Ryan Kraus

Ryan Kraus has proven to be a great asset in his performance of service to Valin Corporation, specifically to Valin Thermal Solutions and Automation as well as heat trace. He has exemplified his role as a process heat specialist and is very focused on delivering results through listening to his customers. Ryan always provides the needed and necessary process heat information to help customers even if it is a very creative out of the box idea.

Ryan’s professionalism is consistent during training and tireless in support of the entire Houston team when answering questions regarding process heat applications and solutions. Ryan regularly takes time to share his unique experiences with process heat applications to help others understand each customer’s distinct application requirements. Even though Ryan’s role has evolved, and he is out of the office more, he is always available when the team has specific application questions.

Ryan is never too busy to answer a question from the Houston customer service team, whether he is in the office or not. Ryan does not just provide the final answer. He takes the time to explain the process, the math, and the reasoning behind the selection of a certain product or product configuration. He also provides questions to ask the customer so that the Customer Service Representative (CSR) can understand the process better and know how to probe for information the next time a similar situation occurs. He follows up with the CSR, to make sure there are no further questions and that the customer was satisfied even if the customer is not assigned to him. Ryan also assists with training assignments. He is willing to answer application questions and double-check design drawings and calculations. If the math is incorrect or the drawing is not quite right, he will explain where the deviation occurred and how to fix it. Ryan does an excellent job of empowering those around him to provide better customer service through knowledge.

At a recent training session, two separate people asked Ryan similar questions. Rather than telling the second person to ask the first what he said, Ryan started from the beginning and explained what he would do with a similar application, what questions to ask the customer for clarification, and how to frame the proposal to the customer.

The following scenario is just one example of what happens almost daily with customers. A customer called with a problem on a control panel he had purchased from Thermal Solutions of Texas over 10 years ago. Ryan spoke with the customer and systematically went through the controller and found no issues. He asked the customer to face time him so that he could see the control panel wiring and again found no problems. They finally looked at the heater and found the problem. It was a $200 sale, but the customer felt like a $200,000 customer all because of how Ryan handled the situation. The customer was highly complementary and thanked him for his efforts. The entire interaction was only 20 minutes, but that is Ryan. “He’s just the best.”

In addition to Ryan’s helpfulness to others, he pursues the mission of the Gulf Coast Process Heat team to “sell uptime” by offering customers the opportunity to buy replacement heaters before their existing heaters fail. Ryan worked an opportunity at a key account for over a year. He overcame numerous hurdles with credit, original design issues from the customer, vendor questions, and push back on lead times as well as other competitors. Ryan’s dedication and desire to succeed resulted in booking over a million-dollar order with the customer for seven different heaters.

Ryan also won a second million-dollar order for one heater at an acrylic acid plant. The heater in place had numerous elements out. Ryan kept in constant contact with the customer contending with competitors that were offering significantly lower pricing. Ryan’s diligence, knowledge of process heaters, and a can-do attitude won this order.

Ryan Kraus is the type of person anyone would want on their team. His integrity, strong work ethic, genuine helpfulness, and humbleness are rarely found in one person, but Ryan consistently displays these traits daily. Ryan is a fantastic resource and goes out of his way to share his expertise. We are thankful he is part of the Valin Houston Team.