Gary Weldon

Gary Weldon is in charge of the Omni Containment Systems engineering team. He has prior experience in several different fields. After serving in the USMC, he was a sawyer in a lumber mill, a stationary boiler engineer, finance manager, general sales manager, an off-road solutions fabricator, and a hotel general manager. As head of the engineering team here at Omni Containment, he is incredibly knowledgeable and a joy to work with.

He is constantly dreaming up innovative solutions to safety problems in the grease containment industry. From shipping orders, to advising customers on products, to maintaining inventory and a couple dozen other responsibilities, Gary does it all. We are lucky to have him here at Omni Containment Systems!

Here’s more about Gary in his own words

I love that every day is different. I am constantly working on different solutions to problems, developing new products, and talking to interesting people. No two days are exactly alike and I enjoy that.

One day two of the girls on our manufacturing team were working together and roasting each other. One turned to the other and said “well… your purse doesn’t match your outfit!” This was pretty funny coming from two girls who work with heavy machinery all day.

The coolest product that I have engineered was a solution to a problem at a Houlihan’s restaurant. We installed a hinge inside of a high capacity Grease Gutter™ so that the upper arm was attached to the fan base and the lower arm was installed inside the gutter. So it was an innovative solution to a low clearance scenario. I was proud because it was a very difficult solution. In most cases it would be between using a hinge or a new grease containment system, we used a combination of both.

Patience dealing with difficult team members (i.e. Skip Lewis)… just kidding. Skip is well known in the containment industry and those who know him would understand.

The biggest thing I have learned is that there is no magic bullet when dealing with grease containment. Every system is a little bit different and every roof top is different and there is the aspect of different climates so even though we carry such a variety of hinges and grease containment units it takes a certain elevated understanding to find the perfect fit for every scenario. That goes back to question one, I love being able to come up with solutions for our clients because I have such a large arsenal and it makes my job easier.

To understand that there is no cookie-cutter approach to grease containment or hinging.

In a perfect world, if all exhaust systems were installed with a proper grease containment system or proper hinge or built to NFPA 96 Standards, it would make it easier to have a cookie-cutter scenario to every ventilation system.

Unfortunately, that is rarely the case, so it is important to keep in mind that just ordering one hinge or one grease containment system is not always the best choice. The variance in rooftops and fans requires special attention to have the proper containment and compliant hinging solution.

Make sure that when you are installing a containment system and a hinge, that the hinge you’re installing is engineered to NFPA 96 Standards with a service hold open retainer. Also ensure that the grease containment system matches the grease output.

I grew up on the Oregon coast and my parents owned this place called the Crab Shack, about 1,000 yards from the docks and all day they would smoke salmon and boil Dungeness crab, so the memory of having fresh salmon and crab is probably my favorite. Can you classify that as the best meal I have ever had?

The Postman by David Brin

The entire story takes place where I grew up.

Shawshank Redemption

I guess I am still waiting to escape and make my way to Mexico.

Gary and his wife Sarah