Like many in the industry, the Ohio-based company has had a whirlwind year, acting as an essential business during the height of Covid-19, and continues to serve its customers, as both the pandemic and its effects continue to unfold.
In the next instalment of gasworld’s A Christmas Twist: The 12 Days of Content series, David Nangle, President of the Harris Products Group, speaks about the industrial year that was and the company’s plans for 2021.
gasworld (GW): What’s been the most exciting application or growth driver for industrial gases this year?
David Nangle (DN): New technologies, and especially internet connectivity, are driving a platform for new products. Customers want to be able to measure and analyse performance. In response to this demand, Harris introduced the PerfectFlame®, an engineered brazing system that controls the flame and contributes to better operational performance. It provides for lower costs for our brazing customers.
GW: Can you tell us about three exciting projects the Harris Products Group has been a part of in 2020?
DN: We have been focused on automation in our manufacturing facilities, investment in our B2B platform and our company-wide effort to build new oxygen panels in response to the Covid-19 epidemic both domestically and internationally.
GW: Harris Products and McKinney Welding Supply collaborated to rapidly provide oxygen regulators and systems in New York City and El Paso, Texas field hospitals earlier this year. Can you tell us more about this effort?
DN: Thanks to our strong vendor relationships and the commitment of our employees, we were able to turn weeks of development and production of these custom oxygen panels into days. We shifted all of our efforts to meet these demands. We redeployed employees, modified and added production lines and called upon supply chain partners to find and provide materials expeditiously. It was inspirational to see how so many people worked together to help those in need and deliver products on time to these field hospitals.
GW: How else did Harris Products Group help during the pandemic?
DN: While the pandemic has been difficult, I am reminded that times like these make us a better company. As an essential business, Harris manufacturing companies have supported critical industries and infrastructures like hospitals and healthcare around the world, the US Centers for disease control, pharmaceutical manufacturers, energy plants, and the US military. Our brazing alloys and other equipment have been used in the critically needed HVAC and piping systems. And we have continued to provide uninterrupted service and distribution of products to our customers worldwide.
GW: What exciting projects/plans does the company have lined up for 2021?
DN: Harris will be launching DataSMART™, a new gas system that utilises data to attain maximum efficiency. This fully automatic switchover manifold system has monitoring, tracking and reporting capabilities controls and maximises gas use and expenses. Whether working with low-pressure applications in analytical labs or high-pressure applications in manufacturing or fabricating, this system is going to help make smart decisions and demonstrate ROI.
In addition, we will continue to expand our manufacturing footprint in the United States, Europe and Brazil.
GW: Finally, in the spirit of the time of year and theme of the series, if you could have one industrial gases related thing for Christmas, what would it be and why?
DN: Like most people, I look forward to the end of the pandemic and having the world return to normal. Globally, we have all been through a lot in 2020.
A Christmas Twist: The 12 Days of Content series continues tomorrow with an exclusive interview with BOC South Pacific.