The Hytrol Story

That department designed impulse nozzles and impulse bladings for steam turbines. Tom was given the chance to design a small, single-stage, impulse turbine with a 36 inch diameter. This was actually in the experimental stage and the turbines were going to be used on the small Navy ships. With the heat on to get product designed and manufactured, Tom rushed his design through and sent the drawings to the production area without getting the okay from the chief engineer. He didn’t figure the chief engineer would notice anything anyhow because he was more or less a figurehead in the engineering department. Tom promptly forgot about the job and went to work on other projects. One morning not long after, as Tom reported to work, he was called out to the production floor. The shop had been working on Tom’s experimental impulse turbine. The order originally called for three of the units. Tom found himself looking at a hundred of them. But there was a major problem. Tom had designed the impulse blading as though it was for a large diameter, however, this model was only 36 inches in diameter with an 18 inch radius. The steam blew right through. Tom just knew he was in a lot of trouble. But, as luck would have it, the Chief Engineer was sympathetic. He and Tom retired to the office and, after about a week of refiguring and re- designing, found a way to save the project. Tom sent new drawings out to production and didn’t hear any more about those small, single-stage, impulse turbines. . . until some thirty years later. Thirty years later, Hytrol was a successful company. Tom and Rigmor were enjoying the fruits of their many years of hard work at their Florida home. While in Florida, Tom and Rigmor went to lunch with a gentleman and his wife. The man was in the power plant business and he and Tom began discussing how they became involved with their respective businesses. Tom asked the man how he became involved in the power plant industry. The man replied that he had been in the Navy during World War II and was an electrician on small Navy boats. Tom’s eyebrows went up, and he asked the man if they had 36 inch turbine generators on those boats. “Why, yes,” the man replied. “How did they work?” Tom asked. “Beautiful!” The man replied enthusiastically. “It was the quietest turbine I ever had!” That incident was one where Tom became involved deeper into the engineering and mechanics of a device. He learned exactly how it worked and absorbed a lot of extra mechanical knowledge. As he matured as a young draftsman and engineer, he found he picked up on a lot of mechanics faster than his peers around him. He owned a drill press and lathe in his basement and was always building things and tinkering with mechanical devices. Tom was naturally curious about machinery and always wanted to know exactly how everything worked.