Another Bannon tapped to lead RRI

ST. LOUIS – Responsive Respiratory Inc.’s new president and owner, Steven Bannon, plans to take the company to the next level, but he doesn’t plan to change its commitment to customer service. 

Steven Bannon succeeds his father, Thomas Bannon, who will continue to serve as a business consultant for the company, which offers high-pressure oxygen products, including conservers, regulators, cylinders, carts and racks, carry cases, disposables and accessories. 

“Things are changing, but they’re staying the same,” said Steven Bannon. 

Prior to RRI, Steven Bannon held a number of project management and operations roles at Deerfield, Ill.-based Caterpillar. While there, he championed supply chain and cost reduction initiatives focused on developing efficiencies throughout the sourcing and logistics process. 

Steven Bannon’s plans for RRI include branching out into ancillary product categories, much like it did when it launched its Purify O3 Sanitizer for cleaning CPAP masks and accessories in 2020.  

“We’re just trying to grow in a smart manner and see what’s a good fit for us,” he said. “We build carts and racks for oxygen products, but what about racks to move beds?” 

Going forward, designing and manufacturing any new products in-house will be a priority for RRI, Steven Bannon says, a nod to the difficult supply chain challenges of the past two years. 

“It’s tough to know where things are in the supply chain these days,” he said. “We’ve had a container hit a port and it’s in a rail car in five days and we’ve had a container hit a port and it’s in a rail car in 60 days. It’s getting tougher and tougher to control what happens outside of our four walls.” 

One way that RRI is trying to manage supply chain challenges in 2022 is by “locking in” higher volumes for the whole year to better manage what can be months-long lead times on shipments and to avoid delays for its customers, Steven Bannon says. 

“We used to like to have two months of inventory on hand,” he said. “Now, it’s closer to three to four months.” 

Luckily, RRI tripled the size of its warehouse in March 2020, just as the pandemic hit, Steven Bannon says, and its current location includes 2.5 acres of green space out back for further expansion. 

“We’re here for the long haul,” he said. 

But as RRI grows, Steven Bannon says he’ll make sure its small company values of not only prioritizing customer service but also staying nimble remain intact. 

“That’s what we’re built on,” he said, “and that can get lost in today’s world of consolidation and bigger and bigger companies.”