JASC’s Schuyler McElrath was recently interviewed for Energy Power News Las Vegas 2015. Below is the article from that interview.
Schuyler V. McElrath joined JASC in 2004 after 25 years of employment at the GE Energy gas turbine manufacturing facility in Greenville South Carolina. During his tenure at GE, he worked in quality as turbine test operator, test technician, technical specialist, and operations leader for accessory base manufacturing and test. During the last decade of McElrath’s employment with GE, he moved to global sourcing as a sourcing quality engineer where, as the program manager, responsibilities included outsourcing the manufacturing/test of frame 6B and frame 7EA accessory skids. Resolution of fleet issues for both component and system failures were also within the scope of this assignment. The knowledge gained from these challenging roles coupled with JASC’s design acumen has allowed the development of products that set the industry standard for gas turbine liquid fuel system reliability.
Q: Please start by telling us a bit about the company, a brief history of JASC and an overview of your business today.
A: Jansen’s Aircraft Systems Controls (JASC) was founded in 1990 by Harvey Jansen, who had over 50 years of engineering experience in fluid control systems. JASC provides practical engineering solutions for aerospace, space and gas turbine industries as well as providing installation services for power generation facilities.
Q: Please tell us about the company’s products.
A: For the power generation industry, JASC specializes in the design and manufacture of products that enhance the reliability of back-up liquid fuel systems. One of our most significant innovations is the actively cooled valve design. It comes in the form of either a check valve or three-way purge valve. These components have become the foundation for resolving a multitude of issues that have negatively affected back-up liquid fuel system operational capability and reliability for decades. Benefits of actively cooled valves include, but are not limited to, natural gas to liquid fuel transfer success rates approaching 100 percent, no maintenance or service for the fuel system hardware until major turbine outage intervals are reached, and the avoidance of multiple start attempts on liquid fuel. Improved reliability for fuel system components such as flow dividers, fuel pumps, and fuel nozzles have also been achieved. Enhancing gas turbine fuel flexibility with actively cooled valve designs is a simple, inexpensive, yet elegant approach for addressing back-up liquid fuel system reliability.
Q: What would you say makes your business unique?
A: All of JASC’s products were created as a direct result of resolving our valued customers’ field issues. Our in-depth analysis of both hardware and systems has yielded many design innovations that were patentable. Consequently, our unique turbine fuel system expertise allows us to support our customers in a manner that exceeds that of the typical supplier.
