Tributes paid to Hydro, Inc.’s president and founder.
George F. Harris, president and founder of Hydro, Inc.
Hydro, Inc. has introduced 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 graduation, he labored at a number of major pump companies as an software engineer and regional supervisor.
In 1969, Harris was one of the 4 engineers who based Hydro, Inc. with the mission of offering engineering services to the pump aftermarket industry. From the start, Harris believed in improving the reliability and efficiency of pumps and encouraging innovation. He was later appointed as president of Hydro.
Hydro started with a single store in Chicago; beneath Harris’s management and vision Hydro became the largest unbiased aftermarket pump firm on the planet. Today, Hydro stands proud with 15 service centres in nine nations.
Harris was instrumental in defining the tradition of Hydro: unbiased, engineering- and innovation-focused, and dedicated to the shopper. He helped develop packages for buyer training in pump processes, believing that the data of tips on how to safely maintain and function pumps was something that ought to be shared with everybody. He spearheaded many inventions in the finest way pumps are serviced, utilizing state-of-the-art expertise to re-engineer pumps for optimum effectivity.
Harris is survived by his wife of 56 years, Rita, who he met while at the University of Illinois. She later became vp of Hydro, and they labored side-by-side to make the corporate preeminent in the industry. Their leadership was characterised by a particular dedication to their staff, who they treated like household. They inspired all service centres to honour Hydro’s employees with month-to-month employee celebrations and an annual Employee Appreciation Week. As he once mentioned: “Hydro turned the company it did due to the commitment of our individuals – machinists, mechanics, engineers, administrative and gross sales workers – who all share a pivotal function in serving our customers.”

The culture of care and loyalty nurtured by the Harrises inspired admiration and esteem in all of Hydro’s workers, lots of whom have worked at Hydro for greater than 20 years. Harris was also well-respected by his friends inside the pump trade. In 2014, he was elected as president of the Hydraulic Institute, the biggest association of pump trade manufacturers in North America. In 2015, Europump awarded him its President’s Silver Award in recognition of his priceless contributions to the pump business.
Bob Jennings, Corporate Trainer, pays a personal tribute:
“I started with HydroAire in 1976 and shortly learned that George Harris was the consummate protagonist who always anticipated greater than people have been willing to supply. As an employee, I realized quickly that half-hearted measures had been unacceptable and an attitude of ‘good enough” was never tolerated. To suppose that he took a rag-tag group of 5 street-wise salesmen and turned the corporate into a global organization with 19 amenities worldwide is an amazing accomplishment. It took hard work, lengthy hours, a “never say never” mindset, and teamwork to develop the company as he did. He needed to be one of the best, he needed the company to be the most effective, and he needed each of his workers to be their best.
George was a gifted particular person who had the uncanny capacity to “see over the horizon” and could glimpse the lengthy run needs of the business lengthy earlier than others had digested final week’s modifications.
There was also เกจ์วัดความดัน of George that most people by no means 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 always treated their employees as “adopted sons and daughters” they usually personally bore the burden of understanding that their business decisions not solely affect the company however the well-being and safety of their staff and their families as nicely.
George shall be deeply missed, but his legacy will stay on. He employed what he considered the “best of breed” and those who shared his imaginative and prescient for the lengthy run, and the company is saturated with like-minded people who will proceed to develop the company properly into the future.”

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