Keep Kuul

Safety is the expected norm in every functioning workplace no matter what the industry. Workers have the right to a safe working environment, which is why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA, was created in 1971. While every company has a standard to meet, there are additional safety protocols that can aid a company in creating more productivity. Evaporative cooling company, Portacool, knows exactly how to implement that and wield beneficial results. What implementations can companies put in place to increase safety, and subsequently, productivity among their workers? For the latest episode of Keep Kuul, host Michelle Dawn Mooney interviewed Portacool’s Safety Manager, Micah Fenton, on how safety improves work quality, and why implementing safety protocols in the workplace raises safety awareness. Mooney and Fenton further discussed … 1. The link between employee safety and productivity 2. Implementing safety methods in the workplace 3. The importance of safety and prioritizing it among staff “Well, safety is just the right thing to do. So, if you have employee safety, that’s just the right thing to do — to have for your employees. It's just the most quality thing that you can do for your employees. So, not only are you going to get quality product, you have quality employees because they actually want to be there. They want to be working, they want to be working in a safe environment. No one wants to go to work in a place where they don't feel like they're safe there … So, safety is a huge deal, so we always keep it in mind, keep it on the focus, keep it in the conversation,” said Fenton. Micah Fenton is the Safety Manager at Portacool. She’s been with the company for over a year now and is a graduate of Texas State Technical College

The HVAC industry can expect to see some exciting changes this year after the 2023 AHR Expo concluded in Atlanta earlier this month. The three-day event, held from Feb. 6-8, featured over 1,800 participating companies and their displays, along with over 35,000 attendees. The promising direction that the HVAC industry is headed in will offer more options to companies looking to reduce spending without sacrificing efficiency. What is the outlook for the HVAC industry this year? And how will companies like Portacool and Kuul direct some of that change? For a new Keep Kuul episode, host Michelle Dawn Mooney sat down to talk with Portacool’s National Accounts Manager, Shon Wainscott, and Kuul’s Sales Manager, Cody Weeks, on the current trends within in the HVAC industry and what companies can look forward to. Mooney, Wainscott and Weeks talked about their experience at the Expo as well as … 1. How cost-effective measures can be implemented to benefit both a company and their staff 2. Portacool evaporative coolers and how they function with Kuul’s technology cooling media 3. Their perspectives on the current and forthcoming HVAC trends “From a trend standpoint, I would say sustainability is the one that really jumps out in front for me — whether that be energy consumption, water consumption, or just trying to increase efficiency of the cooling solutions. That's really the big one that stood out to me this year at AHR,” said Weeks. Wainscott detailed how he felt cost reduction was a major theme at the Expo. “With respect to trends, what we kind of see, at least on my side, is cost savings ... They’re looking to do more with less, or to be able to provide cooling to employees in applications where they really necessarily can't afford to do a standard HVAC system,” said Wainscott. He added that the Portacool evaporative cooler doesn’t use much electricity and operates on water, and said companies seeking to save money find advantages in savings and employee morale. “They can't afford to do a standard air conditioning cause it's just money going out the doors. So, that's really where they look to us, to what solutions can we help provide them — cool air to those employees, keep them cool, keep them safe … keep them productive, and then retention of employees as well. It’s a real challenge nowadays so customers are always asking me, or at least explaining to us what the cost is to continually hire employees. So, we can help keep them a little bit cooler in that work area, we could help them retain that employee, and really cut that cost,” said Wainscott. Shon Wainscott is the National Accounts Manager at Portacool. He’s been with the company for a decade and is a graduate of Excelsior University. Cody Weeks is the Sales Manager at Kuul, where he’s been for five years now. He has a background in agriculture and is a graduate of Gadsden State Community College.

There is a growing demand for commercial cooling solutions, as indicated by the past two years. Industry experts say the evaporative cooling market hit $5.76 Billion in 2021, which they expect to reach $8.41 Billion by 2027. It’s evident; the market isn’t cooling off any time soon. Ben Wulf, President & CEO of Portacool, LLC, says awareness and adoption of the type of solution evaporative cooling provides is rising. He spoke with Keep Kuul host Bobby Brill about Portacool’s successful past couple of years and why he believes 2023 will continue that trend. What’s driving this widespread use of portable evaporative coolers from residential homes to commercial spaces? During their conversation, Brill and Wulf hit on several cooling trends, including: • A Growing work-from-home market needs evaporative coolers for comfort • The cost-effectiveness of portable evaporative cooling units • Increasing needs for cooling solutions in the industrial market • Working through supply chain challenges to meet the demand “We’re seeing some manufacturing shift, a little bit of a pivot, as things are challenging over in Europe, for example,” Wulf said. “We’re seeing some of those factories be idled, and so some of that demand is now coming back to the U.S. You parlay that with a very tight labor market, and it’s putting more demand on getting product out here in the U.S., which is good for our economy, but as we take all that and aggregate that, it’s a big challenge.” Ben Wulf has worked for Portacool for the past twenty-one years, leading the most dynamic and passionate group of professionals in the HVAC industry. Serving as Portacool’s President & CEO since 2014, Wulf takes pride in shaping the strategy of Portacool’s mission to bring global cooling solutions whenever or wherever needed.

Twenty-seven years is a long time between friends. Michelle Bauer and Henry Denton should know; that’s how long each has been with Portacool, back when it was part of the General Shelters Group. Bauer, an Engineering Projects Coordinator, and Denton, an Engineer at Portacool, talked about Portacool’s rich history and the many changes along its evolutionary path.

In this episode, Tyler Kern talks with Heidi Hudson co-owner of Hudson Farms. They discuss the importance of climate control for poultry farmers in the hot state of Texas. Hudson’s background is in poultry science, and her husband is a third-generation poultry farmer. They worked alongside his father for three years on his farm before taking over last year. “We’re contract farmers. We house and take care of poultry for vertically integrated companies like Tyson, Pilgrim, and Sanderson Farms,” said Hudson. Hudson Farms takes care of the birds from the time they are in the facility until they are processed to end up in our kitchens. “We ensure they have proper ventilation, animal welfare standards, quality water, quality feed, and temperature control,” said Hudson. The birds are cared for between 35 and 70 days. The size of the bird you find in the store depends on its growth time. Regarding temperature control, poultry has to be raised in specific geographies. It can’t get too hot or too cold. “Poultry can’t sweat,” said Hudson, “there’s a very fine point that we want to keep that temperature at or that water condition at to keep the poultry healthy and happy.” This can be challenging when you have a summer like the one we’re having. It’s always hot in Texas, but this summer is already setting records. From the farm to working at Portacool, Hudson knows cooling intimately. “[Kuul Media] is a superior product and extends the life expectancy. We use it every day to keep our birds cool,” said Hudson. There’s a passion for poultry farming and a rich community of support. “We hope that if someone is in need that they give us a call. That community effort has been such a blessing for us.” Portacool offers a network of expertise across all industries of agriculture. “If there’s additional aid that a customer needs, we get boots on the ground,” said Hudson, “don’t be a stranger.”