At first glance, it may seem surprising: Why would a 101-year-old, privately-owned business that specializes in producing a wide range of customized centrifugal pumps and impellers accept cryptocurrency as payment?
Or even want to?
John Kozel, the president of the Sims Pump Valve Co., answers this way: The company has been on the cutting edge of technology, innovation and business practices since it was founded in 1919. So, why wouldn’t it?
“Progressive thinking is one of the hallmarks of the Sims Pump Valve Co.,” he said. “Our international clients have come to expect that from us.”
Therein may lie the answer. Sims may be based in New Jersey, but its client reach is global. As is its brand recognition.
Kozel and Sims recently learned just how big the brand is when it began promoting a pump it specially made for Halliburton, a global company based in Houston that is one of the world’s largest oil field service companies, with revenues of approximately $25 billion.
Kozel said the marketing of the corrosion-proof pump — which Sims created to handle 2,000 gallons per minute at 150 feet of head — generated so much interest from global clients that the company decided to further promote its groundbreaking “Halliburton pump” by turning a video describing it into an NFT, or non-fungible token.
“It’s not every day that we get to design a pump that will be used by Halliburton,” Kozel said. “We decided to take advantage of this development to promote the unique qualities of our SIMSITE Structural Graphite Composite material.”
Taking advantage of it on a global stage meant taking all types of currency, Kozel said.
“With so many international companies now accepting Bitcoin as payment for goods and services, it is only a matter of time before mainstream supply chain manufacturers start accepting cryptocurrency as a payment option,” he said. “We are proud to be one of the first.”
Kozel said the company felt it was capable of taking on the challenges that come with cryptocurrency. After all, he said, the company is used to handling the advanced engineering, extensive technical expertise and attention to detail that goes into every custom-designed pump or impeller.
But Sims is not taking on the task alone.
Kozel and his team have been working with Max Dilendorf from the Dilendorf Law Firm in New York City to find solutions for clients who wish to use digital assets to purchase items from Sims.
Dilendorf said he thinks it will become a trend.
“This has been a growing trend among international buyers and sellers of real estate and certain luxury goods, but it has not yet caught on within industrial circles,” he said. “Not surprisingly, the announcement from Sims has generated considerable interest from prospective clients, as well as their closest competitors.”
