Keep Kuul: Recent Episodes
Portacool
This is Keep Kuul from the experts at Portacool. With cooling solutions made right here in the USA, Portacool is ready to meet your cooling needs head-on, no matter the setting.
Keeping employees safe, cool, and productive is essential in any work environment. The role heat stress plays was the topic of this episode of Keep Kuul with Portacool. Tyler Kern reached out to Klint Barton, Regional Manager for Automotive, Southeast Division at Portacool for his perspective.
Barton understands the seriousness of heat stress because he has hyperhidrosis, which causes excessive sweating even without additional exposure to heat or exercise. “It was very hard, at times, to keep myself cool on hot days,” Barton said. “We’re I’m at in Alabama, we deal with that issue quite regularly, during the summer especially.”
Hyperhidrosis became a real issue for Barton when playing sports. “My body couldn’t cool itself,” Barton explained. When the heat stress kicked in, Barton experienced dizziness to the point of blackouts. And Barton’s issues continued in his work life, as he recalled his time working in a machine shop and experiencing heat stress. In one incident in the shop, while operating a saw in extreme heat conditions, Barton collapsed and split his chin open. He considers himself lucky that nothing worse occurred.
Keeping spaces cool is critical in many different environments. Traditional ways to do this, such as with AC fans can be expensive and inefficient. In looking at the markets that Portacool serves, these statements are true for the unique case of Mexico. Keep Kuul host Tyler Kern spoke with Leo Martinez, National Accounts Manager for Mexico, to discuss the potential for evaporative coolers in the country.
“Mexico is an industrialized county and a key partner in global trade. There’s also the tourism industry. Both need to keep areas comfortable,” Martinez described. Mexico is logistically in a key position for global trade with ports in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and the Pacific Ocean. In 2019, the nation ranked number seven in the world for tourism.
Evaporative cooling intersects with just about everyone in multiple ways each day, yet many don’t recognize or know about this. Keep It Cool host Tyler Kern spoke with Cody Weeks, Sales Manager at Portacool, about the topic.
“The simplest form of evaporative cooling is sweating, which we all do. It’s the reduction of temperature resulting from the evaporation of liquid. It removes the latent heat from the surface where the evaporation takes place,” Weeks explained.
This natural occurrence can also be produced to support a number of industries that have diverse cooling needs. First Weeks discussed its use in data centers. “We live in a digital age with data moving, storage, and transfer all taking place in data centers. About 60% of data centers use evaporative cooling to maximize cooling while minimizing power consumption.”
Agriculture is another industry that uses the process and has been a big part of Portacool’s user base. “It’s hard to keep an environment consistent and comfortable in agriculture, but evaporative cooling can,” Weeks noted.
The energy industry also uses evaporative cooling in gas turbines, which produce a substantial amount of electricity in the U.S. “It’s an effective way to cool the air coming into the turbines, so they operate more efficiently and produce more power,” Weeks explained.
Finally, evaporative cooling equipment can replace traditional AC units in climates with low humidity. “That climate allows you to use evaporative cooling over an AC. You get the same results and save money,” Weeks said.
Heat is a threat to many worksites across the country. While there’s no way to eliminate it, companies can be proactive about keeping workers safe.
That’s exactly the mantra of Craig Williams, Safety and Security Manager at Omni Specialty Packaging, a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of lubricants and chemicals for the automotive and industrial sectors.
He joined host Tyler Kern on Keep Kuul to discuss how they fight the heat.
“Being based in Louisiana, we have temperatures over 100 degrees, plus humidity. It’s difficult to work in this atmosphere, impacting breathing and energy levels. It’s a lot of discomfort, which affects performance,” Williams said.
Williams noted that heat-related illnesses can be deadly and lead to emergencies routinely. Because Omni places safety as a value, they sought to be proactive by employing cooling fans from Portacool.
Williams was familiar with the product prior to his current role and implemented them in the plant and warehouses. “There were many hot spots with no ventilation or air circulation. A regular fan just blew hot air around. Implementing the cooling fans made a difference.”
In describing what he appreciated about the products, he shared, “The automatic shutoff is key, because, without it, you can easily burn up a motor. They also changed the blades and pulleys, so it’s smoother and covers a lot of square footage.”
With the placement of these fans, Williams said it “sends a positive message to employees that we care about them.” He also emphasized the need to be pre-emptive in identifying hazards and coming up with corrective measures.
Fast cars and hot days and nights; that’s how they do it at Texas Motor Speedway.
Entertainment is the name of the game, but giving guests and fans a comfortable experience is the goal, no matter the event. Steven French, Senior Director of Business Development for Texas Motor Speedway, spoke to host Tyler Kern about the efforts to make a guest’s experience at Texas Motor Speedway memorable and how strategic business partnerships support those efforts.
Partnering with brands and sponsors that align with Texas Motor Speedway’s fans is a large part of French’s responsibilities. And Portacool is more than just an advertising billboard at the race; their products help keep fans cool in designated areas at the speedway.
A lot of science goes into sports marketing and partnerships that French said provide opportunities for brands to make their mark at Texas Motor Speedway.
“Our fan base is extraordinarily loyal,” French said. “The motorsports fan, in general, knows that, if they don’t support their favorite driver, their favorite driver loses corporate backing.” That loyalty then trickles down to the brand.
And, when brands consider partnerships with Texas Motor Speedway, understanding the number of events at the facility is a KPI that no one should overlook. In an average non-pandemic year, Texas Motor Speedway hosts over 900 different event days. While the pandemic may have curtailed those numbers a bit, the speedway is home to one of the largest vaccination sites in the area.
“When you’re one of the largest sporting venues in the world, which Texas Motor Speedway is, we’re not your average highway billboard,” French said.
The speedway is a 122,000-seat opportunity for businesses to engage with people.
As the weather across the country shifts to the warmer seasons, Todd Waldhauser, Director of Sales at Portacool, stopped by to talk to host Tyler Kern about keeping employees cool and comfortable when that thermometer begins to rise.
And, as Waldhauser reminded Kern, temperature control is a year-round concern. Even if it’s cool outside, the condition inside a work facility could be hot, so it is essential to provide employees with a comfortable climate every day.
“Everybody thinks about cooling and [says], ‘What am I going to do when the temperature starts rising and you start hitting 85, 90, 100 degrees?’,” Waldhauser said. “But you should be thinking about how to mitigate heat stress and heat in your facilities year-round.”
Waldhauser mentioned that tremendous heat builds up in industrial settings, such as those found in manufacturing with lots of equipment inside a building. “I think a lot of customers don’t realize that heat is with us 12 months out of the year,” Waldhauser said. “It’s in different shapes, it’s in different forms, but it’s always out there.” Portacool’s goal is to work with their customers on cooling strategies to get ahead of the heat.
Comfort is king, and it is a crucial part of keeping employees satisfied inside a facility. Companies can ill afford to let heat stand in the way of that comfort.
“You know, comfortable employees are going to be better employees,” Waldhauser said. “They’re going to come to work on time. They are going to be more focused on their job. They’re going to have fewer accidents. They are going to have better performance, and they’re going to have better quality in a manufacturing type of facility. We live in a world where we have many things that have to get done with not as many people. So, how do we make sure that these employees are comfortable, safe and performing at their highest levels? When you’re hot and you’re stressed, your body is not performing there.”
Keeping cool is more than a matter of comfort. It’s also key to staying safe from heat illness when working or socializing in hot environments.
They say 13 is an unlucky number but, for Kimberly McElroy, Director of Customer Service and Logistics at Portacool, that digit is no superstitious talisman. She will celebrate her 13th year with Portacool later in 2021. McElroy dropped by Keep Kuul to discuss customer service, logistics and enterprise resource planning.
Sunny South Florida is known for many things – nightlife, beaches, great food, and more – but it’s also known for some at-times-overwhelming heat and humidity.d
A company’s production processes must be the best to deliver best-in-class products. Joshua Sanford may be new to the Portacool family, but he knows work excellence when he sees it.
It’s easy for companies to claim a commitment to culture, but how many of them actually practice and uphold their values in their day-to-day operations? And for the organizations that do, what are some ways to help ensure those values stick?
Ben Wulf, the CEO of Portacool in east Texas, answers these questions and more in the first episode of the Keep Kuul podcast. Portacool was started in the small town of Center, Texas and, in the 30 years since its establishment, it’s kept close ties with its community and its customers.
However, Wulf doesn’t just highlight the cooling company’s entrepreneurial and innovative spirit -- he shines a light on its culture, as well.
“Customer service embodies everything that we do as an organization, and that’s where we flex our muscle and really shine in the marketplace,” Wulf said. “In everything from the time we answer the phone to the time we ship the product, we look for ways to make that experience easier, simpler and more efficient for our customer.”
The Portacool CEO revealed that there was a time several years ago when the company culture wasn’t where it is today. To turn that around, the leadership team made a renewed commitment to live, promote and advance it in the workplace.
“Culture does not get a day off,” he said. “There has to be an unwavering commitment each and every day.”
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