Co-op Position

The lack of make-up air in a building can cause serious problems. Many times the problems are not even recognized and show themselves in ways that most people do not think about. A properly designed and installed ventilation system provides environmental control by avoiding negative pressure. Uncontrolled infiltration of air through window sashes, doors and

Fluid Engineering was established in 1992 as a technical sales and engineering firm specializing in fluid control. Since its beginning the company has expanded from a single location in Birmingham Alabama to five locations throughout the southeast, providing engineering expertise and industrial equipment to its customers.

Every industry needs fluid control in some form or another, from aerospace to pharmaceuticals, metal fabrication to pulp and paper. Fluid Engineering works with these industries designing and building systems to suit their various fluid handling needs. Whether it’s industrial ventilation, air pollution control, pumping systems, pneumatic conveying or chemical feed and metering, Fluid Engineering will design and install the system in addition to providing all of the necessary equipment through the manufacturers they represent.

Fluid Engineering has been able to grow and thrive as a company because of its driven and knowledgeable sales and application engineers. These individuals rely on their background and experience in various engineering disciplines to accomplish a multitude of different tasks on a daily basis. They have a strong work ethic and are dedicated to serving their customer’s needs in a timely and professional way.

The sales engineer is responsible for developing new business throughout a geographic territory, as well as maintaining and growing business with current accounts. Their first priority is the relationship they create and develop with their customers because they are the face of the company. They travel throughout their territory to contact prospective customers and assess their needs. Additionally, the sales engineer will call on current customers to check on their applications and equipment to ensure that they are working properly, as well as evaluating any new problems or applications the customer may have.

The application engineer uses the information gathered by the sales engineer and customer to start the process of designing the system and components that will be needed for the application. They work closely with manufacturers to ensure the customer is getting the best products to suit their needs while using design software to model and create the application so that it can be presented to the customer in a technical proposal.

Application engineers are also contacted by customers for replacement parts and equipment as well as providing technical expertise when needed.

Sales and application engineers work closely together constantly trading the information they receive from customers and manufacturers while developing the system that the customer requires. Technical proposals will be generated through this interaction and will often be presented to customers by both sales and application engineers because they each have knowledge of different aspects of a project. These engineers need one another because of the tasks that each will need to complete in order to design and sell a safe and effective system.

In a metal fabrication shop where they create titanium components for large industrial valves, an employee is grinding off excess material from a finished component. The process of grinding creates a dust that settles on every open surface which creates a maintenance nightmare as well as a significant hazard to employees because of the explosive nature of titanium dust. The shop manager notices this dust and decides to contact Fluid Engineering to see if there is any way this dust can be safely collected and contained.

Not long after the customer has contacted Fluid Engineering, a sales engineer who is responsible for the territory the shop is located in, will travel to the shop and begin collecting data on many different aspects of the…