Baker Hughes Annual Meeting Q&A with Jonny Macgregor

​​​​​Jonny Macgregor, our Druck Global Technology Leader recently attend the Baker Hughes Annual Meeting in Florence, we managed to catch him for a quick Q&A session about the event -

1) You recently attended the Baker Hughes Annual Meeting in Florence.  It’s been 3 years since the company’s had an in person Annual Meeting, how did you find the event, and have you been before?

I have not been to the event prior to this year’s, so did not really have an idea of what to expect. The event was bigger than I imagined with more people attending than I had anticipated, but what really struck me was the scale of the company in terms of the products and technology.

I found out a lot more about what we did as the wider Baker Hughes business than I knew about previously.  With some really impressive cutting-edge technology on display, I was struck by the overall scope of Baker Hughes.

2)The theme of this year’s Annual Meeting was ‘Balance and Momentum’, what’s your take on how Druck fits into this year’s theme?

This was all about finding the balance to solve the energy trilemma and continuing the momentum with the progress we have made to find solutions to the challenges.

I think this resonates well with Druck – we provide solutions which drive productivity, efficiency and reliability for our customers. We have undertaken some big programs in Druck too and we are making great strides in developing new technologies – whether it be Hydrogen compatible sensors, the next generation Aerospace sensor platform or our calibration instrumentation products.

We have good momentum with these programs and the new products we heave released to our customers over the past few years are going from strength to strength, and ultimately driving productivity, efficiency and reliability in their fields.

3) Druck had some products and technology at the event, can you tell us a little more about them and how well were they perceived by those in attendance?

We had on display our latest product – the DPI610E, a handheld pressure calibrator. It was interesting to see just how many people came up and talked about their experiences with ‘the Druck’ – people from all levels from all sorts of organisations had experiences (all positive!) of using the Druck calibrators, and that was great to see. 

We had several sensors on display – the main one being the TERPS DPS8000 – which supports the Nova LT12 turbine.  With unrivalled levels of accuracy and stability, and now being compatible with Hydrogen, our TERPS technology enables Baker Hughes to improve the fuel efficiency of its turbine.  So it was extremely relevant and a great talking point with customers.  

There was also the Reuter-Stokes flame tracker on display on the same turbine, which is a safety critical device to ensure combustion is taking place as expected.

4) What where your key highlights and takeaways from the event?

My biggest takeaway was the huge role that Baker Hughes and its various technologies have in leading the energy transition.  When you see the scope of our expertise and products in one place, its quite awe-inspiring. 

Similarly, when you see how Druck fits into the wider Baker Hughes portfolio, I better appreciate just how critical our pressure sensor and instrumentation technologies are to the energy transition.

5) Any other comments you’d like to share

Aside from the interactions with the external customers, end users and investors, one of the main things that should not be overlooked is the networking and interaction opportunities between us and the other parts of Baker Hughes – whether it be improving our visibility with the communications and branding teams, or in technical dialogue with other parts of the business, we learnt a lot about various programs and how Druck technology can support.

6) You were presenting at the event; can you tell us a little more about what you covered and give us a little feedback on the experience?

I did two ‘Lightning talks’ (ten-minute technical based presentations – think a Ted talk with a technical sway) entitled ‘Supporting the Globe’s Critical Applications with Baker Hughes’ Sensor Technologies’.

I gave an overview of the technologies that we have across Druck, Panametrics and Reuter-Stokes (Baker Hughes’ sensor businesses), and how we are generating data to allow customers to drive productivity and efficiency within their fields, and of course, how this translates to better outcomes for them.

I personally found it quite inspiring to share with customers, some of whom were unaware of Baker Hughes sensor expertise, just how critical our technology is to some of the world’s most critical applications – from Nuclear Reactors to Oil Rigs, motorsport, Jet fighters and even Homeland Security. The range is huge, and we should be really proud of what we do.