Custom tools are necessary to support the diversity that spans heat exchangers and the industries that depend on them. Stainless Steel World Americas had the pleasure of speaking with Ben Lambers, Vice-President of Technology at Elliott Tool Technologies, to discuss his views and enthusiasm for an industry that influences behind-the-scenes but necessary applications that affect our everyday lives.
By Kristen Charles-Vardon
Supporting, Researching, Developing
Ben Lambers’ dedication to the industry and collaborative spirit are governed largely by his decision to work for Elliott Tool Technologies – a supplier of innovative heat exchanger tooling solutions such as tube expanders, plugs, cleaning systems, tube pullers, and more. He appreciates bearing witness to a process from beginning to end. “We take a design, start from a clean sheet of paper, and finish with a solution that meets our customers’ needs.” As the Vice-President of Technology at Elliott Tool Technologies he spends his day supporting his team, researching new product development, and reviewing legacy designs. He is a licensed professional engineer who has been with the company for six years. Lambers and his team solve applications-related customer problems and evaluate projects that will help solve these issues. “I have the privilege of leading the company’s engineering and IT departments.” His role entails ensuring his team has access to the resources they need to assist the company’s customers solve challenging problems, including working with newer, corrosion-resistant alloys that can present fabrication challenges compared to traditional materials.
“We provide tooling for the heat exchanger industry, which means anything that is needed to install, clean, test plug, or remove tubes in heat exchangers,” said Lambers. This includes chillers, air coolers, and boilers. They provide all the tools needed to fabricate and service heat exchangers. Lambers is also involved in the metal finishing side of the business, which includes the process of burnishing. Burnishing is a cold working process that creates fine surface finishes and increased material hardness for fabricated parts. The process does not alter the metal’s structural properties like shape, size, and thickness; in addition, burnishing provides the metal with protection from corrosion. “Surface cold working improves the mechanical properties of the metal at the surface, which can have a variety of applications in many industries,” said Lambers. “Burnishing is a versatile process for which we continue to find new and exciting applications, like improving the surface quality of 3D-printed components made from a variety of metallic base materials.”
Wiedeke Dayton began in 1892 with Gustav Wiedeke, an inventor and manufacturer. Through constant innovation, he designed the first tube expander. Wiedeke Dayton became Elliott Tool Technologies, and Lambers is continuing the ritual of contribution through inventive process.
A Flexible Industry
Lambers marvels at the expansive heat exchanger industry that is crucial not only to the oil & gas industry but to industries most people do not even consider. “These industries touch so many different facets of our lives, including oil/gas and petrochemical refining that are used to make products we all use every day. Heat exchangers are used from heat for nursing homes to nuclear power generation.” Elliott Tool owns their designs, and they collaborate with their customers to design tools that meet their customers’ needs and solve their problems. “We manufacture all our products in-house. I have enjoyed learning about the heat exchanger and oil & gas industries. It has been really intriguing and kept me interested in staying in the industry.”
Challenging the Challenges
Navigating supply chain issues has become a common stance across most industries. “Our purchasing department has experienced trouble finding materials, and they are facing higher prices. We are fortunate that we manufacture 95% of our products in-house but if we have to deal with an outside vendor, it becomes more challenging.”
“We are always trying to find new approaches to make processes more efficient,” said Lambers. “But cost sometimes prevents innovation.” When there is an established way of doing things that have always worked, there can be resistance to new processes, especially if cost is involved. “We try to find new ways to work with our customers to find new methods, tools, and processes. While that does take time, it is happening. We have worked with customers who will collaborate with us to test new products and even though they know the risk, they are excited about the opportunity and want to be part of innovation and development.”
If a company is offline, they want to use what they know to get back online rather than use that moment to test something new. Lambers understands this view, but he is also intent on working with customers to improve innovation within the industry and accelerate the industry’s pace.
Savoring Success
Success to Lambers is being involved in the engineering of a product and watching that product come to fruition. Collaboration resulted in the development of a product customers can use that provides two different expansion methods on the same machine. “It leads to lower cost of capital and still gives them options on either a parallel pin method or a traditional tapering pin.”
“One goal of our development is to push the boundaries on the length of tube that can be expanded within a single cycle to reduce the number of rolls or expansion cycles required to process or install tubes into tube sheets. It is about increasing productivity for our customers and reducing the time required so that they can process these vessels and get them back into the field,” continued Lambers.
Transfer of Knowledge
Lambers has witnessed firsthand the departure of experienced experts, and he knows through discussions with customers that they are living the same situation. He has also seen the arrival of younger engineers with inventive concepts, but the challenge is retaining these newer engineers. “Incorporating cutting edge technology can be daunting for newcomers,” said Lambers. “Initiatives like organized group lunches to share ideas, information, and knowledge help to combat this. Application Specialists at Elliott are available to help train new operators on best practices as a proactive approach to mitigate the shift. These are places to ask questions.” Lambers references “lessons learned” documentation that the more tenured employees contribute to the Elliott Tool database for newcomers to learn about the company’s tools, and why and how they are designed.
“We try to find new ways to work with our customers to find new methods, tools, and processes. While that does take time, it is happening. We have worked with customers who will collaborate with us to test new products and even though they know the risk, they are excited about the opportunity and want to be part of innovation and development.”
Lambers’ advice for the engineering field is to leave the desk and the office and see where the products will be used and where investors are placing their service. He advises those new to the industry to learn as much as they can about the applications, and approach everything with genuine curiosity. “Do not be afraid to ask questions. Being reluctant to ask questions holds you back. Understanding how your role fits into the bigger picture influences other things around you. It drives a lot more excitement. Curiosity allows you to do a better job.”
Recognizing Commonalities That Power the Future
Lambers recognizes an industry in transition. There are now more options for energy, and their business is not immune to the changes. “I really think there will be a push for improved efficiency, waste elimination, and reduced costs. There will be a push in our direction to improve design, serviceability, and longevity for the vessels in the field of service,” said Lambers.
Trying to succeed as an isolated entity does nothing to further the industry or those companies that operate within it. Leaving the silo and sharing ideas and philosophies regenerates an industry. “There is a commonality between us and other companies, such as driving change and innovation, companies that want to work with the whole supply chain to propel improvements, and cost reduction to advance the industry. The success of the industry depends on its ability to innovate and reduce costs. I want to support that,” Lambers concluded.