Change is a constant element in Frank Pulaski’s career, and he looks to it as a valuable learning experience that has helped him transition between industries. After spending the past 3 years as the business development manager for Danfoss (Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.), a components, controls, compressors, and systems supplier for air-conditioning and refrigeration, Pulaski has been appointed as director of Commercial Refrigeration, and is now responsible for managing the sales and marketing team.
“The most valuable learning experience in my career is understanding and adapting to change; specifically transitioning between industries,” he tells APPLIANCE. “The key is that all customers are looking to buy something that provides value to them, and that each market segment and customer values a product or solution differently. Focus on the value for that segment or customer with a whole product solution and communicate that well.”
He currently sees the marketplace as making changes. “The marketplace we are in is on the verge of significant change—energy regulation, food safety, environmental challenges, global manufacturing, and the technical and logistic challenges that that presents,” he says. “I’m excited about working for Danfoss—a company that is global, provides a full set of refrigeration products and systems that harness technology to solve refrigeration problems responsibly.”
In addressing the issues that will come up with the changes in the industry Pulaski will turn to his participatory management style. “We have an excellent team here and my job is to verbalize and frame the direction, and then help to remove the roadblocks that are placed in the path of achieving those objectives,” he says.
The changes that have occurred throughout the years have proved to have their benefits. “The most rewarding experience has been the ability to take the experiences I have had in multiple industries, apply the best practices from each into the new industry, while continuing to learn the new industry and company strengths,” Pulaski notes.
Facing challenges is one element that does not change when experiencing diverse work environments and industries. Pulaski notes that there was an interesting issue with product development of the Condensing Unit line for North America and manufacturing it in another region. “Danfoss has a product built in Germany that is designed for the proper voltages for the North American market where the physical dimensions are the same as the European market,” he says. “This is ideally suited for the OEM serving the multinational market as it minimizes changes to their product when applied globally. The challenge for the North American market was that it was not typically sized for the OEM product designed in North America—and the lead-time was complicated by the time it takes to ship from Europe.”
Danfoss created a team consisting of representatives from every dimension of the product life cycle to conduct market studies and develop a business case. In the end, the company found it needed to create a product that met the market requirements and it has resulted in good market share growth. A few of the differences include a 110°F (43°C) ambient product line for the wholesale market in the South and Southeast, a 120°F (49°C) product for the air drier market, and an evaporative drain pan for the display case market that removes double the moisture of traditional designs to address the requirements of the “open” display case.
When he is not in the office, Pulaski enjoys tennis, sailing, volleyball, and volunteers for charitable organizations.