from Kansas in 1998, a second branch was opened, Mid American Water of Wauconda, which Darren would eventually manage. After Derek graduated from Kansas, he went to work at the Aurora location and eventually took over as its manager.

As time went on, Chuck gradually ceded more and more of the day to day operations of both facilities to his sons. Chuck moved on to his next full time job, retirement. No matter where Chuck was, he was still involved in all the strategic decisions. Both Darren and Derek learned from the master; Chuck's advice, expertise and intuition helped form the basis of their business.

Chuck passed away in February 2012. Darren and Derek continue in their father's footsteps. A handshake and a straight story are still valued commodities at both locations of Mid American Water.