Joining me now are two amazing guests, not just because they're here on the show, they also just rang the closing bell.
It's great to have both of you guys, Rich Lewis and Todd Carpenter, both of Donaldson, outgoing, incoming.
Congratulations to both of you guys.
Thanks for being here.
Thank you very much.
Of course, and for you as well.
Let me start with you, an outgoing role.
Talk to me about your time and tenure here with the company and why is today such an important day with this gentleman standing here to your right.
You know, I worked for the company for.
30 years I've been the CEO for 11 years and we have gone through a wonderful transition period.
It's nice to hand the torch off to Rich, who's been with the company for 24 years.
I have a lot of confidence in Rich that he'll take the company to new heights.
So it's really a special day for the company.
Of course, Rich, what does this mean?
I mean to you, I mean especially, you're not just a newcomer here to the space like your colleague just said here.
You've been here with the firm for quite some time.
Donaldson's an 111-year-old company.
I'll be the 7th CEO.
It's an incredible honor, and I'm really excited about the opportunity.
What was it like for both of you guys to be down here for the New York Stock Exchange today?
It was incredible.
It's our second time here, my first time ringing the bell, and it never gets old.
So yeah, what more would you, would you want to know, especially as you head into your own new role here, Todd, for the average person watching at home who might not have strong familiarity with Donaldson as a brand?
Donaldson is 111 years old.
We are a technology-led filtration company.
We have a diverse portfolio of businesses that really help us go through up and down cycles really strongly and come out of every tough time stronger than we went in.
We have a very good business model where over or close to about 70% of.
Our business' replacement parts, which really gives us strength as a company and in terms of how the company has been positioned, how closely do you have to follow or not follow the general macroeconomic pressures that so many publicly facing publicly traded companies deal with on a month to month basis?
Yes, of course we follow those very closely.
We're a global company.
We have done a really good job of diversifying our footprint and so we have in region for in-re sourcing and demand which gives us a lot of flexibility and a lot of resiliency, but of course we're like every other company, we follow it really closely.
Yes, of course, Rich, especially here now for your new role, what do you think would most surprise the average person out there about the work that you and your team at Donaldson do?
I think the technology and the innovation that actually goes into filtration would completely change their perspective on those products.
The science and the technology is we're filtering things all the way down to nanometers all the way up to the size of your human hair into an endless supply of markets.
It's incredible.
Got a great team of corporate technologists that do that work every day.
I love that the size of the human hair is on the big end.
I'm thinking how big you go and you're like, it's the size of a human hair.
And before I let you gentlemen go, give me some sense, not to make this like an earnings call by any means, but give me some sense about what 2026 holds you think and the things about the company, how your position that most excite you for the road ahead.
You know, I think the company has a lot of growth opportunities under Lewis's leadership.
We're just going to continue on the path to take advantage of those investments that we have made.
We've laid a strong foundation.
We have fantastic talent all across the company that continue to deliver for us exceptionally, and so we look for a really strong 2026.
I mean, obviously today is a great way to do day one down here at the New York Stock Exchange.
What does day two and the rest of your first week look?
Yeah, day two we get back to work, uh, making sure we're making products, taking care of our customers.
As Todd said, we have a great opportunity in each of our markets and our backlogs are strong, and we're looking forward to a strong finish to 2026.
Rich, Todd, congratulations on your tenure in your new role, and same for you as well.
Thanks for being here and thanks for being on the broadcast, guys.
Good to have both of you.
Thanks for having us.
Absolutely, appreciate it.
