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Hendrick Screen Company’s Custom-Tailored Equipment
H
endrick Screen Company produces fish diversion and water intake screens, airburst cleaning systems, guiderails, bar racks, blank panels, and other equipment of interest to hydro facilities. The company traces its history back more than 140 years and is still family owned today. In this interview, Robert McDole, Hendrick Screen Company’s vice president and general manager, and Cody Veach, the product manager for the water intake and fish diversion markets, tell us about its custombuilt equipment and its commitment to customer service. Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position. Robert McDole: I started in the metals industry in 1978, so I’ve been in metal-related businesses for approximately 43 years. I have been in executive management for approximately 30 years, managing business units for manufacturers and distribution companies. I started with Hendrick 11 years ago. We manufacture metal screens, primarily made out of stainless steel and other exotic alloys with a heavy emphasis on fabrication. As the company’s vice president and general manager, my responsibilities include profit/loss, sales, production, and all other facets of the business.
Hendrick’s main screen types: above, a profile bar screen; below, a resistance-welded screen.
Hydro Leader: Please tell us about the organization, its history, and its geographic range.
Hydro Leader: How is your business divided up between those different markets?
Robert McDole: The Hendrick Company was started in the late 1800s by Eli Hendrick, who was the inventor of the perforating press. His ability to start the new business came with seed money from John D. Rockefeller. The company has maintained the name Hendrick throughout its more than 140 years in business. Today, the company is owned by the Drake family, continuing to be a family-owned business. Hendrick is a worldwide company and ships all over the world, although the majority of our product is sold to customers in North America. There are three divisions within Hendrick. The two manufacturing divisions are Hendrick Manufacturing, which is the largest family-owned perforator in North America, and Hendrick Screen Company. Hendrick
Robert McDole: Although we consider ourselves a leader in the water intake and fish diversion markets, Hendrick continues to focus heavily on these markets due to demand and growth opportunities. Other target markets include the architectural, food and beverage, industrial, and petrochemical markets.
28 | HYDRO LEADER | July/August 2021
Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your fish diversion screens and your water intake and treatment items. Robert McDole: Hendrick offers two basic constructions for our products: resistance welded and a mechanically interlocked screen we refer to as profile bar. Hendrick will work with the customer to provide the best construction method with the best performance for the desired end product. hydroleadermagazine.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF HENDRICK SCREEN COMPANY.
Cody Veach: I started out in fabrication, specifically as a fabricator in the shipbuilding industry. I then moved into the aerospace field, where I was fabricating, machining, and designing heat exchangers. When I came to Hendrick, I spent several years in fabrication and then moved into a sales position in 2014, focusing on the water intake and fish diversion segment.
Architectural is supported by both manufacturing divisions and provides products to the architectural market. The company has approximately 200 employees serving over 25 markets, including the architectural, petrochemical, fish diversion, water intake, sound and enclosures, pulp and paper, mining, agriculture, industrial, filtration, original equipment manufacturer, and distribution markets. Hendrick emphasizes customer service for clients large and small from all over the world. Our motto is, “If you can get it on paper, we can probably do it.” We provide a range of value-added services, including engineering, so that we can be a solutions provider to our customers.
