By Ann Donnelly
Erbessd Instruments has become a global leader in a highly specialized field: machine health monitoring. The company develops and manufactures a prescriptive analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and wireless sensor technology to help customers understand their machines’ health.
“They can predict if there is going to be some kind of outage and take action, rather than just wait for a failure to occur, “ says Chairman and CEO Dr. M. David Howard, who started in the industry as a journeyman aircraft maintenances specialist in the United States Air Force.
President and Founder Dr. Thierry Erbessd, based in Mexico, worked in the first iteration of the business his father started 35 years ago and went out on his own 15 years ago. Then, eight years ago, Howard partnered with Dr. Erbessd to bring that vision to the U.S., .and other English-speaking markets.
Megh McCane-Howard, Howard’s wife, also came on board. The couple, originally from South Glens Falls, decided to base all but the Spanish-speaking operations in this area. First working from the basement of their home, they tried offices in a few other locations until three years ago, when they took over and refurbished 19 Exchange St. in Glens Falls.
The company has customers in nearly every country and works with 145 distributors and partners worldwide. It has approximately 140 employees working between Glens Falls, two locations in Mexico, a European office in the United Kingdom, and a facility in India added last year.
The company’s agility is a crucial factor in its success. As Dr. Howard explains, “We are incredibly flat as an organization. There are five of us that make a decision, only five shareholders.” This streamlined structure allows for swift decision-making and innovation, a stark contrast to larger corporations.
Dr. Howard continues, “And we deliver results for our customers. Last year, one customer invested about $100,000 in our equipment and saved over $4 million on lost production or bad quality products.”
Improving their clients’ machine efficiency also means they contribute to a greener future by reducing energy consumption. “It is important for us that what we are doing isn’t just good for our company, but it’s good for the environment and the whole world.”
Their production facilities, including machining centers and very heavy equipment, are 100 percent solar.
The company’s commitment to Glens Falls goes beyond its location. This month, they will bring in 30 different distributors from around the world. “They are all staying at The Queensbury Hotel and will train there for two days. Davidson Brothers is hosting a dinner for them upstairs. We’ll provide them with maps of interesting things to do in the area. By this point, most of them know their way up to Lake George. In the summertime, some schedule their visits around the Saratoga Race Course season,” says McCane-Howard, chief marketing officer, who recently earned a bachelor of science in human resources and labor relations from Penn State University. “We have employees in Mexico who have a favorite restaurant in Glens Falls. That’s the kind of footprint we’re trying to build here in the middle of downtown.”
Seeing the operation’s success in Glens Falls, McCane-Howard notes that they will likely build on top of the existing building to house their sales team and continue contributing to the local economy by hiring additional staff. “We are pretty much maxed out with the space we have now, she said.”
They are also committed to fostering the area’s next generation of engineers through partnerships with STEM programs and local robotics clubs.
“We always say we want to be the Google or the Tesla of our industry,” Dr. Howard said.
The company prides itself on constantly pushing boundaries and developing new products faster than competitors. “We have some very lofty goals from a product development perspective that I know we will achieve. It’s just a matter of time.”
To learn more about Erbessd Instruments, visit their website: https://www.erbessd-instruments.com/