07/31/2013
Spotlight on Hose Safety Institute Advisory Council Member Titus Jumper, National Sales Manager for Campbell Fittings and Chair of the NAHAD Standards Committee
As National Sales Manager for Campbell Fittings, Inc., Titus Jumper is responsible for the development, management and implementation of the overall product line sales strategy, supervising the company’s sales department. He came to Campbell Fittings with experience in sales and accounting and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from West Chester University. Mr. Jumper also serves as chair of the NAHAD Standards Committee and serves on the Hose Safety Institute Advisory Council.
NAHAD: Tell me about Campbell Fittings.
Titus Jumper: Campbell Fittings is a manufacturer of industrial hose fittings, couplings, ferrules and sleeves. We’re a leader in hose systems technology, and we focus on innovative engineering and safety.
About 15 years ago, we coined the term “Crimpnology,” and that system has changed how our industry fabricates industrial hoses for air, water, steam, gas chemicals and multipurpose applications. Hydraulics have always had a system in place – the Society of Automotive Engineers was their guide when it came to coupling or fabricating hydraulic hoses. But we saw a need on the industrial side for better reliability, better standards, so we have bridged the gap between ourselves and hose manufacturers and have worked closely with them in developing our crimping system. It allows our distributors to put together hoses based around very engineered procedures to get to repeatable, measurable and performance-driven crimp specifications. Campbell Crimpnology is the most comprehensive hose attachment system that our industry has ever seen.
NAHAD: What’s new at Campbell?
Jumper: Even just 10 years ago crimping options were somewhat limited, so we continue to advance the size range that we have, from a half inch all the way up to 12-inch industrial couplings to be crimped. That’s our main focus, to advance our product line and expand our offerings in sizing.
As far as new products, we’ve come out with more products for the oil and gas market that go on frac hose. That can mean a lot of different things – petroleum delivery, chemical delivery, blender hose, slurry hoses, etc. – and all of those have different pressure ratings, so we’ve come out with a couple of new things that deliver 250, 400 or 500 psi for those applications.
NAHAD: I understand that Campbell is active in oil and gas markets. Do you feel this market has changed in recent years?
Jumper: Things are interesting with the shale boom that we have in this country and the drive to get the country more energy independent. A consultant within a major oil and gas company reached out to me recently, and he explained it this way. Our race to find oil and gas in the United States is just that – a race. A lot of companies have seen production outgrow their own abilities from a mechanical integrity perspective or safety perspective, and this consultant said they weren’t even sure that they were up to their own company’s standards. So increasing demand poses a lot of opportunity, but it also presents some obstacles as far as safety and reliability.
NAHAD: I understand that Tom Paff, Campbell Fittings' president, was an early initiator of NAHAD’s Hose Assembly Guidelines initiative and the formation of the NAHAD Standards Committee, and that the company’s chief engineer was a major force in helping to establish the first set of Guidelines. Since 2012, you’ve chaired the Standards Committee and NAHAD’s Hose Safety Institute. Tell me about how the partnership has benefited NAHAD and Campbell.
Jumper: Tom Paff and Campbell have been there since the start of NAHAD, and we like to share our ideas on how to improve our industry through innovative products and improved standards and specifications. As a manufacturer, we find it’s a good forum to have that conversation with our customers, our distributors, and provide our expertise when it comes to industry practices and guidelines.
Campbell has benefited from being recognized as a leader in crimping technology, and we are also now benefitting from the development of the Hose Safety Institute Advisory Council; a forum where end-users in our industry can show us how our industry is doing things and how things need to be improved, if not changed, to meet the demands of our ultimate customers, the end-users.
NAHAD: What have the Institute and the Standards Committee been working on recently?
Jumper: We are really proud of the new Handbook for the Design & Specification of Hose Assemblies© which combines the previous seven separate Guidelines publications into a single 3-ring binder publication, as well as an online version, making it easier for our distributors and everyone in our industry to use. The new Handbook© binder format makes it easier to deliver updates without having to republish an entire new publication. The new Handbook© also provides a uniquely marketable resource for our industry, bringing more value to manufacturers, distributors and end-users.