Our Valve Person of the Week is Chance Russo with Max-Air Technologies & SESTO Valves! With over a decade in the industry, listen to what Chance has to share!
Q. How did you get started working in the industry?
Chance: After the birth of my first child in 1997, I was living in Mexico, and I desperately needed a job. I had an old friend from school tell me about applying at Cameron Valves in Liberty, TX. I was given a shot, started in the warehouse and worked my way into assembly/testing and then eventually into the valve repair department. This not only introduced me to valves for the first time, but taught me how to also be self-sufficient. I will be forever thankful for the opportunity that was given to me at Cameron.
Q. What is your favorite part of your job? What are you most proud of?
Chance: My favorite part of the job is when I am able to field a call from an engineer that has a problem and needs an innovative solution. This absolutely gets my adrenaline pumping! I have been very fortunate to have met many really talented valve experts over the years with whom I collaborate to come up with a solution, or at the very least, point them in the right direction.
I am probably most proud of the honor to have been asked to be a Sessions Chair for the recent Valve World Americas Expo for technical sessions – which was entirely in Spanish for the first time ever! I love learning everything I can about valves and giving back through teaching. It was a very exciting opportunity to be part of Valve World and sharing such great topics and training to people from Latin America.
Q. What advice would you give to someone new in the industry?
Chance: First of all, congratulations, you are now part of the greatest industry in the world: VALVES!!! This is a career like no other! There is always something different to learn and problems that require solutions every single day. My best advice would be to learn everything you can from every source possible. No matter what your position is, remember, you work in customer service, and your job makes an impact for the customer.
Q. Can you tell us about a cool project you’ve worked on?
Chance: There have been so many, but I guess I would have to say one of the coolest projects that I worked on was with BP and FMC Technip on an urgent project for Class 2500 Trunnion Mounted 3-Way ball valves that were needed for chemical well injection on an offshore platform. They were having issues with a design and we had to work together with them to conduct a Proof of Design test for Trunnion Mounted 3-Way Ball Valves. Not only did our design work, but having worked closely with the BP Valve Engineer was an unforgettable experience. I learned something from him every single day.
Thank you, Chance, for all the awesome work you do day in and day out! We look forward to keeping up with you through the #ValveTalk Community!
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