Manufacturing is Everywhere
Seeing a product that is commonly used in manufacturing facilities in an unexpected location made me realize that manufacturing, the industry I write about, affects everything we do—including our vacations.
Please excuse the grainy photo I tried to quickly snap in the airport with my iPhone.
If you look closely, you can just make out the Big Ass Fans logo.
On a recent trip to Costa Rica, I was surprised to see a Big Ass Fan above the baggage claim area at the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia. What caught my attention about this particular fan is the fact that I’ve noticed the company’s ads placed across the pages of Modern Machine Shop throughout the years. While I’ve seen these fans at tradeshows, I’ve never been able to see one used in an actual application until now. It was also cool to see something that, in my mind, belongs in a manufacturing environment used in an entirely different setting. Although I wasn’t surrounded by CNC machines and factory equipment, the fan did a good job of keeping me cool in the non-air-conditioned airport in a hot, humid country. This sighting might seem incidental, yet for me it was another example of how manufacturing and the products that support the industry improve our everyday lives.
