Heyl & Patterson

Built to last┬áQuick to see and exploit new opportunities, Heyl & Patterson Inc. is nevertheless a company that nurtures its people. Senior vice president Harry Edelman explains to Gay Sutton how long-term employment protects the companyÔÇÖs intellectual property. In todayÔÇÖs throwaway society, in which mobile phones and PCs are updated almost on a yearly basis and many consumer products are obsolete in 10 years, itÔÇÖs really refreshing to come across a company that has been operating for over 121 years and engineers quality and longevity of life into its products.  And Heyl & Patterson (H&P)ÔÇÖs products certainly stand the test of time. ÔÇ£We have recently quoted a replacement part for a machine we made in 1913, for example,ÔÇØ explains senior vice president Harry Edelman. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a ship unloader up on the Great Lakes, used for unloading iron ore. There may be even older pieces of equipment in use today,ÔÇØ he continues, ÔÇ£but thatÔÇÖs certainly one of the oldest.ÔÇØThe company specializes in designing and manufacturing custom-built industrial equipment across two distinct product streams. The Bulk Transfer Division essentially consists of the original Pittsburgh-based family-owned enterprise dating back to 1887, designing and manufacturing heavy material handling equipment for loading and unloading railcars and barges at the dockside. The Renneburg Division was formed by the acquisition of Edw. Renneburg & Sons in 1985 and specializes in high-quality thermal processing equipment for drying, cooling or calcining powder and bulk solids. This success is due to a number of factors, according to Edelman, but with only 60 employees, a global client list and design projects that take years to bring to fruition, H&P believes it is vital to retain staff in the long term and to safeguard their knowledge and experience. ÔÇ£We like employees who think ÔÇÿthis is where IÔÇÖm going to spend my careerÔÇÖ rather than ÔÇÿIÔÇÖm going to be here for two or three years, get something on my resum├® and move onÔÇÖ,ÔÇØ Edelman says. This attitude does, however, make him cautious about overexpansion when times are good. ÔÇ£Because we know weÔÇÖll contract when the marketplace turns bad, and we donÔÇÖt like to lose trained and experienced people.ÔÇ£Some of our engineers have been here a long time,ÔÇØ he continues. ÔÇ£They possess a wealth of experience that can be invaluable when solving a customerÔÇÖs problems. If they have encountered the problem in the past, they can look up the paperwork, talk about it and call up the details to use as a starting point.ÔÇØDuring its long history, the company has retained a full engineering record of all the equipment it has ever designed and built. ÔÇ£One thing we have that most companies donÔÇÖt have is more than 100 yearsÔÇÖ worth of drawings. We can make replacement parts for anything we ever made,ÔÇØ Edelman says. And this has also helped enormously with providing ongoing customer support. ÔÇ£A number of our customers go back to the 1940s and ÔÇÖ50s. When we get to the ÔÇÖ60s, there are too many to count.ÔÇØInnovation and intellectual property are the core assets of H&P. The entire sales team in the Renneburg Division and some of those in the Bulk Transfer Division are degree-qualified engineers, which is something of a revolutionary concept. ÔÇ£Having a salesperson who is also the engineer who works with the customer to solve the problem is a strong point,ÔÇØ Edelman explains. There are no middlemen to dilute or interpret the story, and a strong relationship is built between the engineer and the customer right from the start. Then, having designed and sold the product, H&P appoints a project manager from its engineering department who will monitor the manufacture to a fabrication company either close to the Pittsburgh headquarters or close to the customer and oversee its production, quality control and shipping to the customer. Innovation is not, however, confined to the engineering offices. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre trying to drive idea generation through every department, with varying degrees of success. One of the employees has recommended a recycling program for our office. ThatÔÇÖs also innovation. Our upper management is working to generate innovation throughout our organization.ÔÇØThe company is looking to the future with considerable confidence and is already showing that it can be quick to recognize and respond to new openings in the marketplace. ÔÇ£The changes we see are not in the equipment but in the markets where itÔÇÖs used,ÔÇØ says Edelman. ÔÇ£Right now, weÔÇÖre moving more into the energy sector. Our Renneburg equipment can be used in alternative fuels. Biomass, for example, is often just a sludgy waste product. Our equipment can dry it and turn it into a fuel source.ÔÇØ The Renneburg Division and its selection of dryers, coolers and calciners are designed to process industrial materials in a wide variety of industries.The strategy going forward is to ÔÇ£stay nimble, move in and out of markets, and in and out of countries.ÔÇØ Other than mentioning the energy markets, Edelman prefers to keep his market intelligence a closely guarded secret. But looking at the geographical spread of orders, the company does business in all the continents. H&P is very strong in North and South America, has been selling into Australia and Brazil for around 50 years, is developing markets in areas of Asia and is beginning to see inquiries out of Africa. But the company is hesitant about China and India.ÔÇ£When viewing opportunities in India and China, weÔÇÖre cautious,ÔÇØ Edelman says. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs hard to get paid out of India and China, and they have severe intellectual property issues that we donÔÇÖt particularly like. So weÔÇÖre cautious in these countries.ÔÇØ For a company whose lifeblood is its intellectual property, this is a big consideration. But like all light and nimble performers, H&P is always looking for the right opportunity and, when that comes along, will be quick to snap it up.┬á