Tributes paid to Hydro, Inc.’s president and founder.
George F. Harris, president and founder of Hydro, Inc.
Hydro, Inc. has announced the passing of its president and founder, George F. Harris, on December 20th, 2021.
Born in Chicago in 1941, Harris came from humble beginnings, working as a waiter and a taxi driver. He attended the University of Illinois at Champaign and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. After graduation, he worked at a quantity of main pump firms as an utility engineer and regional manager.
In 1969, Harris was one of the four engineers who based Hydro, Inc. with the mission of providing engineering providers to the pump aftermarket industry. From the beginning, Harris believed in enhancing the reliability and efficiency of pumps and inspiring innovation. He was later appointed as president of Hydro.
Hydro started with a single shop in Chicago; underneath Harris’s leadership and vision Hydro became the most important unbiased aftermarket pump firm in the world. เพรสเชอร์เกจ , Hydro stands proud with 15 service centres in nine nations.
Harris was instrumental in defining the tradition of Hydro: unbiased, engineering- and innovation-focused, and devoted to the shopper. He helped develop programs for buyer education in pump processes, believing that the information of tips on how to safely maintain and operate pumps was one thing that should be shared with everyone. He spearheaded many innovations in the best way pumps are serviced, using state-of-the-art know-how to re-engineer pumps for max efficiency.
Harris is survived by his wife of 56 years, Rita, who he met whereas on the University of Illinois. She later became vp of Hydro, and so they labored side-by-side to make the company preeminent in the business. Their management was characterised by a particular commitment to their employees, who they handled like family. They inspired all service centres to honour Hydro’s workers with monthly worker celebrations and an annual Employee Appreciation Week. As he as quickly as said: “Hydro grew to become the company it did due to the commitment of our folks – machinists, mechanics, engineers, administrative and gross sales staff – who all share a pivotal role in serving our clients.”
The culture of care and loyalty nurtured by the Harrises inspired admiration and esteem in all of Hydro’s staff, lots of whom have worked at Hydro for greater than 20 years. Harris was also well-respected by his friends within the pump business. In 2014, he was elected as president of the Hydraulic Institute, the most important association of pump industry manufacturers in North America. In 2015, Europump awarded him its President’s Silver Award in recognition of his valuable contributions to the pump trade.
Bob Jennings, Corporate Trainer, pays a personal tribute:
“I began with HydroAire in 1976 and rapidly realized that George Harris was the consummate protagonist who at all times anticipated greater than people have been prepared to offer. As an employee, I realized quickly that half-hearted measures had been unacceptable and an angle of ‘good enough” was by no means tolerated. To assume that he took a rag-tag group of 5 street-wise salesmen and turned the corporate into a global group with 19 services worldwide is an incredible accomplishment. It took hard work, lengthy hours, a “never say never” mindset, and teamwork to grow the company as he did. diaphragm seal needed to be the most effective, he needed the corporate to be the most effective, and he wanted each of his staff to be their best.
George was a gifted individual who had the uncanny ability to “see over the horizon” and could glimpse the long run needs of the industry lengthy before others had digested last week’s changes.
There was also a aspect of George that most people never had the chance to see: As tenacious a businessman as he was, he was equally beneficiant and caring to these in the “Hydro Family.” George and Rita always handled their staff as “adopted sons and daughters” and so they personally bore the burden of understanding that their enterprise selections not solely affect the company however the well-being and security of their staff and their households as properly.
George will be deeply missed, however his legacy will reside on. He hired what he considered the “best of breed” and those that shared his vision for the future, and the company is saturated with like-minded individuals who will continue to develop the company properly into the lengthy run.”
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