How Air Products is leveraging relationships to build strength and agility in the chemical manufacturing industry
How
Air Products is leveraging relationships to build strength and agility in the chemical manufacturing industry
Craig Thornton, Director of Sourcing Strategies & Procurement, on the supply chain strategies behind the company’s growth, innovation and manufacturing excellence.
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Founded in 1940, Air Products has built a reputation operational excellence and commitment to
he company is a global leader in industrial gases serving customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing and food. Owning and operating some of the world's largest industrial gas and carbon-capture projects, Air Products supplies world-scale clean hydrogen for global transportation, industrial markets and the broader energy transition.
Joining us today is Craig Thornton, Director of Sourcing Strategies & Procurement at Air Products, who works primarily with Rotoflow and Gardner Cryogenics – two Air Products businesses and industry leaders in the fields of turbomachinery and cryogenics, respectively.
To begin, Craig provides an insight into Rotoflow’s supply
chain strategy – which focuses on the importance of relationship building.
“Looking specifically at Rotoflow, we’ve aimed to develop mutually beneficial relationships with our suppliers,” says Craig. “And we’re doing that by taking a closer look at the partnerships we have built at Air Products overall. There are key commodities that overlap within the different groups, and we want to provide opportunities for our supply chain partners to serve multiple areas of the business.
“So we’ve been looking at the different markets we’re in to identify suppliers in other divisions that could help us and in doing so, we’ve been able to strengthen our sourcing strategy. By leveraging the overall Air Products brand, we’ve been able to pull in our industry knowledge, and then reach out to many of our established suppliers. This has been very beneficial from a partnership perspective, because
reputation for its innovative culture, to safety and the environment.
they understand that we’re looking to progress, and they want to move forward with us.”
When looking for suppliers outside of the Air Products’ umbrella, the company’s priority is making the process as straightforward as possible for potential partners.
“We have dramatically evolved our supplier selection process,” says Craig. “It was originally a very long and arduous process, but we’ve been
able to tailor it to be more agile and efficient. We would go through many different phases of due diligence and qualification, but now we’re trying to scale it based on the complexity of the supplier’s capabilities.
“We make sure to put the right focus on our selection process to make things simpler for our suppliers. Taking information and getting back to potential suppliers does not work in today's day and age. The foundation of this new approach is agility – and
that’s really helped us specifically in establishing a really strong supply chain base.”
But it’s not just the company’s supplier selection process that has evolved – the company has also developed its sourcing strategy, significantly improving lead times and its service capabilities.
“We are resolved to be excellent in what we do every day”
Craig Thornton, Director of Sourcing Strategies & Procurement
“One of the best things we ever did in developing our sourcing strategy was looking not only with a nationwide focus, but also having a more localised focus,” says Craig. “We’ve been very successful in ensuring we have a strong supply chain that can support us locally – both within the US and abroad.
“We value having an international reach, but we need to make sure we have the right types of suppliers, being able to support our sites within hours, not days. This is a strategy that we’ve developed over time by using stakeholder feedback.
“In order to achieve that, our supply chain has shifted to prioritise both the internal and the external, sourcing feedback in all areas to develop our strategy further. It’s great to be able to leverage these large companies we’re dealing with, but that’s not going to help when we’re working from an isolated location.
“We needed to ask ourselves how we could service these locations better, and what suppliers in those more remote regions we could work with. This has not only made a huge
“One of the great things Circle Valve has been able to do is looking at some of our specific applications as a strategic supplier”
difference to the responsiveness of our operations, but helped us develop close relationships with local suppliers. We’ve been able to tailor that approach over the last couple of years, and it’s enabled strength and agility for all of our corresponding sites.”
However, this combination of strength and agility only exists because of Air Products’ commitment to excellence.
“We are resolved to be excellent in what we do every day,” says Craig. “We have strong foundational groups looking at process efficiencies and excellence in manufacturing. Here, we’re looking at what our existing processes are and how they work together, while developing an understanding of what we can do better. For instance, can we put ourselves in a better place by looking at specific automation process efficiencies?
“To do this, we look outwards, to our key suppliers. When we have our
relationship discussions, which we typically do quarterly, we ask them what they’re working on that can benefit us both, and if we’re doing something that can help them. This has opened the door to us building partnerships, as opposed to transactional relationships
“We've been able to turn around and leverage our suppliers and they have leveraged us. What are we doing that maybe could help our partners become more efficient in their processes? Is it relative to any type of specifications, technical drawings or processes –whatever we can do to make life easier for our partners, we will consider how we can support them.
“In doing so, we’ve been able to cut down our lead times, increase our productivity and take a closer look at specific areas of innovation. We’re always trying to embrace our suppliers’ capabilities by looking at them internally and seeing the areas of growth we can best facilitate alongside them – for us and for them.”
One such partner has been industrial valve manufacturer Circle Valve.
“We utilise Circle Valve specifically in our Gardner Cryogenics division,” says Craig. “This division handles all of our transport for our liquid hydrogen and helium. As the world’s leading supplier of large liquid helium storage vessels, we needed to build a reliable partnership.
“One of the great things Circle Valve has been able to do is looking at some of our specific applications as a strategic
supplier to ascertain the efficiencies they’re able to provide,” says Craig. “It’s been a very strong collaboration because they’ve always valued open communication and feedback.
“Some suppliers can be complacent in the sense that they will just sell what they sell, but Circle Valve is always coming to us with new innovations and clearly explaining how these innovations can benefit us specifically. They understand us deeply, and we understand them. That’s what I’d categorise as a true partnership.”
With such strong partnerships behind them, Air Products is looking at an exciting future. Its next focus? Deploying sustainable initiatives.
related technology,” says Craig. “However, our long-term goal is to continue to drive the energy transition through clean hydrogen.
“It’s all about seeing where we can build, how our machinery can be more efficient and how we can be more agile to see results quicker. This sustainable development is hitting different sections of the company all at once, and it’s incredibly exciting because we’re all part of it in one way or the other.
“Rotoflow’s turbomachinery in particular has been a huge part of that drive, and it’s certainly going to be our continued focus, particularly as Rotoflow creates the parts that make a lot of these things work. Innovation is mission critical. It is a very exciting time to be a part of where we are heading relative to energy efficiency and clean energy, especially in the hydrogen market.”
And the company’s growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
“As an overall company, we’re moving at a strong pace and from a Rotoflow perspective, we’re continuing to evolve,” says Craig. “We are always continuing to grow the business and looking at various opportunities to do so. So if there’s anything to celebrate, it’s our strong growth mindset.”
“As a company, our current focus is looking at our industrial gas business, and how we can enhance that with
Learn more about Air Products at airproducts.com.
ADDED VALUE
Different perspectives
“I’m constantly looking at what different markets hold,” says Craig. “I’ve been a career-long member of the Institute for Supply Management, and there are some incredible leaders within that organisation with insights that can transform the way you do business.
“I always like to see different ways of handling situations. You get to see so many different businesses and professionals with different perspectives on things, and I think it’s so useful for my own progression to understand these different strategies and where they come from.
“A great insight into these different perspectives for me is the annual Turbo Expo, which takes place in Houston. We attend every year, meeting different industries and doing panels with various leaders. To me, that’s one of the best ways to get your information is engage our peers and partners.”
Learning from family
“I feel so lucky to have the life that I do,” reflects Craig. “It’s easy to get hung up on having the right balance of business and personal, but for me it’s all about the people I’m surrounded by – both my incredible work family and my wife and family.
“I have a 16-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter. They’re phenomenal, and the primary focus of my life. I wish I could say that I have all the answers, but they’ve taught me so much in becoming a better person. They’re just tremendous.”
The importance of staying active
“I played college football at Georgetown University, and am an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan,” says Craig. “My entire family have been Eagles fans for as long as I can remember – we all have season tickets, and we go to as many games as often as we can.
“There can be a lot of love and a lot of hate that comes from following football, but for me it all comes down to a passion for sports. I coached youth football for over 20 years. I did stop once my son was old enough to not want his Dad coaching him anymore, but I’m still involved.
“We’ve always encouraged our children to be involved in sports – my daughter has been very into volleyball, which has been great to see. It’s so important to have that involvement with sports, because it’s foundational stuff and you can learn a lot.”
Connect with Craig