AFT hires, and listens to, young engineers

Colorado Springs, Colo. USA, May 23, 2019 -- When Applied Flow Technology (AFT) began in Trey’s Ohio basement in 1993, he had never managed a group of employees. It’s not easy. And it is even more difficult as 25 years pass and the age gap between seasoned employees and younger hires becomes more diverse. 

For many of the early years, the company had 2 employees. Then they grew to 5 employees and stayed at this number for several more years. When the youngest of the team turned 40 years old, it was a philosophical wake-up call. Trey knew if the company wasn’t careful, they would age themselves out, “We had to start thinking long-term and hire younger.”

And he did. He strategically began to hire younger engineers and support staff. It has worked well for him so far, “I value all our young engineers. We teach them things, and they teach us right back. They help keep us going.”

He explains, “This latest round of AFT Fathom 10, AFT Arrow 7, and AFT Impulse 7 has, by far, had the biggest influence from our younger engineers. A great example is the Excel Export Manager. Scott Lang and Abby Zimmerman came in and let us know they had some ideas, critiqued what we had done, and suddenly, we were changing it for the better. They understand what they like and don’t like about software and their feedback helps us ensure our products are meeting the needs of younger users.”

AFT is about to expand its team with even more young engineers. The first of four new engineers to be hired are:

Devin Rorabaugh

Born and raised in Florida, Devin comes to Applied Flow Technology after working as a Process Engineer. He was an end-user of AFT software and used it for the design and analysis of various Gas Turbine piping systems. Devin holds a B.S. Mechanical Engineering and a  Minor in Computer Science from the University of Central Florida. At the moment, Devin is working as an Applications Engineer. However,  he will soon transition to the AFT development team where he will be an integral part of creating AFT’s hydraulic flow software.

 Walt Prentice

Walt is a Colorado native and a recent graduate of Colorado School of Mines with a B.S. Chemical Engineering and a Minor in Business  Economics. Walt will be wearing multiple hats within AFT as he works with customers to maintain their Support, Upgrade, Maintenance (SUM) Subscriptions, technical writing, and various customer relationship management roles. Chances are good that if you call AFT, you  might speak with Walt.

With 19-20 employees, 38 International Channel Partners, a larger office in Colorado Springs, and a portfolio of solid products and add-on modules on the market; AFT is not the small company in an Ohio basement anymore. Thanks to the company’s expanded bandwidth and having younger people in place to keep up with technology trends, AFT has extended its reach past what Trey ever thought was possible.

Recently, Trey was interviewed by Pumps & Systems Magazine. Read how Trey is hiring millennials and how AFT opened the lines of communication for various age groups.