Rod Gravley: Life at a Higher Intensity
August 28th, 1964 - March 11th, 2025
Rod lived at a higher intensity. He was a happy maelstrom of energy, creativity, and drive. He freely mixed work, play, business, and family in a style all his own. It took some getting used to. I worked closely with him for 15 years on the sales side of the pollution control business. In the early 2000s, supported by a big engineering company, Rod had a little start-up company, just a three-mast schooner trying to raise sail and get underway. Regardless of titles, he was the captain. He was not thrilled, to put it mildly, when I showed up unannounced on his ship. My first impression was that he was a loose cannon. Before long, I realized that he was the only cannon, and that his high energy and creative intelligence were the best weapons a company could possess. The start-up schooner didn’t make it out of the harbor, and Rod ended up at Tri-Mer Corporation. John Pardell, owner and entrepreneur, enthusiastically supported Rod in building a full-regalia man-of-war battleship. Faith, money, time. Lots of sea battles, wins and losses. Over time the tide turned, becoming more wins than losses. Short, long years passed. With success, alliances formed. Rod and I hung together. Eventually, the pirates got us. I swam away to parts unknown. Rod made it to shore and started building a new ship, Precision Partners, an industrial development group with his capable and resilient wife, Cindy, and a new crew. Shortly after came an opportunity to form Ceramic Filter Alliance with distributorship to the Western World.
Rod lived at a higher intensity. He was a happy maelstrom of energy, creativity, and drive. He freely mixed work, play, business, and family in a style all his own. It took some getting used to. I worked closely with him for 15 years on the sales side of the pollution control business. In the early 2000s, supported by a big engineering company, Rod had a little start-up company, just a three-mast schooner trying to raise sail and get underway. Regardless of titles, he was the captain.
From the beginning, Rod was the product champion. He led a small team of skilled people in developing industrial-scale pieces of equipment that utilized new technology. He was born for this role. Rod was alpha, in good health, with an aquifer of raw energy. He had a quick intelligence and the right education, in physics and chemistry. He thought of himself as a chemist. He was happy climbing around job sites, swinging from smokestacks, and getting his hands dirty. He knew and loved tools and equipment. Process control devices fascinated him. He was equally at home in a testing lab, a sanctuary he adored, expertly using and troubleshooting the scientific equipment. Encompassing all, something mysterious and unlearnable, was his amazing ability to create solutions, design equipment, and fix problems. An irrepressible, innate creative force overflowed into everything he did, from presentation slides to floating filter arrays. Personality-wise, he was charismatic, a charmer, really, and thought the best of people. He truly appreciated and admired his fellow workers. Yet (a colossal “yet”) he was absolutely relentless. He would not be defeated. With his tenacious warriors: Jody Farley, Bret Ruess, Scott Birchmeier, Deirdre Labert, Ted Hornus, and others. As the tasks multiplied, day after day, fab shops and job sites, often night and day, were spent making things work, solving unforeseeable problems, and figuring out the hidden quirks of complex mechanical systems, making them robust and reliable. This level of raging dedication, commitment, and natural talent cannot be taught, cannot be hired, cannot be counterfeited. Rod was the leader. Others were important, even crucial. Rod was the central fusion reactor.
It wasn’t just the equipment side. Rod looked forward to sales calls. We gave hundreds of presentations. He was articulate and persuasive, equally scientist and salesman. He drove everyone crazy, me included, with his brinksmanship “just-in-time” preparation. Midnight was a reasonable time to start. Laptop out, he was always busy on flights (only first class), riding in cars (only big ones), and in the hotel rooms (only nice ones), doing calculations, customizing slides, and producing technical material for workflow. In meetings, he was wise, letting me direct the flow of things while he, the Pinball Wizard, responded to customer questions and exuberantly crushed the softball lobs that I tossed his way. He could directly envision solutions and rapidly give concrete backup numbers with a few strokes of his ever-present laptop. Focused, relevant, and impressive. We enjoyed the structured improvisation. We called it “freestyle,” which he later named his boat. We flew and drove everywhere, a lot of getting to know each other. He had a favorite story of mine: after two weeks of travel together, a former boss said to me, “Kevin, you are an expert in everything I don’t give a shit about.” In all this whirlwind of demand, Rod was the gregarious center of action. Of course, there were trade shows, conference papers, professional societies, and the like. He reveled in these. Cindy was often with him. Rod lived life at a higher intensity.
What came of it? After three years of monumental effort, the Cloud Chamber Scrubber didn’t survive. Regulations were relaxed, alternatives were less expensive, and the thing was a beast out of season. After searching for alternatives, catalytic ceramic filters were seized upon. The white-hot effort was redoubled. The glass industry turned out to be the first showcase. Years of work came to fruition. Rod and his team brought about a new multi-pollutant control technology that gradually spread across the US, Europe, and Asia. Customers and competitors took notice. It is a sterling achievement in applied science and technology commercialization. Worldwide, ceramic filter systems would not have flourished without Rod Gravley. The myriad early problems would have remained unsolved, the fate of most new innovations. The supreme importance, the paramount impact, has been in human health and well-being. Known health hazards of fine particulate have increased exponentially over the last two decades: respiratory, cardiovascular, immunological, neurological, cognitive. Cancer, a dozen horrible diseases, death. Add to that the effects of SOx and NOx. Though impossible to precisely quantify, catalytic ceramic filter systems now supplied by a variety of companies have saved hundreds of lives, prevented untold thousands of hospital days, averted countless sick days, and helped provide a better environment for millions of people. This is what came of it. Rod was the rocket fuel, the fire in the belly, the creative dynamo. No fear of obstacles or hard work. Rod had the force of will to make it happen.
He was not thrilled, to put it mildly, when I showed up unannounced on his ship. My first impression was that he was a loose cannon. Before long, I realized that he was the only cannon, and that his high energy and creative intelligence were the best weapons a company could possess. The start-up schooner didn’t make it out of the harbor, and Rod ended up at Tri-Mer Corporation. John Pardell, owner and entrepreneur, enthusiastically supported Rod in building a full-regalia man-of-war battleship. Faith, money, time. Lots of sea battles, wins and losses. Over time the tide turned, becoming more wins than losses. Short, long years passed. With success, alliances formed. Rod and I hung together. Eventually, the pirates got us. I swam away to parts unknown. Rod made it to shore and started building a new ship, Precision Partners, an industrial development group with his capable and resilient wife, Cindy, and a new crew. Shortly after came an opportunity to form Ceramic Filter Alliance with distributorship to the Western World.
From the beginning, Rod was the product champion. He led a small team of skilled people in developing industrial-scale pieces of equipment that utilized new technology. He was born for this role. Rod was alpha, in good health, with an aquifer of raw energy. He had a quick intelligence and the right education, in physics and chemistry. He thought of himself as a chemist. He was happy climbing around job sites, swinging from smokestacks, and getting his hands dirty. He knew and loved tools and equipment. Process control devices fascinated him. He was equally at home in a testing lab, a sanctuary he adored, expertly using and troubleshooting the scientific equipment. Encompassing all, something mysterious and unlearnable, was his amazing ability to create solutions, design equipment, and fix problems. An irrepressible, innate creative force overflowed into everything he did, from presentation slides to floating filter arrays. Personality-wise, he was charismatic, a charmer, really, and thought the best of people. He truly appreciated and admired his fellow workers. Yet (a colossal “yet”) he was absolutely relentless. He would not be defeated. With his tenacious warriors: Jody Farley, Bret Ruess, Scott Birchmeier, Deirdre Labert, Ted Hornus, and others. As the tasks multiplied, day after day, fab shops and job sites, often night and day, were spent making things work, solving unforeseeable problems, and figuring out the hidden quirks of complex mechanical systems, making them robust and reliable. This level of raging dedication, commitment, and natural talent cannot be taught, cannot be hired, cannot be counterfeited. Rod was the leader. Others were important, even crucial. Rod was the central fusion reactor.
It wasn’t just the equipment side. Rod looked forward to sales calls. We gave hundreds of presentations. He was articulate and persuasive, equally scientist and salesman. He drove everyone crazy, me included, with his brinksmanship “just-in-time” preparation. Midnight was a reasonable time to start. Laptop out, he was always busy on flights (only first class), riding in cars (only big ones), and in the hotel rooms (only nice ones), doing calculations, customizing slides, and producing technical material for workflow. In meetings, he was wise, letting me direct the flow of things while he, the Pinball Wizard, responded to customer questions and exuberantly crushed the softball lobs that I tossed his way. He could directly envision solutions and rapidly give concrete backup numbers with a few strokes of his ever-present laptop. Focused, relevant, and impressive. We enjoyed the structured improvisation. We called it “freestyle,” which he later named his boat. We flew and drove everywhere, a lot of getting to know each other. He had a favorite story of mine: after two weeks of travel together, a former boss said to me, “Kevin, you are an expert in everything I don’t give a shit about.” In all this whirlwind of demand, Rod was the gregarious center of action. Of course, there were trade shows, conference papers, professional societies, and the like. He reveled in these. Cindy was often with him. Rod lived life at a higher intensity.
What came of it? After three years of monumental effort, the Cloud Chamber Scrubber didn’t survive. Regulations were relaxed, alternatives were less expensive, and the thing was a beast out of season. After searching for alternatives, catalytic ceramic filters were seized upon. The white-hot effort was redoubled. The glass industry turned out to be the first showcase. Years of work came to fruition. Rod and his team brought about a new multi-pollutant control technology that gradually spread across the US, Europe, and Asia. Customers and competitors took notice. It is a sterling achievement in applied science and technology commercialization. Worldwide, ceramic filter systems would not have flourished without Rod Gravley. The myriad early problems would have remained unsolved, the fate of most new innovations. The supreme importance, the paramount impact, has been in human health and well-being. Known health hazards of fine particulate have increased exponentially over the last two decades: respiratory, cardiovascular, immunological, neurological, cognitive. Cancer, a dozen horrible diseases, death. Add to that the effects of SOx and NOx. Though impossible to precisely quantify, catalytic ceramic filter systems now supplied by a variety of companies have saved hundreds of lives, prevented untold thousands of hospital days, averted countless sick days, and helped provide a better environment for millions of people. This is what came of it. Rod was the rocket fuel, the fire in the belly, the creative dynamo. No fear of obstacles or hard work. Rod had the force of will to make it happen.
– Kevin D Moss
Technical Marketing Director 2006 – 2019
Tri-Mer Corporation
Professional Summary
Rod Gravley devoted his life’s work to advancing environmental science and industrial air pollution control, pioneering technologies that improved public health and reshaped entire industries. Over more than three decades, he combined scientific expertise, entrepreneurial drive, and a relentless creative spirit to deliver innovations that are still in use today.
Rod began his career at CH2M Hill (1986–2000), where he designed and managed groundbreaking laboratories and monitoring systems. He launched the first fleet of mobile analytical labs for soil and groundwater cleanup, founded one of the nation’s earliest commercial laboratories for toxic organic analysis in ambient air, and developed automated remote monitoring systems that became the foundation for continuous emissions monitoring. He later expanded into source testing and semiconductor emission controls, where his work helped give rise to the specialized Point-of-Use (POU) abatement industry.
In the 2000s, Rod founded and led Aketon Technologies, a subsidiary of IDC, where he expanded from research into turnkey delivery of industrial pollution control systems across the U.S. and Europe. His projects introduced advanced solutions such as charged droplet scrubbers and structured packing biofilters, technologies that remain in service today.
From 2011 onward, Rod became a global leader in ceramic filter technology commercialization, driving adoption of catalytic ceramic filters across glass plants, waste incinerators, biomass facilities, kilns, and other heavy industries. These systems delivered unmatched reductions in particulate matter and NOx emissions and helped establish ceramic filtration as one of the world’s most effective multipollutant control solutions.
In 2019, he founded Precision Partners LLC, an industrial project development and technology commercialization company, and in 2022 launched Ceramic Filter Alliance, securing exclusive distributorship for Cerafil® Ceramic Filters in the Western world. Together, these companies and their teams continue his mission of delivering innovative, turnkey solutions that reduce pollution, recover energy, and improve environmental outcomes.
Rod’s career was marked by vision, tenacity, and a boundless curiosity for solving complex problems. His legacy lives on in the technologies he championed, the healthier communities they protect, and the many colleagues, partners, and friends he inspired along the way.
The Arena
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”