Winner
Power & Utilities
Craig Hurlbert put his boyhood dream aside, but he still became a coach as the CEO of Turbine Air Systems Ltd.
Hurlbert, who left his dream of coaching a high school basketball team on the table to join Turbine Air Systems in 2001, has instead turned his coaching vision to the company that designs, manufactures and services high efficiency cooling, heating and power systems. With just a few basic tweaks, Hurlbert, who joined the company at the request of his longtime friend and company founder Tom Pierson, has combined the company’s institutional knowledge and experience in the power generation business with expertise in the HVAC business and packaging know-how to produce a synthesized solutions approach, which brings all solutions to its customers.
Among the unique approaches that have helped place TAS at the pinnacle of the market is the in-house engineering and design department. Along with that, Hurlbert has worked to expand the company’s customer service offerings. In that effort, the company has expanded its business to include chilled water cooling systems, clean heat and power systems, boiler plant heating systems, and industrial refrigeration systems.
And while those advances have helped push business, the re-engineering of the company’s culture has truly made a world of difference. Ever the coach, Hurlbert tips his cap to his people for helping drive a culture that values and respects the contribution of each employee. To help drive that home, TAS has come up with six core values: integrity, safety, customer passion, innovation, teamwork and growth. Hurlbert lives the values daily to help set the tone for his team, and the response is a company where employees feel valued enough to share ideas and show passion. So while he may not be pacing in front of the bench and calling plays, Hurlbert has worked hard to create a group of employees that work as a team.
How to reach: Turbine Air Systems Ltd., (713) 877-8700 or www.tas.com
