Tom Gallant Finds Family and Purpose in Engineering for Sustainability at Trane Technologies
Twenty years into his career with Trane Technologies, Tom Gallant is still inspired by engineering with purpose, building community and finding family.
As Vice President of Engineering and Technology for the Commercial HVAC Americas business at Trane Technologies, Tom Gallant is helping transform how we cool, heat, power and protect our spaces. From reducing water use in his hometown of La Crosse, Wisconsin, to helping data centers worldwide operate more efficiently and sustainably, his work is both global and deeply personal.
Heating and cooling at speed and scale
With over 20 years of experience at Trane Technologies, Tom has watched both the company and the industry evolve at a pace that would have seemed impossible two decades ago. “It’s a super exciting time to be an engineer at Trane Technologies. What used to take decades now takes a year.”
WATCH: Why Tom Gallant Thinks Engineering is a Wild Career at Trane Technologies Today
Nowhere is this transformation more visible than on Trane Technologies’ home turf. “If you walk through our plants today, you’ll see a large amount of automation that allows us to process these units much quicker, and at a much higher quality, for our customers.”
A large part of this boost in speed and scale is due to a surge in demand for efficient, sustainable cooling solutions from data center clients, particularly those training artificial intelligence models. “Figuring out how we scale our products to meet their requirements is changing on a 12-month cycle, not a 10-year cycle. Having to keep up with that is extremely exciting.”
Challenging what’s possible with pace and purpose
But it’s not just the speed of innovation that drives Tom. “Living our purpose to challenge what’s possible for a more sustainable world is extremely exciting, not only as an engineer, but as an individual and a team member,” he shares.
Today, Tom’s team is helping to cool hyperscale data centers more efficiently through liquid-based direct-to-chip systems. Closer to home in La Crosse, they’re cutting the company's water use through a new closed-loop system in the laboratory that significantly reduces the water pulled from local aquifers. At Trane Technologies’ advanced training center, the team has also implemented a thermal management system that’s fossil-fuel free. “We use thermal batteries and heat pumps to heat and cool the building year-round. The heat removed from the water when making ice is used for heating, and then we use the ice to cool the building. It’s an efficient way to source and store energy rather than waste it.”
The importance of showing up
But for Tom, the best thing about working for Trane Technologies isn’t just its world-class innovations. “What’s really special about this company is the people.” He gives an example from over a decade ago, when there was a fire in one of the labs for which Tom was responsible. “It was our largest HVAC laboratory. Over 100 employees worked there every day. And when I opened the door, I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face, the smoke was so thick.” His first instinct was to ask for help. “I came in the next day and told my leadership team, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’ And they said, ‘Don’t worry we’ll figure it out together.’”
Within hours, the disaster response recovery team showed up. To Tom’s surprise, so did his own team. Engineers and lab staff worked side-by-side with the recovery crew to clean, repair and restore. Within two weeks, the lab was up and running again. For Tom, this story encapsulates how he feels about the people who work for Trane Technologies.
Built by family. Engineered for impact.
Tom’s Trane Technologies family goes beyond the metaphorical. In fact, when he joined Trane Technologies two decades years ago, he wasn’t alone. His wife Erica, also an engineer, walked through those doors with him. “When we arrived, she was the only female engineer in the building. She’s the best engineer in our family… and one of the best engineers at Trane Technologies.”
Over the years, Tom and Erica have worked on several projects together, building a shared legacy of innovation and excellence. “She pushes me every day to be better. You never expect to be able to do this kind of work with your spouse. It’s rare. And it’s amazing.”
Waking up with purpose
Tom never imagined he’d be working on global sustainability challenges when he began his career in HVAC. But that’s what makes his story so powerful: It’s about showing up, doing good work with good people and realizing somewhere along the way that what you’re doing matters more than you ever thought it could.
“At Trane Technologies, you're challenged with problems that you never expected. But the resources we have within the company to solve these problems are truly remarkable. And there are so many opportunities to bring in other people to help you solve very challenging, difficult problems that will have an impact not only on your community, but on the world. It really is a place where you can wake up and do purposeful work.”
Want to work purposefully with people like Tom?
