Over my 30 year career in the compressed air industry I have led countless seminars. They have varied in topics from general compressors to drying compressed air to control systems and have been presented to engineering firms and a myriad of industrial client types.
I was recently working with an engineer at Eastman Chemical on a water problem he was experiencing in a particular part of the plant. A few weeks after the conclusion of the evaluation I received an email from him asking if there might be an opportunity for them (he and his team) to attend a factory training seminar with the centrifugal compressor company we represent. I asked what in particular they had an interest in learning.
His response was, they would like a presentation on how a centrifugal compressor works, the various components, the control technology and setup along with maintenance recommendations. I told my client that myself along with Scott Mitchell (our service manager) would be glad to do a seminar for them which would save them any travel cost or charges for having factory personnel come in for training. He thought this was an excellent idea and we moved forward to add them to the schedule.
To be honest I was somewhat surprised by the request. I have worked with Eastman for the past 20 years and this is a company that maintains over a dozen centrifugal compressors just for the instrument air system. The units range from 1000 horsepower up to 5000 horsepower each so they are very well versed in centrifugal compressors. I surmised that there must be some new folks at the plant that could benefit from the training seminar.
When we arrived for set up I was again surprised to see 15 attendees ranging from hands on maintenance personnel up to Sr. level engineering that I had worked with for years. I have to admit, knowing the knowledge level in the room made the situation a little intimidating!
A few days after the training seminar I received the email below from my contact that arranged the presentation.
On Thu, Apr 28, 2016 at 7:50 AM, ——, Brian –. —— <——-@eastman.com> wrote:
Ken/Scott,
Thanks for your time Tuesday in presenting the material on centrifugal compressors. You obviously put a lot of time into the slides. It was a big help to us all, I got a lot of compliments on your presentation. Maybe we’ll try again one day with a different audience. Anyway, just wanted to say thank you again from all the folks at Eastman.
Regards,
—– ——
Utilities Division
Distribution Services Dept.
(Printed with permission, names excluded)
If we can make an impact at Eastman Chemical, I hope you will trust us to make an impact at your facility. Contact me today to discuss your training requirements.
