For more than three decades, CompressAir’s served countless Region businesses with the tools and machinery necessary to keep their factories, farms, and other facilities operational. It is a challenging task – and one that requires an expert team of service technicians such as Rod Yoder to make possible.
Yoder, based out of CompressAir’s Elkhart branch, is a 29 year veteran of the compressor industry. He works on all makes and models, which power industries ranging from automotive, pharmaceutical, agricultural, beverage, and many more,
“Most people don’t realize that compressed air is the fourth utility,” Yoder said. “If a manufacturer doesn’t have electric, gas, water, and compressed air, they can’t manufacture their products.”
Compressors are complex machines, that require regular maintenance and carefully monitored environments. If they are not taken care of properly their efficiency can drop and increase costs, or in a worst case scenario, they can totally fail and leave a business out of commission until someone like Yoder arrives on the scene.
“There’s nothing better than working with customers, especially when they’ve had an emergency that’s shut down production,” he said. “The smile on their face when you get them back up and running makes you feel like a superhero. It’s just a great feeling when you’re able to resolve that situation for someone.”
Yoder notes, however, that technicians need to be careful not to get caught up in the moment.
“If you’re not feeling well about what you’re doing, you need to take a step back and think,” he said. “You need to make sure you’re doing everything right, because you need to get the repair right the first time, otherwise they might have another shut down soon after.”
The average day on the job is typically less dramatic for Yoder, as he spends most of them making sure those emergencies never happen in the first place.
“Most days I’m doing preventative maintenance services,” he said. “But even now, I’m always learning something new.”
Yoder noted that being a good technician is about more than being able to simply follow instructions or standard solutions – you really need to understand the machines.
“The first thing you need is a good sense of basic electrical background and variable drives,” he said. “You really want to understand how an air compressor actually makes air. There are many different types of compressors, and they all make their air a little differently.”
Before he started at CompressAir, the veteran had worked at several different companies –but believes he’s found himself a home.
“Out of all the compressor companies I’ve worked at, this one is the most laid back and organized,” he said. “Having a good management team and good co-workers makes for a really easy working environment. We enjoy joking around and playing jokes on each other, it’s just a fun place to be.”
In his time off, Yoder enjoys motorcycling riding, spending time with his family outdoors, and working on his family farm. He also has done 4-H activities with his kids and looks forward to doing them with his grandkids as well.
To learn more about CompressAir, visit www.compressair.net
