Founded in 1933 as the White Flomatic Corp. in Hoosick Falls, NY, by Forrest S. White, the company now known as Danfoss Flomatic Corp. originally offered bronze check valves, regulators and hot water circulators for industrial and domestic heating.
Today, the Glens Falls, NY-based company specializes in check valves, foot valves, automatic control valves and backflow preventers for water and wastewater. It ships valves to more than 40 countries.
“Our 75th anniversary is a rare opportunity to celebrate our history and plan for our future,” says Nick Farrara, Flomatic’s vice president of sales and marketing. “It’s at this milestone that we reaffirm our deep commitment to our customers, employees and global partners to continually improve the design, production and marketing of high-quality valve products that are environmentally sensitive and meet or exceed our customer expectations.”
Wilbur C. Rice, who was named president of the company in 1962, is credited with modernizing the plant and its machinery and focusing the business on domestic water well valves.
Flomatic’s international expansion began in 1975 when it partnered with Socla, a French valve company.
The company’s achievements in the valve manufacturing industry include:
In 1996 Flomatic relocated to a larger facility in Glens Falls, NY, and in 1998 the company received certification to ISO 9001. Flomatic installed an environmentally friendly custom powder coating operation to coat all municipal and industrial valves. Its products are manufactured according to both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 international quality management system standards. Flomatic says it is the first company in the water and wastewater valve manufacturing industry in the United States to achieve both standards.
“We’re aware of our impact on the environment as a manufacturing organization,” says Bo Andersson, president of Flomatic Corp. “You will see that concern at every level of our operation, from the development of our lead-free line of valves to the recycling of paper, printer parts, plastic and even the glass in the lunchroom.”
With its acquisition of the New Ward Valve Co. in 2001, Flomatic says it became one of the most extensive suppliers of stainless steel check valve products in North America.
In 2007 Flomatic became a member of the water valve division of the Danfoss Group, a global manufacturing company based in Nordberg, Denmark, with nearly $4 billion in sales last year and 20,000 employees operating in 120 countries.
The company’s largest single investment to date, more than $1 million, was the purchase of a new state-of-the-art CNC machine system. Flomatic has also been awarded a patent for a new backflow preventer valve.
“We’re continuing to operate as a technology company, leading the industry with new and innovative products which are covered by numerous patents and trademarks to meet the ever-expanding needs of our customers,” says Andersson. Each product shipped from its manufacturing plant includes a warranty card that also serves as a thank-you note.
“We feel that’s a very important element to thank the product’s end-user,” Andersson says.
Special thanks to Tom Donlon, a graphic designer for Danfoss Flomatic.
