In a busy Hunts Point workshop, sparks fly as steel is welded, polished and inspected — all part of a painstaking process to build a machine most people will never see, but many rely on every day.

Those machines are custom-engineered heat exchangers used in the pharmaceutical industry, and they are the specialty of Yula Corp., a Bronx-based company that has been quietly manufacturing them for nearly a century.

What You Need To Know

Yula Corp., based in Hunts Point, has been manufacturing custom heat exchangers since 1926

The company is now run by third-generation family members Michael, Matthew and Jason Feldman

Heat exchangers built at Yula are used in pharmaceutical production to safely heat or cool fluids

The company employs about 30 workers and can spend up to 12 weeks building a single unit

So what exactly does a heat exchanger do?

“Cooling or heating a fluid without crossing sides with whatever you are heating it with,” said Matthew Feldman of the machinery used during the making of various drugs and pharmaceutical products.

Yula Corp. is run by cousins Matthew Feldman and Michael Feldman, along with Michael’s brother Jason. They are third-generation owners of a company founded by Henry Yula in 1926. Their grandfather, Irwin Feldman, began working for Yula in the 1950s, became owner in the 1970s, and later brought his sons, Larry and Fred, into the business. Michael, Matthew and Jason joined the company in 2008 after working elsewhere following college.

“The plan was never to work here, we actually all got very interested very fast, and we actually all started on the exact same day,” said copresident Michael Feldman.

Since taking over, the trio has modernized the fabrication process with new technology and equipment. About 30 employees work at Yula, ranging from fabrication floor staff to engineers. Each heat exchanger can take 10 to 12 weeks to complete, depending on its size and specifications.

“If we are doing around 25 a month, we are probably going to have a pretty good year,” said Michael Feldman.

The work is happening in a part of the Bronx now dominated by distribution rather than manufacturing, but the Feldmans hope to keep their operation there for decades to come.

“A great work force, access to a lot of candidates, it’s easy to ship from this area, this is just where our family is from, and where we want to stay,” said Matthew Feldman.

The company produces equipment that may not be flashy, but is essential to its clients.

“It’s based on the laws of physics and Thermodynamics. As far as we know they are not going to change anytime soon, so we will remain the best mousetrap for now,” said Michael Feldman.

As Michael Feldman described it, their product is a behind-the-scenes workhorse — and one the family is proud to build for customers around the world.