Dri-Air's Jason Sears carries on family legacy

He was promoted to be a plant manager in Hong Kong back in 1967. He was only 27 years old, and it was him and my mother and my sister at the time. They moved over there for three years and he headed the facility over there making capacitors.  

What got him into making dryers for the plastics industry?  

Sears: You mean, did he wake up one day and say, “Oh, I’d really love to make a dryer”? No, he was working for a company and Dri-Air was a division, and it was not being developed at all. No engineering involved — they were just making the same product day in and day out, primarily for their own manufacturing. He could see the potential in the business. So, he made an offer, and eventually they accepted. He and his partner purchased the company. When [Dri-Air] first started off in 1985, it was my father, his partner and a part-time receptionist, and that was it.  

One thing that my father always told me was that “this is my passion, and if you want to do it, continue [to learn the business].” But if I wanted to go somewhere else or wanted to do something else, I had all of his support.  

My father and I could work in a two-by-two cube and we would never get upset with each other. We were great friends, coworkers, and father and son. My mother also worked at Dri-Air managing finances. So, we were kind of like a three-legged stool. We could always rely upon each other for guidance and for making sure we’re all on the same page and moving forward.  

He was very ethical. He treated the employees, the customers, the vendors [with the attitude that] “we’re all in this together,” and very much a family atmosphere.  

Even with his passing — he passed in 2018 — he set the foundation, a guideline for everybody else to follow.  

What are some of the things you’ve developed for Dri-Air?  

Sears: There’s a lot. The legacy that my father left was a strong foundation. We earned the reputation as the best dryer in the industry, whether it is in performance or efficiency. With that said, we are always trying to develop new products and methods to do what we do even better, faster. Drying and conveying is our business, and we excel at it. We have broadened the product line from the small dryers to large dryers, multiple hoppers, multiple-receiver conveying solutions. Taking our success and applying to bigger applications.  

We’ve always prided ourselves on being U.S. made. In the past, we were bringing a lot of items from outside suppliers. Now, we’ve brought as much as we can in-house to have control over. I think COVID was a prime time where it was evident if your supply chain was or was not solid. We’ve taken that and built upon that to try and make ourselves more self-reliant.  

On top of that, although my background is in chemical engineering, I’ve always been very strong in controls, so I’ve taken the controls in a totally different direction and modernized it for many years to come. I’ve enjoyed that, too.  

I look at it differently than maybe a salesman or some other people would look at it. I’m looking at it from [the viewpoint that] I’m on the floor with someone who’s working on this piece of equipment. What does it really mean? Are these options applicable? I’m focusing on real-life solutions.  

Are you getting into Industry 4.0, process analysis and things like that?  

Sears: Sure. The SmartTouch controls are a great example of Industry 4.0. With protocols such as OPC-UA and Modbus, the platform lends itself to sharing data acquisition and trending of operating parameters. The controls give easy access to the data, but the customer needs to take that data and apply it to what they’re doing. There are plenty of good examples where [using] data-driven diagnostics, they can see where something’s changing and they can pinpoint where the problems are.  

Auxiliary companies are competitive, but you and Maguire collaborated on a dryer/blender system that you showed at NPE. What was that like?  

Sears: They have the most recognizable, the strongest, blender out there. We’ve built and provided a different-style blending system, a volumetric vs. gravimetric. ... When it came to reporting and user interface, the Maguire blender was much better for the application. We consulted with them on some blender questions to ensure proper operation, and then we came up with that design and integrated it into the unit. We took the best of two worlds and put them together. It made sense to do that.  

I think that recognizing where you’re the leader — yeah, we could build this or build that, but if there’s already a product out there that we can use, we certainly would. We’re not to the point where we think that if we build everything, that’s going to be perfect. You have to know where your strengths are.  

What's the next step for Dri-Air?  

Sears: Dri-Air has always been considered the best manufacturer of beside-the-press dryers and small drying systems in the industry. But Dri-Air has much more than that to offer. We have been manufacturing dryers, larger-throughput units and multiple-hopper central systems for many years. With the higher-capacity dryers and hopper banks, we have expanded our capabilities and provide large central conveying systems for a total factory solution from the silo to the press. These products are manufactured with the same performance and attention to detail. We don’t just make small dryers.  

We’re always going to push the envelope. We’re always going to try to make products better. ... Our operations manager is an ex-molder. He used to be one of our customers and listening to him and his insight and input helps us to become better, because someone can suggest some sort of option or whatever, and then he’ll be like, “Yeah, that’s not the way it works in the real world.”  

Our products have been designed due to input from our customers. We’re not trying to create a product and jam it down someone’s throat. We’re actively listening all the time. The product is in continuous improvement.  

How has the plastics industry changed since you got your start? What do you think is coming in the future?  

Sears: Back 30 years ago, there were a lot more automotive customers in the industry. High-volume and high intensity. Everything was always urgent. Something breaks down, you always had to be on your game.  

Automotive molding has been down for some time. The medical industry has only seemed to get better, and our products and quality have always been well-suited for it. Lives are on the line, and you need to be a different level of supplier. There is no room for mistakes or bad-performing equipment. A lot of the medical molders, they may not really consider themselves molders. They’re more of a medical device manufacturer, a medical company that molds their products, so their perspective of things is a little different.  

We’ve always prided ourselves on our customer service, making sure that we can take care of the equipment and the customer. That hasn’t changed. We’re always going to push and make that experience better and better.  

Maintenance people are retiring. You will find that companies are more vulnerable in regards to maintenance. Being their partner in this helps them out tremendously. There’s a continuity here in the product and the people, and understanding that we’re almost a part of their own business because we’re there for them when they need help.  

We’ve added service technicians, so [service agreements] will be something that’s available soon. Before it was more, “just get me the part.” [Now] it’s like, “I don’t have the person here to diagnose the problem, never mind, fix the problem.” They need a supplier that is always there, available to support them. That’s something that the customer is demanding.  

You have to have the people in place to do that, so we’ve been hiring people and bringing on our next generation. We’ve had a team that’s been in place since the beginning, and now we’ve created my team. It’s enjoyable to see the development of the operations, of the people and everything else. Because we’re a small family business, everybody’s an important piece of the puzzle.  

That’s something that we’ve always prided ourselves on. We’re a small company, and it’s inevitable, [a customer will] call up and they’ll get me and I’ll help them out on something. Similar to my father, I never allude to who I am. I’m just a part of Dri-Air and talking to the customer. I’d rather not tell them who I am because I just want them to be taken care of. Not because I’m an engineer or president or whatever, but it’s just important to take care of them.  

What advice would you give a young person who’s thinking about going into plastics?  

Sears: I’ve enjoyed the plastics industry. It’s been part of my blood since I was 15. I think it’s an important industry.  

We’ve sponsored the PlastiVan [SPE’s traveling science program], taking it to local high schools or middle schools and showing people the importance of plastics. It’s not the big bad thing that people may portray it as.  

Plastics is a great area for an up-and-coming person, whether they’re taking the higher education route or going into the trades. There’s a spot for everybody, and I think it’s important that people come into Dri-Air and they look around and like, “Wow, this is a manufacturing facility, but it’s not dirty.” If you look in the plastics industry, there’s a lot of places you can work where it’s similar.  

And if you apply yourself ... we’ve had people from the floor end up in the office. They’ve shown the abilities, they’ve shown their aptitude to learn something different, being more on the planning side vs. the assembly side, and it’s important to be able to show that you’re willing to do that.  

I’ve participated as a mentor in the robotics team over the years, especially when my kids were in high school. The plastics industry and robotics, they come hand in hand. It’s a great gateway into an engineering industry such as plastics.  

How are you involved with the industry at large?  

Sears: There are three pillars of the Plastics Industry Association: processors, material suppliers and equipment. I’m a voting member of the Equipment Council. It’s a council which is all volunteers, and we are representatives of equipment makers in the industry. We go over everything from standards to workforce development.  

I’m on the NPE content committee. Members of that group are more processors and educators, but I think they found that it was important to have some of the [equipment] manufacturers involved with it, too, because we’re all part of this together, and bringing another perspective was important. 

It’s important to be part of the group. Even though there’s competition, there’s a lot of camaraderie even amongst competitors. It gives us all an opportunity to work together as a common industry, and it’s important to make sure that we all really have the industry at heart. Even though we may be competitors, it’s important to work together.  

What do you like to do in your free time?  

Sears: I love to travel, my wife and I. We’re going to do the K show, and while we’re there, it will be our 30th anniversary, so we’re going to visit Paris. We’ve never been there, so we’re trying to take advantage of it while we’re over there.  

I’ve always been a lover of motorcycles. I’ve been riding since I was 9 years old.  

Family’s always important. My two boys are wonderful people, and we get along very well and do a lot of things together.  

Are either of them going to follow you into the business?  

Sears: It’s a similar situation as my father. I said to them, they need to follow what they want. If this is what they’re interested in — and who knows, they may be later on — go do something and come back. They have worked at Dri-Air over the years. We would see what their strengths and interests are and then guide them into what that could look like at Dri-Air. At the end of the day, they’re going to follow what they need to follow. It does nobody any good to try to put that type of responsibility on someone that’s either not ready for it or not interested.  

Does the current trade situation help you, since you’re a domestic manufacturer? Or does it hurt you because of metal and components costing more? 

Sears: We are domestically made and we source as much as we can from around here. Our desiccant towers are made in Ohio. The hoppers are made here in our building and up in Massachusetts. Sheet metal is done in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Circuit boards are made in Torrington, Conn. There are challenges that come with this dedication. You always need to have the best-quality components, so we may need to source items from global suppliers. Solid state relay may come from China and the touch-screen controls are from Japan. Even though you do your best job at sourcing as much as you can domestically, you’re going to pay one way or the other.  

We made it through COVID, and then after a while [a lot of companies] forgot all the pain and suffering we went through and went back to what they were doing before. We had problems with getting hoppers, we had problems with this and that, so every day we are building a strong foundation. At the end of the day, you can only rely upon yourself.  

How would you want to be remembered?   

Sears: Similar to my father. Everybody has fond memories of my father. He was fair, he was ethical, he was nice to everybody. It didn’t matter if you’re the guy sweeping the floor, or a valet parker, or whoever you were, he would always connect with you. And I think that’s something I learned from watching him. It’s being kind, fair, hard-working.  

I think that we’ve surrounded ourselves with those people, employees-wise, and they feel it, too. Retention here is very high. Within the last six months, we had a 37-year employee retire, and a 31-year person retire. Treating people the right way makes them want to stay, feeling that they’re part of something bigger. It’s important.  

A lot of people came in the second generation [of employees] and they’re like, “God, I wish I knew your father.” There’s a picture of him up on the wall from the Plastics Hall of Fame. This place, we created it together, and you know, he’s still here. Now it’s important to remember where he came from, because there’s a reason why we do the things that we do: always remembering our past so that we can focus on the future.