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 commencement, he labored at a quantity of main pump companies as an software engineer and regional manager.
In 1969, Harris was one of the 4 engineers who based Hydro, Inc. with the mission of offering engineering services to the pump aftermarket business. From the beginning, Harris believed in bettering 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; under Harris’s management and vision Hydro grew to become the most important independent aftermarket pump firm in the world. Today, Hydro stands proud with 15 service centres in nine international locations.
Harris was instrumental in defining the culture of Hydro: unbiased, engineering- and innovation-focused, and dedicated to the client. He helped develop programs for buyer education in pump processes, believing that the knowledge of the way to safely keep and function pumps was one thing that must be shared with everybody. He spearheaded many inventions in the best way pumps are serviced, utilizing state-of-the-art know-how to re-engineer pumps for maximum efficiency.
Harris is survived by his spouse of 56 years, Rita, who he met whereas at the University of Illinois. She later became vice chairman of Hydro, they usually worked side-by-side to make the company preeminent in the industry. Their leadership was characterised by a special dedication to their workers, who they handled like family. They inspired all service centres to honour Hydro’s workers with monthly employee celebrations and an annual Employee Appreciation Week. As he as quickly as stated: “Hydro turned the corporate it did due to the dedication of our individuals – machinists, mechanics, engineers, administrative and gross sales employees – who all share a pivotal role in serving our prospects.”
The tradition of care and loyalty nurtured by the Harrises impressed admiration and esteem in all of Hydro’s workers, many of whom have worked at Hydro for more than 20 years. Harris was additionally well-respected by his friends throughout the pump industry. In 2014, he was elected as president of the Hydraulic Institute, the biggest association of pump business producers in North America. In เกจวัดแรงดันไนโตรเจน , Europump awarded him its President’s Silver Award in recognition of his useful contributions to the pump trade.
Bob Jennings, Corporate Trainer, pays a private tribute:
“I started with HydroAire in 1976 and rapidly discovered that George Harris was the consummate protagonist who always anticipated greater than people were keen to offer. As an employee, I learned quickly that half-hearted measures have been unacceptable and an perspective of ‘good enough” was never tolerated. To think that he took a rag-tag group of 5 street-wise salesmen and turned the corporate into a worldwide group with 19 amenities worldwide is a tremendous accomplishment. It took onerous work, lengthy hours, a “never say never” mindset, and teamwork to develop the corporate as he did. He wanted to be the most effective, he wanted the company to be the most effective, and he wished every of his employees to be their best.
George was a gifted particular person who had the uncanny ability to “see over the horizon” and will glimpse the long run wants of the trade lengthy earlier than others had digested last week’s changes.
There was also a aspect of George that most individuals never had the opportunity to see: As tenacious a businessman as he was, he was equally beneficiant and caring to those in the “Hydro Family.” George and Rita at all times handled their employees as “adopted sons and daughters” and they personally bore the burden of understanding that their business selections not solely affect the corporate but the well-being and security of their employees and their households as well.
George will be deeply missed, but his legacy will reside on. He hired what he thought-about the “best of breed” and people who shared his vision for the lengthy run, and the company is saturated with like-minded individuals who will continue to develop the company properly into the long run.”
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