I would like to nominate Robert Ruyak to the Erie Hall of Fame. It was a privilege for me to work under Bob Ruyak at Autoclave Engineers. I first met Bob in 1979 when he hired me to work for him in the New Product Development Group. Bob inspired a group of engineers, draftsmen, technicians and clerical staff to work as a team in creating many new, high pressure products for numerous world-wide industries, such as chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and nuclear. Bob was not just a great leader. He was also a great inventor.

One of Bob's inventions was the MagneDrive. This device changed the way that high pressure vessels were agitated and ultimately eliminated a chronic leakage problem and heat generation of the old mechanical seals. It was very well received by the chemical industry because it helped to reduce downtime caused by the mechanical seal leakages. This also provided a healthier work environment for the chemical plant employees who were at
risk whenever the seals leaked.

The MagneDrive elevated Autoclave Engineers, Inc. to number one in the agitated, high pressure vessel industry. Bob and Autoclave's award of a
patent in 1959 secured this position as the leader in their industry and earned them the respect of customers and competitors alike.

The contributions of Bob's MagneDrive are immeasurable. This MagneDrive concept is still in use today in all of its old applications and new applications are still being discovered. For example, the design is used in certain circulating pumps of residential hot water heating systems. No longer is the MagneDrive strictly used by industry. It has found its way into many homes across America.

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