George F. Harris – An Appreciation

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 twentieth, 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 diploma in Engineering. After commencement, he worked at several main pump corporations as an software engineer and regional supervisor.
In เกจวัดแรงดันปั๊มลมpuma , Harris was one of the four engineers who based Hydro, Inc. with the mission of providing engineering providers to the pump aftermarket trade. From the beginning, Harris believed in improving the reliability and performance of pumps and encouraging innovation. He was later appointed as president of Hydro.
Hydro began with a single shop in Chicago; beneath Harris’s leadership and imaginative and prescient Hydro grew to become the largest impartial aftermarket pump company in the world. Today, Hydro stands proud with 15 service centres in nine countries.
Harris was instrumental in defining the culture of Hydro: unbiased, engineering- and innovation-focused, and dedicated to the customer. He helped develop applications for customer schooling in pump processes, believing that the information of the means to safely keep and function pumps was one thing that should be shared with everybody. He spearheaded many inventions in the greatest way pumps are serviced, utilizing state-of-the-art technology to re-engineer pumps for max effectivity.
Harris is survived by his spouse of 56 years, Rita, who he met whereas at the University of Illinois. She later grew to become vp of Hydro, they usually worked side-by-side to make the corporate preeminent in the industry. Their leadership was characterised by a particular dedication to their employees, 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 mentioned: “Hydro grew to become the company it did because of the commitment of our folks – 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 inspired admiration and esteem in all of Hydro’s staff, lots of whom have worked at Hydro for greater than 20 years. Harris was additionally well-respected by his friends within the pump trade. In 2014, he was elected as president of the Hydraulic Institute, the largest affiliation of pump trade producers in North America. In 2015, Europump awarded him its President’s Silver Award in recognition of his valuable contributions to the pump business.
Bob Jennings, Corporate Trainer, pays a private tribute:
“I began with HydroAire in 1976 and quickly discovered that George Harris was the consummate protagonist who at all times expected greater than folks were prepared to offer. As an employee, I learned shortly that half-hearted measures were 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 company into a worldwide organization with 19 amenities worldwide is an incredible accomplishment. It took exhausting work, long hours, a “never say never” mindset, and teamwork to grow the company as he did. He wished to be the best, he wished the corporate to be one of the best, and he wanted each of his staff to be their greatest.
George was a gifted particular person who had the uncanny capability to “see over the horizon” and will glimpse the lengthy run needs of the industry lengthy earlier than others had digested last week’s changes.
There was additionally a side of George that most people never had the opportunity to see: As tenacious a businessman as he was, he was equally beneficiant and caring to those within the “Hydro Family.” George and Rita always handled their employees as “adopted sons and daughters” and they personally bore the burden of understanding that their business decisions not solely affect the company but the well-being and security of their staff and their households as nicely.
George will be deeply missed, however his legacy will reside on. He hired what he considered the “best of breed” and people who shared his vision for the longer term, and the company is saturated with like-minded individuals who will continue to develop the company nicely into the future.”

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