Member Stories

Being a member of the Fluid Sealing Association has brought value to me dating back to 1986 and no doubt has brought value to both Pathway Bellows and Proco Products, Inc. Both companies have been industry leaders in their fields and the Fluid Sealing Association has played a role in their success. As my colleagues in previous open letters to our Association have eluded to – you want to be a member, you want to add value to the industry you are a part of, you want to influence government on affairs important to your company and industry; how do you do that? Participation and Involvement. This is your chance to influence and advocate for our industry and without participation, the companies that we sell to, lose out on our collective expertise.

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Over the past several years, as an FSA Board member and being actively involved within the Government Affairs Committee, it has been personally rewarding to see the tangible impact of member company SME’s across FSA in joint efforts working with API, law makers and other parties to build a greater understanding of how today’s sealing technologies can bring together and provide win‐win solutions that address diverse and often conflicting environmental, regulatory and economic positions facing users. As a respected non-commercial voice of expertise in sealing technology, collectively FSA member companies have a unique platform and responsibility to work together and bridge these gaps as a positive driving force in the processing industries now and moving forward.

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After attending my first FSA meeting, it was quickly apparent that our competitors are also our colleagues in a large, global industry, and there were some common goals that we could pursue to benefit all of us. Collaborating with sealing device experts yielded a lot of knowledge that would have taken me so much longer to acquire on my own. The scope and depth of knowledge of our members is astonishing when you think about it. From drafting international standards to doing business in different cultures, from addressing workplace challenges to learning about new materials and technologies, there are people at the FSA who have experience and knowledge on almost any topic. I have benefited greatly from this.

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I have tried to always be active in FSA committees, and I served as a Board member for ten years. I remember when I was a member of the Long Range Planning Committee, when Ritchie Snyder was President. We met independently in several locations over two years and made many effective changes in the association. This was a very valuable experience for me as I learned about planning strategies and other skills, such as how to communicate with people with different mentalities and nationalities. These skills helped me to re‐orientate my company and discuss a range of issues with different people. Without my FSA experience, I would not have been able to do this.

To answer those who ask if there is any value in my FSA membership, my advice is this. To find the value, you must go and work for it. It is not hidden. Get involved in the association itself, join the committees, and attend the meetings. You will be rewarded and you will never be disappointed. There is a lot more to discover in the FSA than you may think.

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The FSA helped me personally and professionally. It helped me understand the importance of correctly sealing pumps, valves, and compressors, which I use, every day in my business. It gave me the opportunity to serve on a Technical Committee where I learned a great deal about standards, regulations, and equipment best practices. I have a great appreciation and respect for these amazing engineers that work hard to educate our industry on the best practices for sealing and containment devices. This helps save energy, leads to safe working conditions, and a cleaner environment.

I would encourage you to get involved. You don’t have to be an engineer – as my story shows. We all have talents to use that will allow this amazing team to build something new and drive positive change into the industries and customers we all serve.

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Shortly after attending a regular FSA meeting and a Ducting Technical Committee meeting, it became clear to me that you needed to be in the FSA if you wanted to be where the action is. The Non-Metallic Ducting Expansion Joint Division proved to be a treasure trove of detailed information pertaining to expansion joints, more specifically, pertaining to the future of expansion joints. If a company is going to succeed in an industry, it needs to fully understand its customers’ business goals. It has to have an appreciation of what is expected by all of the customers in an industry. In a nutshell, it must have some awareness of the overall picture. The FSA provided this for TCI in the early 1990s and has continued to do so up to the present time. Personally, what I consider the most important are the many standards that were developed over the years by the members of the Ducting Division for the expansion joint industry.

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As a past chairman of the Mechanical Seals Division and the Mechanical Seals Technical Committee and a current board member, I have had and continue to have the opportunity through my participation in FSA to work with the past, current and future leaders of our industry to seek to influence government regulations, standards organizations, end-user practices, etc. through identification of and advocating for sealing best practices. There are many cases where government organizations or standards committees are seeking a single representative of the sealing industry that can be a voice of the overall industry. In these situations, a seal industry representative who serves under the FSA banner is readily accepted as this unbiased voice. Participation in the various FSA committees enables us all to contribute to that single FSA voice and ensure that we have a “seat at the table” as key regulations and standards are drafted and enacted.

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At FSA, like most organizations, the “new guy” was quickly targeted to volunteer for something and I did. What I found were friendly competitors, many with 15 to 20 plus years’ experience. In addition to finding out how much I didn’t know, I found I could call some of my knowledgeable new friends, who would “consult” with me on application issues. Many times they offered a product that Metraflex didn’t. With their help, I could satisfy a customer. A win/win. But just as important, this cooperation was good for the industry.

At some point, I have been in every position within the Rubber Joint Division at FSA. However without a doubt the most important, for any division, is the work done by the technical committees. They set standards. They keep raising the bar. I recently heard, “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”.

I want to be in “The Room Where It Happens.” You should, too.

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I started my active involvement in the FSA in the Technical Committee of the Gasket Division. Over several years I was able to make several contacts with key information and technology leaders within our industry. What struck me the most with my involvement in the Technical Committee was that even though I was a relatively inexperienced Applications Engineer, people from competing companies were more than willing to share some of their knowledge to help me develop which in turn allowed me to contribute more to the association in later years. Notwithstanding my growing participation in the association, my knowledge development allowed me to grow faster within my own organization and provided my company with more value from the deeper technical support that I could provide our corporate customers.

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