Summary:
In this episode of UnfilteredFlowELSC, Meghann Cook interviews Greg Shtrahman, the Business Development Manager at Marzocchi. Greg shares his journey into the fluid power industry, starting from his initial role in the steel industry to his current position. He discusses his experiences with various companies, including Miller Fluid Power and Parker Hannifin, and highlights a memorable project involving filtration systems for power plants. Greg also talks about the evolution of technology in the industry, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and staying updated with new technologies like AI and electrification. He addresses challenges in the industry, such as attracting new talent and dealing with supply chain disruptions and tariffs. Greg concludes by reflecting on the importance of patience, adaptability, and expanding one’s knowledge in the field.
Takeaways:
Personal experiences shape our professional journeys.
Networking is crucial for career advancement.
Industry trends can influence personal decisions.
Challenges often lead to growth and learning.
Future aspirations guide our current actions.
Humor can ease tense situations.
Understanding others’ perspectives is vital.
Continuous learning is essential in any field.
Setting clear goals helps in achieving success.
Collaboration can lead to innovative solutions.
Meghann Cook (00:01.006)
Hi everyone. Welcome to UnfilteredFlowELSC Flow ELSC. I’m Meghann Cook and today it is my pleasure to welcome Mr. Greg Shtrahman to the show. Greg is the business development manager at Marzocchi. Welcome Greg.
Greg Shtrahman (00:18.477)
Good morning, Meghann. How are you?
Meghann Cook (00:20.75)
I’m very good, thank you. Thank you for joining me.
Greg Shtrahman (00:22.987)
Yeah, thank you forever.
Meghann Cook (00:25.856)
So, Greg, always the first question. How did you get started in the fluid power industry?
Greg Shtrahman (00:32.013)
The million dollar question, right? I had an interesting path. Out of graduate school, my first job was not in fluid power. It was actually in the steel industry. I was in the steel industry with the Marmon Group for my first three years from 1992 to 1995. And I joined the fluid power industry in the end of 1995. And it was with Miller Fluid Power.
who was eventually purchased by Parker Hanifin. It was a cylinder manufacturer out of Bentzville, Illinois. At that time, very historic company. Second largest cylinder manufacturer, second to Parker, and that’s why Parker ended up purchasing us. I then stayed with Parker for six years, multiple roles, territory manager and key account manager. it was a very interesting experience for sure.
brought my experience, exposed me to lot of markets that I was not previously exposed to. after that, I had joined Monarch Hydraulics, which was also kind of a historic company of, that’s on my booker today, of DC and AC power units, power packs. And I transitioned because in 2008, it was
We were purchased by Booker Hydraulics and I spent 12 years, great experience with Booker Hydraulics, multiple roles. As a regional manager that was promoted to district sales manager, gentleman that you interviewed, Jeff Watts before was my boss at Booker. We’re still friends today actually. stay at that. It is, it is, yes. It is really small.
Meghann Cook (02:20.846)
Yeah, you know how small the fluid power world is, Greg?
Greg Shtrahman (02:29.843)
And then I joined Monarch, sorry, too many positions. I joined Merzocki Pumps beginning of 2014 as the North American sales manager. And I’ve been with them ever since. I’ve had multiple positions. I’m now business development manager. We wear many different hats because we’re niche manufacturer.
of hydraulic gear pumps and gear motors. So this is where my career led me to today in my current position.
Meghann Cook (03:08.942)
There it was. So you’ve had a plethora of experience, Gray. What would you say is your most fun and or important project that you’ve worked?
Greg Shtrahman (03:15.884)
Yes.
Greg Shtrahman (03:24.493)
Boy, there’s been a few for sure. I would say the most interesting, and it really always taken my mind because it was right before 9-11 and it was when I was with Miller Fluid Power. We were a very large cylinder manufacturer. was for wheel braider and at that time
Wheelbader was a very large company that made filtration systems for the smoke stacks you see on power plants and so forth. So our actuators were opening and closing the vents, the filtration vents on these smokes. A very large project, very interesting.
It was so interesting because we had massive, you can imagine massive competition, including my future employer who is Parker. And it was just a really interesting application from a standpoint that these, if you go to these power plants, these smokestacks really stand out. very, very high, as you know. And you have to be very precise. We were not doing the valving, but we were doing all the actuators. So that really…
It was very unique at that time for me because I never did such an application and it had to be so precise because you could imagine it’s very difficult to maintain them. The manpower would take to do any maintenance work because they were so high. Weather conditions are very difficult in many cases. That was probably one of my most interesting applications that I could think of. What really made it fascinating in my final meeting
I was in downtown Pittsburgh, that’s where Wheelbreder’s headquarters were, and 9-11 hit that day. I was in downtown. We didn’t know what was going on, and it was difficult. We finished the meeting and then he said, you know, there’s something going on, there’s something in the news, we should wrap it up, and from there it’s history, as you know. Yeah, so that’s why it stuck in my head so much, and you know, one of the
Meghann Cook (05:33.308)
wow.
Greg Shtrahman (05:40.429)
So wasn’t that far away. So it’s just something that sticks with you for rest of your life. But was a very interesting application.
Meghann Cook (05:43.541)
Right.
Meghann Cook (05:47.734)
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
So a lot to be made now about smart technology and IoT and the integration into machinery now. What have you seen from when you started out to now, the changes in that regard?
Greg Shtrahman (06:15.757)
It’s a really interesting question. When I first started off my career, think the internet of things wasn’t quite there. We were most dealing with, let’s say, Allen-Bradley PLC controllers integration. I’m fortunate because I was exposed to automation and integration of hydraulics as it pertained to that.
As you know, it’s come a long way, Meghann. Now we’re dealing with just-in-time information.
Meghann Cook (06:46.552)
Yeah.
Greg Shtrahman (06:52.809)
on board electronics, many, many different things. even though my current position, you I’m not involved as much in that because we primarily produce, especially gear pumps and gear motors. My integrators are that we work with some very large integrators. So I’ve seen the technology come a long way. I would say we’re very active in variable frequency drives.
Meghann Cook (07:08.076)
Yeah.
Greg Shtrahman (07:22.379)
because of our helical pump technology, which is very precise. I see the cost of all these technologies stabilizing. At the beginning, a lot of these technologies are very, very expensive, whether you’re dealing with variable frequency drives, onboard electronics, real-time communication, let’s say on either mobile machinery or industrial machinery. We see some of the technology definitely going up, especially…
now with AI too is a factor. the cost of technology seems to be slowly stabilizing as there’s more competition, more players. At the beginning, was obviously the cost factors were factoring in to many people’s decisions. But now as technology progresses, cost factors are stabilizing and
As I mentioned, many things that we’re involved in the mobile industry and industrial, especially with the variable frequency drives and other technology, it’s come a long way. Also with electrification and how, let’s say, hydraulics, electro-hydraulics now is working hand-in-hand with electrification is very fascinating, very interesting as…
as we can all see it’s growing quite a bit.
Meghann Cook (08:54.198)
It is, is. It’s pretty amazing actually. It’s not your mom’s hydraulics anymore, Greg.
Greg Shtrahman (08:57.101)
No, no, not at all. It’s come a long way in my career anyway.
Meghann Cook (09:06.286)
For professionals that are looking to stay ahead in the industry, what would you tell them to focus on? Or what skill sets or things of that nature should they try to wrap their head around and understand to get farther advanced in the industry?
Greg Shtrahman (09:35.405)
I think that’s a really good question. I would say keep learning. That’s the number one thing. One thing I learned in my 30-year career, or so in hydraulics now, is that you have to keep an open mind and things are constantly changing as you know. Keep your skill level up. Certification is a big thing. I’d highly recommend it. Getting as many hydraulic certifications, fluid power certification, whatever field of fluid power you’re in doesn’t have to be hydraulic.
get your certifications and I’d say now, even though it started off slowly, hydraulics, electrification of mobile and industrial machinery, especially in the mobile market is really picking up. I would say get as much knowledge in how hydraulics interacts with electrification, fuel cells, alternative technology.
We have to keep up with things because there are, let’s say, threats, challenges, as we know, the hydraulics, right? Not only electromechanical, but other technologies. And I think it’s important for us in the field to stay competitive and to stay technologically applicable and useful. I think we have to keep up with these technologies. Keep learning.
and advance your knowledge, keep your mind open. Don’t be, no matter what age, you have to be willing to learn new things. I’m kind of a veteran of the industry, 30 years, but I’m always trying to, I’m really trying to read up on anything that I can find my hands on when it comes to hydraulic technology and how to interfaces with other technologies, whether it’s mobile, off highway,
anywhere where we can grow is a big factor.
Meghann Cook (11:32.94)
Very good, very good. Continuous learning. I that’s the ticket for everyone one, isn’t it, Greg
Greg Shtrahman (11:36.513)
Yes, absolutely, absolutely. Yes.
Meghann Cook (11:42.37)
What would you say is the biggest current challenge in the fluid power industry right now?
Greg Shtrahman (11:49.089)
I think there’s a couple of challenges. One, bringing the new generation into the industry. We have a shortage. I think we all know it of technical people. We have a, with the boomers retiring, and not only we have right behind the boomers, the next generation of fluid power people that are not far from retirement.
I think we have to groom the young people, women and men, to get interested in industry and to support technical colleges. Because as we know, universities, if you think about it, here’s one of the challenges, Meghann. When I was a Parker, we recruited a lot from Purdue and other really good engineering universities. Out of four years, how many semesters of fluid dynamics does an average engineering have? If you’re lucky, it’s a semester. It’s not enough.
Meghann Cook (12:41.986)
Right.
Greg Shtrahman (12:43.149)
Obviously we have great institutions like Milwaukee School of Engineering that really focuses on hydraulics, but how many of them, we have to expand those schools. Work with the technical colleges, the small technical colleges that focus on hydraulic technology and career courses, because it’s not always, it’s sometimes just a two-year degree in a very focused environment gets you much further in hydraulics. So one of the challenges, I would say number one challenge,
is getting the next generation getting enough people interested in hydraulics so we can keep growing in our field. We have a shortage. We have to face that fact. That’s really a very big challenge.
Meghann Cook (13:25.164)
It is, that it is. I face that every day, Greg. Like in my current position.
Greg Shtrahman (13:29.599)
Yeah, yeah, we Yeah, yeah, right. I can imagine you see that every day, right? It’s a small industry and I mean, it’s big industry, but it’s small schools
Meghann Cook (13:37.774)
Mm-hmm. I do. I do.
Meghann Cook (13:43.787)
It is. It’s such an interesting industry in that way. But and this leads into that. But and I know what you’re going to say probably, but I’m going to ask you anyway. The biggest hiring challenges that you see currently qualified candidates, retention issues, the time it takes to hire, the onboarding process. What do you see currently?
Greg Shtrahman (13:47.66)
Yes.
Greg Shtrahman (14:14.005)
All of those are challenges, Meghann. Those are very good points. The biggest hiring challenge is, I’d say, qualified candidates. Because as I mentioned in my previous statement of getting the next generation going. And then we have to face facts that we’re competing against other technology. So when engineering students are coming out of university, they have many choices. If they’re mechanical, electrical,
men, women, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, controls engineers, they don’t necessarily, they have, we’re battling against, you know, Google, we’re going against Apple. We’re competing, that’s why I say, we’re competing not only against, let’s say if I look at my firm, we’re not only competing against our competitors and other manufacturers for the same talent pool, right? We have to,
Get together as an industry and know that we’re competing against other technologies the money factor, of course It’s a challenge because you’re trying to compete against high tech or technology. That’s a little sexier. Let’s face facts We’ve got to get people Right. I mean how many people are coming out saying I want to be in oil, right? They want to be in Everyone’s talking about AI. You know, I want to be in a
Meghann Cook (15:28.59)
What I was just gonna say everybody coming out looking for the the new sexy thing, right?
Greg Shtrahman (15:43.213)
This is where everything’s at. And you try to explain, look, you can be part of AI, believe it or not, we’re using it today, right now in the fluid power field. And they’re like, no way, how are you using it? So you try to make, it is interesting. You really try to focus on the fact that it’s a great field. It’s a challenging field, it’s a very fulfilling field. I know for my life, it’s changed my life.
other people’s lives, I wouldn’t want to do anything else. And if you talk with other people in the field, they want to do anything else. And you have to try to explain that to your candidates. How interesting it is, why they should get involved in fluid power. And that’s just one of the challenges in trying to bring in, let’s say, new talent and competing for a smaller pool of people and trying to get more and more people involved.
Meghann Cook (16:37.14)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I 100 % agree there. Branding. Need to work on branding, Greg.
Greg Shtrahman (16:41.868)
Yeah.
Greg Shtrahman (16:45.717)
Right branding and if I could just I guess maybe a few other points As you mentioned this consolidation, know, we had mentioned talked a little bit about consolidation in the industry. That’s also a challenge As you know, the industry is consolidating. There’s more and more acquisitions I gotta tell you Meghann. You’ve seen a private equity isn’t everything Look, i’m not going to make a statement of whether it’s good bad. It’s there. It’s a reality
Meghann Cook (16:57.934)
Thank
Meghann Cook (17:14.178)
Mm-hmm.
Greg Shtrahman (17:14.221)
I have a lot of friends involved in private equity, so I have to be careful what I say. And a lot of my integrators, lot of our, not only mine, our integrators, our manufacturers have been brought by private equity holding companies. This has presented opportunities and challenges because private equity, you know the philosophy, it changes the companies they buy. There’s different goals in mind. We have to be adaptable and stay with it.
consolidation also means sometimes less competition. I’m a little bit worried about that. Being you know, we’re a mid-size manufacturer of Marzocchi We’re the last of the Mohicans. I would say we’re a vertical. I don’t know if I talked a little bit Marzocchi We’re a vertical manufacturer. How many of those are left? We’re almost a hundred percent vertical. We own and I think it’s exciting for hydraulics. I mean we own our own high pressure die casting.
Meghann Cook (17:56.824)
Mm-hmm.
Greg Shtrahman (18:15.029)
We do our own machining from aluminum bar stock. We grind our own gears. I mean, how many people really do that? We control our own destiny. And I’m afraid as consolidation, where am I leading to this? As consolidation is coming, companies like ours are left, are being bought up and they’re changing, know, as soon as they’re bought up, that a lot of What do you guys, why do you grind your own gears? Why do you machine your own gears? Why do you make your own bushings?
Why do you have a high pressure diecast implant? We can outsource all that. You know what happens, right? Enough said, the story’s written. So I think that’s another challenge to our industry. You brought up a good point. I think not only expanding our talent pool that we can hire from, but also consolidation and private equity and many other factors are making us face challenges and questions that we haven’t faced before.
Meghann Cook (19:20.396)
So if you could go back and give advice to Greg 30 years ago.
Greg Shtrahman (19:27.597)
Yeah.
Meghann Cook (19:31.97)
what would you tell him?
Greg Shtrahman (19:36.269)
Get my law degree. No, I’m just joking. If I could go back, I would tell them to be patient. As a young man, you know, we have less patience. know, when you have a lot of experience in the field, you understand why listening more, listening to the customer’s needs, listening to the market, like I said, having patience.
Expand your knowledge. Be willing to learn. Be flexible. View your mistakes as a learning opportunity. It’s not the end of the world. Things will always get better no matter how bleak they seem sometimes as we know. You know, and I would tell a young Greg, you know, now being through I don’t know how many recessions, Meghann, we’ve all been through them.
financial crisis, COVID, many other things. The light, the sun will shine the next day. Just keep going. like I said, just expand your knowledge and don’t be afraid to also learn other technologies as they pertain to hydraulics. Don’t be so focused on one product or one technology. Even if your company is making only, let’s say,
very focused on a niche product. Don’t be afraid to other products that integrate with your product. This is very important. You can help the customer and it also help you win projects because understanding the whole application helps you win business.
Those are some of the key points that I would bring up.
Meghann Cook (21:25.56)
Yeah, that’s very good, Greg I have one more, and this is kind of circling back around for the consolidation conversation. You were mentioning how much more Marzocchi takes their product into their own hands here.
Greg Shtrahman (21:28.877)
Sure. Sure.
.
Meghann Cook (21:45.676)
With everything that’s been going on, supply chain disruptions, tariffs, things of that nature. So what have you seen as an impact from that today?
Greg Shtrahman (22:03.457)
Being an Italian manufacturer, I feel like I’m a mosquito in the nudist colony. I don’t know where to start. I gotta throw that joke. was literally… I really truly say that because I can only say that because you understand the current tariff situation and everything that’s happening. And what happened with supply chain getting out of COVID and so forth. Yeah, we were greatly affected.
Meghann Cook (22:15.79)
I like it.
Greg Shtrahman (22:33.259)
The one thing that helped us being a vertical manufacturer is it taught us the advantages of doing that. I would say to other manufacturers, it helped us win business because a lot of people just weren’t ready or their supply chain was broken. Doing everything in house or most things in house, it helped us get a lot of business. Certainly the tariffs have affected us in multiple ways.
Meghann Cook (22:47.694)
Mm-hmm.
Greg Shtrahman (22:59.681)
I think they’ve stabilized a little bit more now, but when they were first announced it definitely affected us. Even though Europe wasn’t hit as hard. Example, challenges of not only our finished product, but we do assembly here in Chicago and Elgin, Illinois. We’re located. So they want to know our aluminum content, steel content, where the seals are manufactured. That’s always interesting, isn’t it?
So we learned like, okay, there’s a 15 % tariff on our product, but if the aluminum or steel is not coated the right way, we get hit with 50%. If your seals, because we don’t make seals, right? Nobody does. If your seals are not made, let’s say in Europe or North America, and they’re Asia, it’s 50%, right? So that actually, you know, we did have a few seals that were sourced.
or at least let’s say they were made in Italy but the compounds, the composites, the materials were from Asia offshore. So this definitely threw a big, big challenge. We’re dealing with it. can’t tell you that, I can’t pretend that it’s easy. It’s very challenging. I think it will stabilize. I think we saw some stabilization but we still see some mistakes. For instance, I’m dealing with a
situation last couple of weeks where the customs is quoting our hydraulic gear motors as Engine motors. How do you like that? 50 % We’re like no no this is not a diesel motor. It’s not an engine motor. Well explain that in your paperwork so we work with our Imported freight forwarding company very big company to make sure okay, where were the codification where where they need to change what happened are they viewing it it was a misinterpretation so
We worked through it. It worked out. But then your inventories, they’re stuck in customs for three weeks, four weeks sometimes. It wasn’t a lot, but it’s certainly a shock to the system. So we have to deal with that. And I don’t think the infrastructure is really prepared for it, as you’ve seen, Meghann, right? You’ve talked with other hydraulic fluid power companies. The challenge is the infrastructure and the manpower in the commerce, the customs, as you’re coming in, is not prepared. They don’t have enough people. Sometimes…
Meghann Cook (24:54.647)
All
Greg Shtrahman (25:23.489)
I to say this, don’t know what they’re looking at, even if everything is coded correctly. So I think we’re getting through that. I think we’re getting through it. But that’s posed a lot of challenges for us, for sure. There’s no question.
Meghann Cook (25:36.024)
Yeah, I think majority of procurement folks out there, Greg, are BFFs now with our freight forwarders. I’m pretty sure there’s multiple conversations, if not daily, weekly, regarding things coming in. I I can’t even imagine the stressors on that side that adds to, you know, not only the planning portion, but now, you know, really drill down with the forwarder on these types of…
Greg Shtrahman (25:43.467)
Yes.
yeah.
Greg Shtrahman (25:57.613)
For sure.
Meghann Cook (30:17.654)
Right. And I think with the current situation too, Greg, there’s more conversation and more thought around all of this as well. And I think it’s going to drive significant change here on the manufacturing side. I really do. And it’s not all bad. I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom.
Greg Shtrahman (30:33.12)
Absolutely.
Greg Shtrahman (30:39.273)
No. Yeah. Maybe.
Meghann Cook (30:40.75)
But certainly, you know, having these conversations and thinking about different ways to navigate this and, you know, again, bringing more manufacturing here is a good thing.
Greg Shtrahman (30:55.021)
Sure. It is a good thing. I agree with that totally. I do agree there’s some positives and I think we should bring manufacturing here.
Meghann Cook (31:21.974)
Agreed. Agreed, Greg. Well, hey, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. It was great to have you on here, Greg.
Greg Shtrahman (31:26.967)
Thank you, Meghann. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Meghann. I appreciate all your time and look forward to seeing you maybe some NFPA events
Meghann Cook (31:37.944)
Yeah, ConExpo. We’ll meet up at ConExpo,
Greg Shtrahman (31:41.729)
Thank you, Meghann. Have a wonderful weekend. Take care.
Meghann Cook (31:45.376)
I will do that. I will do that. Thanks, Greg.
You too