Q&A with Lucas Bell, General Manager Spray Dynamics

Lucas Bell got his foot in the door at Spray Dynamics by sweeping shop floors back when he was in college and immediately took an interest in the engineering and manufacturing areas of the business.

Once Lucas joined Spray Dynamics as a Mechanical Engineer, he worked in project engineering for about 18 months before moving into the manufacturing manager role. After being in that role for 2 years, it opened up the opportunity for Lucas to eventually lead both the manufacturing and engineering groups, giving him a broader view of the business.

In 2011, Lucas became responsible for all operations of the Spray Dynamics product line and filed that role for six years, assuming the position of General Manager after the retirement of Spray Dynamics founder, Dave Homeyer at the end of 2016.

Being involved with multiple facets of the business during his tenure with the company, as well as proactive preparation by the group for the retirement of Dave, has allowed for a smooth transition of leadership at Spray Dynamics.

Lucas Bell has spent his career designing and manufacturing top of the line equipment systems for the food and beverage industry.

The company expanded to serve bakery, cereal, and other food / non-food markets, all while developing ever-higher capacity snack coating systems.

As an industry leader, Spray Dynamics joined Heat and Control in 2011 and continues to develop equipment for in-kitchen and on machine seasoning applications under Lucas’s direction at its St. Clair, Missouri headquarters.

What market trends are driving development at Spray Dynamics?

We are continuing to see a consistent growth in the snack industry, as well as renewed growth in the pet food/litter and agricultural industries. We are also starting to see increased interest in drying applications for a variety of products that span across multiple markets

Can you give a ‘sneak peak’ of new developments on the horizon that you can speak of?

We are working on a few developments this year. The first involves improving dry powder applications and the second involves taking rotary drying technology to the next level.

Spray Dynamics’ new facilities will be located in Union, Missouri, USA, and will initially employ 50-60 personnel with the ability to expand to over 100 employees in the years to come.

The building will be located on a 13.32 acre green field site and the total manufacturing and office areas will be approximately 103,000 square foot (9570 sqm).

This facility will offer the latest in manufacturing capability, modern office and engineering space, product testing rooms and also allows for future site development. Completion is expected by end 2017.

More on Spray Dynamics' new facilities