9 Takeaways from the AALSO Symposium

I recently attended the 2014 AALSO Symposium in Las Vegas as a product specialist for Flexaseal in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of our new metal bellows cartridge seal designed specifically for the aquarium industry.

I’ve worked in the aquarium and zoo industry for over 12 years, so I understand the huge role that quality engineering plays in sustaining aquatic life. I was so excited to have the opportunity to meet others from the industry and learn even more about what an important—and complicated—job it is to control and care for the environments of these animals.


Here are 9 facts about the aquarium industry I learned from AALSO:

  • Life Support Operators must possess a broad range of electrical, mechanical, biological, HVAC, hydraulic, chemistry and physics theory in order to successfully keep their animals alive and healthy.
  • A majority of life support operators are interested in developing their skills as a pump mechanic due to the frequency of failures that occur within their facilities and the costs associated with out sourcing the repairs.
  • There are currently only 19 Walrus in captivity in the United States and only 50 worldwide due to their unique requirements and the challenges they present to Animal Care and Veterinary staff.
  • A common cause of fish fatalities is dissolved oxygen saturation which can be a direct result of a mechanical seal failure.
  • Many LSS Operators found their way into the industry by chance.
  • For large recirculating aquarium systems, the target turnover time is about an hour in order to keep up with the biological loading from the animals in the water.
  • The aquarium industry has contributed to the wastewater and drinking water industries with developments in denitrification technology.
  • AALSO encourages the disclosure of “trade secrets” to help all facilities maintain the highest level of animal care possible.
  • The AALSO Level 3 operators’ certification is an incredibly difficult industry examination with a historical pass rate of 10%.

Learning more about the industries we serve helps Flexaseal continue to innovate and create new products that help our customers improve the way they do their jobs. Click Here to learn more about our new RBX cartridge seal for aquarium applications.

Flexaseal Welcomes Three New Team Members

Flexaseal finished 2013 with a 20% growth in sales inside and outside the United States. Accordingly, we have added some key players to our team!

Matt Jensen – Outside Sales, West Coast

Matt Jensen

Matt has spent the past 12 years working in the aquarium and zoo industry in many different facets from animal care to engineering. Throughout most of his career he was responsible for managing teams that operate, maintain and repair all mechanical, electrical, and structural systems that support aquatic animal exhibits in Australia, Hawaii and the U.S. He brings practical experience diagnosing and repairing many different types of pumps and he will be utilizing that knowledge to help Flexaseal customers get the most out of their seals. Matt will be based in San Diego, CA.



Skip Kretschmar – Account Manager – Outside Sales, Texas

Skip Kretschmar

Skip has 28 years’ experience in mechanical seals; 7 years in the manufacturing side and 21 years on the sales and management side. He started as a machinist and then was promoted to lead machinist for EG&G Sealol in Houston. He then moved into sales and service for Sealol in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1998 when John Crane purchased Sealol, Skip was moved into sales for a short period of time and then was promoted to Branch Manager where he managed the branch office with 11 employees and 2 in-plant engineers in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Skip has been married to his wife Irene for 39 years and they have one son, Casey, and 2 granddaughters. Skip loves classic cars and classic car auctions.


Ray Morrissette – Operations Manager – Flexaseal Vermont

Ray Morrissette

Ray has 37 years’ experience in mechanical seals, specializing in Main Plant and Branch Service Center startups. He started as a draftsman/designer for EG&G Sealol in Warwick, Rhode Island. He was then moved to Sealol Operations in 1978 and acted as Branch Manufacturing manager for various periods in Texas, Louisiana, and 10 years in the UK. In 1998 when John Crane purchased Sealol, Ray was moved back to the States to act as a regional ops manager based in Houston responsible for 4 states in the south central region. He then was relocated to Rhode Island to act as Plant Manager for 10 years and was responsible for inside sales, manufacturing, inventory, quality, and engineering.

Ray has been married to his wife Susan for 22 years and they have one son, Ray Jr, who is attending the University of Rhode Island. Ray and Sue love working on the family farm in Wales, cooking, and following Formula 1 racing.


All 3 new employees and their diverse backgrounds will be a great addition to Flexaseal’s business.

Flexaseal to Attend 2014 AALSO Symposium

2014 AALSO Symposium

Join Flexaseal’s Matt Jensen and Alex Slauson at the 2014 AALSO Symposium in Las Vegas. The AALSO (Aquatic Animal Life Support Operators) Symposium brings together water quality and mechanical system professionals from all over the country who care for the systems that make high quality aquatic animal care possible.

This is Flexaseal’s first time attending the AALSO Symposium. Our product specialist Matt Jensen, who has 12 years of experience in the aquarium and zoo industry, will be displaying our newest metal bellows cartridge seal designed specifically for the aquarium industry. This seal was designed to fit Fybroc® pumps most commonly found in aquariums and zoos worldwide without modification. Matt brings years of practical experience using and repairing the specific seals and pumps that support aquatic exhibits, and he will be on hand to demonstrate the product and answer any questions.

Date: March 16 – 19, 2014
Place: The Rio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas

Matt will be leading the AALSO workshop abstracts at the following date and times:

Monday, March 17th 2:00pm – 2:45pm
Tuesday, March 18th 2:00pm – 2:45pm & 4:00pm – 4:50pm

Visit Flexaseal Engineered Seals and Systems, LLC at the symposium at Booth #510

Flexaseal is Celebrating 35 Years in Business

1983 – 2018

Flexaseal 30th Anniversary

After 35 years, we’re celebrating a business that began as a small start-up and has expanded to project a global reach in the sealing industry. We continue to provide the highest quality products and unmatched customer service.

Flexaseal’s Early Years

Flexaseal began in my living room in Florida in 1983. I had spent six years working for a large manufacturer, working my way from sales trainee to district sales manager. After a partnership in a new business fell through, I realized it was time to do things right.

I moved Flexaseal to Vermont because it’s a state I love and where my family has a history. We quickly outgrew our 900 square foot space and expanded to 3,200 square feet, but managing the rapidly growing business wasn’t without its challenges. We had to figure out how to transfer our product knowledge from having most of our products subcontracted to manufacturing everything ourselves. We had to hire and train the right team—including engineers—then figure out how to manage them. We even had trouble finding a bank that would lend us some start-up money.

Expansion and Growth Lead to Innovation

We didn’t set out with the idea that Flexaseal would become a large manufacturer. We just wanted to produce the highest quality products and provide the best customer service in the industry. We wanted Flexaseal to become a true contender, to build a reputation that would be respected by our clients and our competitors.

In the beginning, some of the larger companies tried to deter us. 30 years later, Flexaseal has established a global reach in the mechanical sealing industry and continues to expand every year.

  • Our Vermont manufacturing facility is 27,000 square feet with plans to expand in the near future.
  • Our 12,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Brazil has outgrown its space and is looking forward to expansion.
  • We have opened a state-of-the art 5,000 square foot facility in Louisiana .
  • We have over 120 employees at our Vermont location, and over 50 employees at our Brazil location.
  • We won a Vermont Business Magazine 5x5x5 Award in 2012 for being one of the fastest-growing manufacturing companies in Vermont.
Flexaseal Today

Flexaseal’s success is directly related to our employees. I’m extremely proud of the people we have and the job we do here. The mutual culture of loyalty in our business enable us to flourish because our employees know that we’re different from our competitors. We provide overall solutions to problems that the bigger manufacturers can’t always meet, form relationships with our customers, get back to people quickly and exceed the expectations of our clients again and again.

Because of the dedication and commitment our employees have to customers, I plan on being involved in Flexaseal for many years to come. As we continue to grow and expand, our responsibility to our clients will grow as well. We’re poised to meet that challenge for the next 35 years and beyond.

 

How Water Conservation Systems Reduce Waste and Cost

water-conservation-system

In today’s environmentally conscious world, every drop of water is a precious resource. Conserving water in pumping and sealing applications is an effective—yet often underused—method of reducing both your costs and your environmental footprint.

Typical Plan 54 piping plans of piping water to and from a double seal use large amounts of water to operate. Flexaseal’s Water Conservation System (WCS2) is piped as a Plan 53A, which replaces the traditional Plan 54 for double seals by using the plant’s existing water line to pressurize the barrier fluid inside of the seal reservoir. The resulting pressurized barrier fluid maintains a cool, stable fluid film across the seal faces, increasing the longevity and mean time between failures of the seal.

The WCS2 system, which is excellent for wastewater treatment plants and paper mills, uses a check valve to protect the plant’s water line from contamination while allowing for the maximum pressure. The WCS2 system allows for pressure adjustments to arrive at the optimal engineering-recommended value. The included flow indicator provides a quick and simple visual representation of any inboard seal leakage.

The Water Management System is self-regulating, allowing for automatic refilling and re-pressurization if fluctuations occur. Barrier fluid is circulated between the WCS2 and the double seal via by the seal’s pumping ring and thermosyphon effects.

A Water Conservation System is a great choice to substantively reduce the cost of water usage, while utilizing existing plant water lines instead of requiring a potentially costly new dedicated pressurization system.

For information about more ways you can preserve resources, download a brochure about our flowmeters.