Duane Oxley
Moon Unit
I thought I'd post my response to the 6 questions I was sent here:
1. Introductions and resume. (please keep it short)
I entered this industry in 1981, when, working as a sales man for a computer company, I was referred to a carpet service company named, “Treat Your Feet, Inc.”, that also had an equipment and chemical supply division. Instead of me selling them a computer, the owner, Jim Giles, saw something in me he liked, convinced me to work for his company and put me in charge of sales of truck mounts and chemicals. My other duties included writing all training manuals for the dye seminars we taught (I taught color theory originally, then branched out to teaching the entire seminar) and owners manuals for equipment we sold. I traveled nationally in that capacity for about 6 years, until the company was sold and reformed in to a new company with the same products. I stayed with that company for about 8 months, then left and went to work in Dalton, GA. for a dye supplier. I stayed with that company for about 6 months, then returned to Atlanta and got into carpet care myself.
My carpet care company grew to 4 trucks in the 8 years we were in business. We serviced mainly apartments. We offered all services necessary to prolong the life of carpet and I continued to teach carpet dye seminars as a sideline and added carpet repair seminars as well.
After 8 years of carpet care, I burned out and decided to try my hand at truck mount design, when one of my friends who is very mechanically inclined urged me to. By then (1996), after working for a truck mount manufacturer, seeing many designs nationally and using them personally for 8 years, I felt that I had a good basis to know what worked and what didn’t, and felt that my perspective as a cleaner myself gave me an advantage over other manufacturers, because I knew first- hand what cleaners want- simplicity, small package and plenty of heat.
2. What makes your machines unique in the marketplace?
They’re built from the perspective of making them easy to work on. My basic design philosophy is that I build them for me to be able to work on them easily, since so many of our owners are local and I actually do, do the work on them.
In addition, they generate more heat than the vast majority of systems available today. And they always, since day 1, have been.
3. What mistakes have you learned from?
I could write an essay on this. But in general, I’ve learned to over- build. In other words, systems I design are constructed from materials that are more durable than necessary. Also, keeping electronics as simple as possible. These things I’ve learned from building systems with “just enough” material to do the job and with esoteric electronics, both of which were short- sighted at the time.
4. Where do you see TM design ten years from now?
Smaller system footprints for one. With the push for better fuel economy, smaller vans will be more common. And with smaller vans, space will be at a premium, even more than it is in s standard- sized van.
More efficient vacuum for another. With the current trend of starving the airflow of the blower in most systems to gain more heat, vacuum is being compromised. But as heat exchange technology becomes more efficient, such starvation will be less necessary.
I also see Hydrogen becoming a common factor in the years to come. Not only does it burn cleaner and is renewable, but it burns much hotter than gasoline.
5. Why don't more manufacturers make 150 + recovery tanks and eliminate the need for expensive and troublesome APO units?
Because the trend is smaller, to more efficient use of space and better fuel economy. Besides, APO units don’t need to be complicated, expensive or troublesome. We’ve been building them for years that aren’t.
6. Have recent economic trends changed your direction or emphasis from very large and powerful truck mounts to units that are adequate in heat and vacuum for most cleaners needs?
My emphasis has never been to “very large” systems. I know that the vast majority of carpet care people want more space- not less. And They want high heat levels. Those are the kinds of systems I’ve designed since “Day 1”. And I’ve never faltered from that approach.
1. Introductions and resume. (please keep it short)
I entered this industry in 1981, when, working as a sales man for a computer company, I was referred to a carpet service company named, “Treat Your Feet, Inc.”, that also had an equipment and chemical supply division. Instead of me selling them a computer, the owner, Jim Giles, saw something in me he liked, convinced me to work for his company and put me in charge of sales of truck mounts and chemicals. My other duties included writing all training manuals for the dye seminars we taught (I taught color theory originally, then branched out to teaching the entire seminar) and owners manuals for equipment we sold. I traveled nationally in that capacity for about 6 years, until the company was sold and reformed in to a new company with the same products. I stayed with that company for about 8 months, then left and went to work in Dalton, GA. for a dye supplier. I stayed with that company for about 6 months, then returned to Atlanta and got into carpet care myself.
My carpet care company grew to 4 trucks in the 8 years we were in business. We serviced mainly apartments. We offered all services necessary to prolong the life of carpet and I continued to teach carpet dye seminars as a sideline and added carpet repair seminars as well.
After 8 years of carpet care, I burned out and decided to try my hand at truck mount design, when one of my friends who is very mechanically inclined urged me to. By then (1996), after working for a truck mount manufacturer, seeing many designs nationally and using them personally for 8 years, I felt that I had a good basis to know what worked and what didn’t, and felt that my perspective as a cleaner myself gave me an advantage over other manufacturers, because I knew first- hand what cleaners want- simplicity, small package and plenty of heat.
2. What makes your machines unique in the marketplace?
They’re built from the perspective of making them easy to work on. My basic design philosophy is that I build them for me to be able to work on them easily, since so many of our owners are local and I actually do, do the work on them.
In addition, they generate more heat than the vast majority of systems available today. And they always, since day 1, have been.
3. What mistakes have you learned from?
I could write an essay on this. But in general, I’ve learned to over- build. In other words, systems I design are constructed from materials that are more durable than necessary. Also, keeping electronics as simple as possible. These things I’ve learned from building systems with “just enough” material to do the job and with esoteric electronics, both of which were short- sighted at the time.
4. Where do you see TM design ten years from now?
Smaller system footprints for one. With the push for better fuel economy, smaller vans will be more common. And with smaller vans, space will be at a premium, even more than it is in s standard- sized van.
More efficient vacuum for another. With the current trend of starving the airflow of the blower in most systems to gain more heat, vacuum is being compromised. But as heat exchange technology becomes more efficient, such starvation will be less necessary.
I also see Hydrogen becoming a common factor in the years to come. Not only does it burn cleaner and is renewable, but it burns much hotter than gasoline.
5. Why don't more manufacturers make 150 + recovery tanks and eliminate the need for expensive and troublesome APO units?
Because the trend is smaller, to more efficient use of space and better fuel economy. Besides, APO units don’t need to be complicated, expensive or troublesome. We’ve been building them for years that aren’t.
6. Have recent economic trends changed your direction or emphasis from very large and powerful truck mounts to units that are adequate in heat and vacuum for most cleaners needs?
My emphasis has never been to “very large” systems. I know that the vast majority of carpet care people want more space- not less. And They want high heat levels. Those are the kinds of systems I’ve designed since “Day 1”. And I’ve never faltered from that approach.
