From even before I could actually read, or so my parents tell the story, you could find me with my nose buried in a book. I would tell myself stories in “toddler talk” as I turned the pages of my favorite bedtime stories. 

As I write this commentary, the world is facing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, it seems the news will never improve. While I cannot predict when the headwinds will turn in our favor, I can share what has been helping me.

What is the product that made you stop and ask, “Where have you been all my life?” For me, it’s a tight race between my smartphone and heated car seats. For many companies engaged in operations involving thermal processing, I suspect it will be the advent of cloud-based predictive maintenance and remote process management platforms.

Interested in learning more about steam generation, combined heat and power (CHP) systems, combustion safety via LFL process monitoring, industrial heaters or industrial ovens? Tap our on-demand webinars as well as a new resource from the Department of Energy.

Since this column will appear in our January issue, I can finally tell you about a project that has been in the works for quite a while: our new eBook on thermal fluid heating for industrial processes.

One of my favorite things to do near the end of the year is review the most popular content on our site — in the last year and overall. It helps me recognize topics that may warrant more coverage, and it can prompt me to revisit still-popular topics I may have missed in 2019.

With the three new webinars we have planned for October, you can gain valuable knowledge from the comfort of your office chair — or even your couch. What’s better than that?

Those that have worked with industrial thermal technologies likely remember when the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technology Program was actively marketing its efforts to reduce industry’s energy consumption — and thereby reduce overall demand for energy. 

I’m probably dating myself here, but do you remember the scene from Crocodile Dundee, where Paul Hogan’s character, a croc hunter who travels to New York City following the lure of a lovely lady, and is mugged at knifepoint? 

It is not uncommon to see well-used ovens and dryers — perhaps 40 or 50 years old, in some cases — in plants throughout the process industries.