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How innovation has driven Casso-Solar Technologies for over six decades
As Casso-Solar Technologies ( Casso-Solar ) approaches its 65th anniversary , President Derek Burkholder shares some highlights of the company ’ s rich heritage : “ The business was founded in 1960 by Hugo Cahnman , who survived the Holocaust and moved to the US in search of a better life . He had the idea to design and make infrared heaters for industrial processes . Over the next ten-to-15 years the customer base grew to a decent level . Then , customers began requesting more complex equipment such as incorporating our heaters into an oven with controls .
“ At this time , Doug Canfield , Hugo ’ s nephew who would later go on to be President of the company , joined the business . He took over this part of the operation and designed equipment . They began working mostly with the textile industry , as there are many processes that require heating . In the early 1980s and 1990s demand in the textile industry started dropping so we moved into the glass industry , which is still our biggest industry , accounting for around half of our business each year .
“ The thing that differentiates us ,” Derek continues , “ is that instead of offering a standard set of products , we specialize in making more unique , tailored solutions . A customer will come to us and say : ‘ Look , we have this new process we ’ re researching and trying to scale up ’. This kind of challenge excites us . Since no one has done this type of production before , we ’ ll work closely with the customer to design the process , test it in our lab , provide a prototype , and refine it from there .
“ For example , we recently had a company that manufactures wooden siding approach us . They char the outside layer of the wood to make it last longer and were using handheld blowtorches . As such , they wanted a more controlled , electric heating process . We worked with them to develop a specialized solution to meet their unique needs .
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