A Southern Indiana industrial manufacturer has launched a software subsidiary to make its niche technical expertise more accessible.
Heumann Environmental Co. (HEC), based in Jeffersonville, created a subsidiary, Heumann Software Co., to develop a cloud-based software service that empowers customers to design and build cyclones, specialized separation equipment used in many industrial processes and pollution control applications.
The subsidiary's first product, the High Efficiency Cyclone Calculator (HECyclone for short), offers a suite of proprietary software services for companies in the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, ethanol, petroleum, forest products and utility industries, among others, that use reverse flow cyclones to separate particles from gas streams.
CEO Bill Heumann, who founded HEC in 2012, told me cyclones are used around the world in various capacities and are relatively simple to manufacture. The difficult part, however, is predicting the dimensions and geometry needed for each individual project. HEC, which employs about 30 people, has that technical expertise, leading companies from around the world to seek its services.
Recognizing the value lies in the technology process and not the cyclone product itself, Heumann said he's wrestled with determining the best way to get the tech to market, such as licensing agreements. But it was the changes in the global economy, and more recently, issues with the supply chain that sparked the idea for a cloud-based software service model.
"Manufacturing is definitely changing — the issue is that you can't really sell hollow metal goods from Louisville to Australia these days," he said, adding that it could be more cost-effective for companies to manufacturer elsewhere. "It's the technology you have to sell and that's why we were figuring out a way to do so."
Heumann said he's invested a couple hundred thousand into the development of the software service, an initiative directed largely by Neal Heumann. The third-generation employee returned to HEC after working in air classification technology and software development.
Putting a price on its proprietary tech was a challenge, Heumann continued, and the company ultimately decided on a subscription service, where companies can pay a certain amount monthly or annually based on three different levels of service and add-on features.
Through Heumann Software's HECyclone platform, customers can design, validate or build cyclones on their own. Operators can test as many process and design scenarios as desired to determine the best high-efficiency cyclone solution, allowing them to witness the nuanced effects of those changes across their optimal collection range.
The software also employs the same analytical engine used by HEC to size and build cyclones to exacting performance specifications.
"We expect that some of our customers will be companies that are actually competitors in manufacturing," Heumann said. "This is cheaper than acquiring a company or trying to develop the technology on their own."
