Sikeston businessman's work is used in Australian plant

Floyd Presley Jr., right, owner of Presley Sales and Service in Sikeston, poses with Australian contractor Gary Quigley in front of the thermal storage unit installed at a foam factory in Australia. Since coming up with the concept about 30 years ago, Presley has installed 11 such units in the U.S., and the one in Australia last fall.
(Submitted Photo)

Floyd Presley Jr., owner of Presley Sales and Service, recently completed the installation of a thermal storage unit at a foam plant in Australia.

"We build 30,000 pounds of ice," Presley said of the unit. "It's basically in an insulated container that measures about 8 feet wide, 9 feet tall and 23 feet long."

Presley noted he came up with the concept for these units, which cool the chemicals in foam plants, about 30 years ago.

"My dad and I were partners in the business at the time and he told me there was a plant in Cairo -- Burkart Foam -- that had a refrigeration problem and to go over there and fix it," Presley recalled. He fixed the unit, but when it wore out a few years later, the company asked him to come up with a replacement."

Then, Presley consulted with a firm in Milwaukee, Wis. that specializes in building ice banks as well as a refrigeration expert and together, they designed the thermal storage unit.

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