Headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, the company has come to be known as a prominent leader and innovator in the compressed gas industry who really understands and fulfils what matters most to customers – on-time delivery, reliable products, and personal service.
Today, Cyl-Tec’s line of products range from high pressure cylinders and beverage CO2 carbonation systems to heavy-duty industrial bulk stations, including remote telemetric technology for accessible, up-to-the-minute tank monitoring.
In the final instalment of gasworld’s festive content, we speak to Tom Bennett, President of Cyl-Tec, to find out what 2021 was like for the company and what is has planned for 2022.
gasworld (GW): Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today, Tom. What was 2021 like for Cyl-Tec?
Tom Bennett (TB): Like many of our colleagues in the gas industry business, 2021 was definitely a very challenging year. In one regard, it was very good to us – seeing an increase in orders from new customers as well as our loyal ones – but in another regard, extremely difficult due to the ongoing supply chain disruptions and delays. We are hoping these issues continue to improve in 2022.
GW: What was your personal highlight of 2021?
TB: I was an integral part of a huge business project that we plan to publicly reveal early next year. We’re very excited about the upcoming changes and improvements here and look forward to what it means for our company – so, stay tuned!
GW: During 2021, Cyl-Tec updated its Gas and Unit Converter mobile app. Can you tell us more about this development and how it benefits your customers?
TB: Our Gas and Unit Converter mobile app was first developed several years ago as another service we provide our customers. Technical and sales professionals often need to quickly figure out gas volumes, conversions, etc. on the fly, so we developed this as a helpful and easy-to-use tool to assist them in the field. The app is free for download.
Over time, however, it became apparent that our app was in need of an update in design and coding to keep up with the times. So earlier this year, we hired a team of mobile app developers to totally rewrite the code and give the app a more modern look-and-feel to the user interface and design. In addition, we improved the ‘products’ section of the app with updated specifications and technical information for all our product lines – allowing users to quickly access data and make comparisons of Cyl-Tec products.
GW: Can you perhaps tell us about some of the challenges your faced during 2021, and how the company overcome these?
TB: Our biggest challenges of 2021 have been supply chain disruptions and unexpected price escalations. Even though we have not yet seen the end of these challenges, our people have managed to find new lines of supply in order to meet our demands, including alternative shipping methods which have helped to ease the ongoing disruptions.
GW: What are your goals for 2022?
TB: We look forward to returning to some sense of normalcy regarding our supply chain. In addition to our big announcement, we are adding more new products, such as “Thermo-Siphon Technology” cryogenic vessels and a few new sizes of cylinders to our product lines.