Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos dedicated a new water utility center today in Aurora, Ill., that will serve the North American municipal waste water market. Pictured (left to right): Tom Weisner, Mayor of Aurora, Illinois; Dan Seals, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Pia Olsen Dyhr, Denmark’s Minister for Trade and Investment; and Jes Munk Hansen, president and CEO of Grundfos North America.
Executives from Denmark and the state of Illinois were on hand Wednesday as Denmark-based Grundfos debuted a new business development center devoted exclusively to the municipal waste water market in Aurora, Illinois.
Nearly 100 guests joined Grundfos personnel for a ribbon-cutting ceremony inaugurating the new Water Utility Center, led by Pia Olsen Dyhr, Denmark’s Minister for Trade and Investment; and Dan Seals, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), and Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner.
More than 100 guests were on hand as Grundfos dedicated a new water utility center “competency center,” that will serve the North American municipal waste water market.
Speaking at today’s ceremony, Grundfos North America CEO and president Jes Munk Hansen said: “This center is pivotal to Grundfos becoming a leader in the North American municipal waste water business. We have big ambitions for the next five years, as we strive to double—if not triple—our sales in that key segment, with commensurate growth in our product offering.” Learn how this event supported Grundfos business objectives.
Grundfos has invested more than $50 million in municipal water-related activities in the United States during the past few years, including acquisitions, increased production and infrastructure, information systems, product launches and the hiring of key people. Over the next half-decade, the company expects to invest an equal amount in its North American operations.
“These investments are part of a global strategy that aim to capture 10 percent of the worldwide municipal market and generate roughly $1.3 billion in export sales,” said Hansen.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn commended the company for its area investment and centralized location.
Dan Seals, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, helps dedicate a new water utility center for Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos
“Illinois is one of the best places to do business in the world,” Governor Pat Quinn said. “We are pleased Grundfos has chosen to expand its operations in Illinois and build a new business development center, which will create more jobs and boost economic growth in our state.”
Grundfos expects to use the Aurora Water Utility Center as a platform for launching increasingly sophisticated, energy-saving pump technologies in the coming years, all targeting the waste water market. While the segment has been slow to adopt these more advanced—and therefore more costly—technologies because of a slumping economy and local-government budget shortfalls, Hansen is confident that the current brake on infrastructure spending will not last much longer.
“That is why our focus at Grundfos is on developing more energy-efficient pumping products, and why we look at the market in terms of the next two decades, instead of the next two quarters,” says Hansen. “As a privately held organization, we can afford to have a long-term perspective with regard to our investments and business strategy. Our dedication to the municipal water market in North America is a long-term strategy.”
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