DECEMBER 2018
THE BIGGEST INDICATOR OF A JOB WELL-DONE WHY WE STRIVE FOR PEACE OF MIND
If you ask 10 kids what they want to be when they grow up, I’d be willing to bet none of them would say, “I want to run an air compressor company.” But maybe they should. In my experience, it’s an extremely rewarding and fulfilling career — one I’m very grateful for. I’m especially lucky because I didn’t find the career so much as it found me. I was training to be an aviation technician when 9/11 happened. Of course, my immediate reaction was the same as everyone’s. I was dismayed, horrified, and stunned. “How could something like this happen?” I thought. In my case, grappling with a national tragedy unlike any I’d ever experienced also meant coming to terms with the fact that the career I had planned for myself wasn’t much of an option anymore.
So I began a job at an air compressor company, gradually working my way up over a number of years and falling in love with the industry. Eventually, I learned enough about the business to know that the customers weren’t being served as well as they could be. With that in mind, I decided to open Atlanta Compressor, our original location. As we grew, we later opened Charlotte Compressor and Nashville Compressor. From the start, the purpose of our company has been to provide peace of mind to our customers. In order to achieve that, we rely on a combination of the latest technology and doing business the old- fashioned way. We care about the people we serve and treat them how we’d want to be treated. Our level of service and care is something you won’t find anywhere else. We are fortunate enough to do jobs for some of the most elite corporations in the world. That’s a great honor, but it’s also a great responsibility. It means we have to perform to their standards of excellence. At this point, you still may not be convinced that installing and repairing compressed air systems is every bit as glamorous and stimulating as maintaining an aircraft. Honestly, I get it. On the surface, it seems like the opposite of exciting. Once you look a little closer, though, you realize that designing and installing these systems is like solving a complex engineering puzzle. Every system we build is customized to meet the needs of our client, so no two projects are ever the same. Additionally, the ever-changing nature of the technology in our field ensures that there will always be something fresh to learn and a new level of mastery to reach. More than anything, it’s our customers and employees who inspire me to constantly improve. We say our purpose is to provide peace of mind because that’s much more valuable than any single product. It requires delivering on your promises and working to a level that instills a sense of security and confidence. It challenges us to deliver our best with every single customer and on every single project. It’s a lot to live up to, but we wouldn’t want it any other way. –Morty Hodge
HOW TO CLEAN
KAISHAN PREMIUM COMPRESSORS Superior Features Without Extra Cost At Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville Compressor, we pride ourselves on featuring best-in-class products to meet the needs of all types of operations. Among the companies we’re excited to offer products from is Kaishan, one of the world’s premier machinery manufactures. The company’s premier line of air compressors, called KRSP, combines elite engineering, gold-standard efficiency, and reliable performance. All KRSP models come with a number of high-tech features that facilitate ease of use and optimal performance. The digital control panel monitors all essential functions, keeping you informed of how your entire system is running. Centrifugal cooling fans elevate the static pressure, which saves energy costs through heat recovery. All of the electrical components are industrial grade, giving them an excellent lifespan and exceptional reliability. It all adds up to a safe, OSHA-compliant system that keeps your business running at its maximum potential. The amount of money you’ll save in operating costs makes upgrading to a KRSP model a sound financial decision. Some organizations can record energy cost savings as high as 35 percent, which allows for recovery of capital investment in less than one-year’s worth of operation. Furthermore, their world-class performance levels mean that you won’t spend nights worrying about your system freezing up and sending your operation into chaos. Even better, when you purchase a Kaishan KRSP model from us, you’ll get a number of bonus features for free that you’d have to otherwise pay for. We offer a lifetime warranty on all KRSP air compressors, as well as free upgrades to the high ambient temperature and NEMA IV packages. With other companies, these add-ons will require an additional upfront cost. With us, they’re included at the base price. Air compressor costs are often referred to as the “fourth utility” for manufacturing companies due to their high impact on the bottom line. Upgrading to a state-of-the-art air compressor can save you money and provide you with a sense of security for years to come. That’s well worth the cost of upgrading.
And Preserve Your Cast-Iron Skillet
Cast-iron skillets have been utilized almost religiously for a long time, but they became especially popular at the beginning of the 20th century. In some families, a cast-iron skillet is passed down from parents to children to grandchildren — and for good reason: When properly cared for, a good cast- iron skillet can last for generations. There’s nothing quite like a classic breakfast of bacon and eggs right out of the iron skillet. The problem is, once breakfast is over, you’re left with grease and other stuck-on food. But if you follow these steps, you’ll be left with a cast-iron skillet that’s good as new and ready for its next use. The best way to clean cast iron is to use heat. If you’ve let the skillet cool after cooking, start by heating it back up until you get a touch of smoke coming off the grease or stuck-on food. As the skillet heats up, turn on the tap and let it run as hot as possible. (Warning: Never run cold water over hot iron. You’ll crack the metal and ruin the skillet.) Rinse the hot skillet under the hot water. There will be a lot of steam, so be sure to lean back a little! Then, using a wood or silicone spatula (never metal — this will scratch the iron), remove all excess grease and food particles. They should come off like a breeze. If any food particles remain, it’s time to break out the salt. Once the skillet is cool, add about a tablespoon of coarse salt and one tablespoon of water. With a soft sponge, scrub away the leftover debris. Once the remaining particles are gone, rinse and dry thoroughly. To make sure your skillet is completely dry, set it back on a hot burner for a few minutes so that all leftover water drops evaporate. To maintain the nonstick surface of the skillet, you’ll need to complete a few more steps. Remove it from heat and use a lint-free rag to gently rub a tablespoon of vegetable oil (coconut and peanut oil work too) into the surface of the skillet. Cover all parts of the skillet, including the bottom and handle, with a thin layer of oil, and when you see that dull shine, it’s good to go!
Every time you use your cast-iron skillet, follow these steps. It may sound like a bit of extra work, but your skillet will reward you with decades of delicious meals!
Charlotte Compressor | 2 | www.charlottecompressor.com
FICTION THAT HOLDS TOO MUCH WEIGHT LIES YOU’VE BEEN TOLD YOU EAT SPIDERS WHILE YOU SLEEP You may have heard this chilling myth before, but it’s simply not true. Spiders are very sensitive to vibrations — they won’t willingly approach a breathing or snoring human. It isn’t in our eight-legged friends’ nature to crawl into a person’s mouth. YOU USE ONLY 10 PERCENT OF YOUR BRAIN Your brain is constantly in use. Every single action you perform, including digestion, coughing, speaking, thinking, and breathing, are all carried out by processes in the brain. There are levels of consciousness that cause parts of your brain to be less active than others, but there isn’t one singular area that ceases to work for any long period of time. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA IS VISIBLE FROM SPACE While the size of the Great Wall is truly spectacular, that doesn’t mean it can be seen from outer space. It’s not at all visible from the moon, and even from low orbit, it’s difficult to spot the wall with an unaided eye. According to NASA, the theory was first shaken by Yang Liwei, a Chinese astronaut, who said he was unable to see the Great Wall from space. Later, a camera with a 180 mm lens and a 400 mm lens captured the wall from a low orbit.
Fallacies are fed to us on a daily basis, and some are more believable than others. Here are a few popular misconceptions.
CRACKING YOUR KNUCKLES WILL CAUSE ARTHRITIS Studies show that there aren’t any dangers to cracking your knuckles, besides annoying someone with the noise. For a long time, many speculated that the cause of the cracking or popping noise was either the resetting of joints and tendons or the formation of fluid that lubricates the joints. Dr. Donald Unger was the first person to conduct an experiment with the hypothesis that cracking your knuckles doesn’t lead to arthritis. He cracked only the knuckles in his left hand for over 50 years. Later in life, both hands were arthritis-free.
TOP TIPS To Prevent Winter Freeze-Ups
INGREDIENTS
• 8 jalapenos • 3/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature • 2/3 cup feta cheese • 1 teaspoon steak seasoning (I used McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak) • 3 tablespoons brown sugar • 6 slices bacon
During the coldest months of the year, a system freeze-up can grind your operation to a halt. To avoid that unwanted fate, follow these five tips.
Recipe courtesy of Paula Jones, www.callmepmc.com
1. Regularly drain the condensate from your system to keep anything from becoming clogged.
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat grill to 375 F.
6. To prepare jalapenos, cut each in half and scoop out the seeds.
2. Install cabinet heating at the base of all units to avoid air and heat escaping.
2. Heat oven to 400 F.
3. To cook bacon, line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set a cooking rack on the
7. To prepare filling, combine cream cheese, feta cheese,
3. Install trace heating around all piping to keep temperatures operational throughout your system.
and steak seasoning in a bowl.
baking sheet. Lay the bacon slices on the cooking rack and sprinkle the brown sugar over bacon.
8. Fill the jalapeno halves with cream cheese mixture and top with bacon. 9. Grill until cheese melts and jalapenos are charred, about 5 minutes.
4. Make sure that all of your equipment has undergone regular service.
5. Check dryers and filters to make sure they are in good working order.
4. Bake until crisp, about 20 minutes.
5. Remove and chop into small pieces.
A well-maintained system should have no problem operating in frigid temperatures. Take preventative measures now and you’ll have no reason to fret, no matter how low the thermometer dips.
10. Remove and serve hot or at room temperature.
Charlotte Compressor | 3 | www.charlottecompressor.com
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
338 S. Sharon Amity Rd. #201 Charlotte, NC 28211 (704) 399-9993 www.charlottecompressor.com
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Our Purpose as a Company
Get Decades out of Your Cast-Iron Skillet The Kaishan Premium Advantage Common Misconceptions How to Avoid a System Freeze-Up
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Why You Need Slack
APP
SLACK: Kill the Email Overload With Instant, Effective Communication
intrabusiness conversations. Instead, we use Slack, a messaging and chat app, to house most of our internal communication. Slack is a bit like the instant messaging apps you may remember from your adolescence, only it’s designed for workplace use. Slack uses a two-layer organization system to group employees, dividing them first into teams and then into channels. Teams are the broad groups of employees that can view a certain set of channels. For example, you may create a team consisting solely of members from one department or another. Once teams are created, you can then establish channels for various topics, ranging from collaborative projects to tongue-in-cheek memes. Furthermore, you can also create private channels that will only be visible to their members, as well as direct messages to specific employees.
In addition to the best-in-class organizational features, Slack works so well because it ditches much of the formality of email. You won’t feel obliged to include headers, signatures, and other formatting etiquette. You’ll also never spend time filling out a massive list of CC’d recipients again. Slack allows you to reach everyone who needs information quickly and concisely, fostering teamwork and information sharing. Is Slack a replacement for email? Of course not, but it does provide you with a different avenue to discuss issues within a team or department. In essence, it allows email to work better, because it narrows its scope. It’s been a game-changer for us, and we think it could be one for you too.
Rapid, effective communication is an essential factor for the success of your business. In the hyperconnected world we live in, team members need to stay informed of up-to-the-minute developments in order to do their jobs at optimal levels. For a long time, companies relied almost exclusively on email in order to foster that communication. While there’s still a place for email, it’s no longer the most efficient method for
Charlotte Compressor | 4 | www.charlottecompressor.com
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