Grundfos USA celebrates 40th anniversary

Fresno, birthplace of Grundfos’ U.S. operations, welcomes international executives, past and present employees and local dignitaries

Grundfos celebrated 40 years of operations in the United States with a ceremony at its facility in Fresno, Calif., on Nov. 14, 2013. Photo courtesy of Grundfos.

Niels Due Jensen presents sculpture — Niels Due Jensen, son of Grundfos’ founder and chairman of the Poul Due Jensen Foundation, commemorates Grundfos USA’s 40th anniversary with a gift to the Fresno facility, a sculpture by Danish artist Jørgen Pedersen. Photo courtesy of Grundfos.

Minna and Niels Due Jensen pose with their son Poul (left). The three made the trip to Fresno, Calif., birthplace of Grundfos’ American presence, to commemorate 40 years of operations in the United States. Photo courtesy of Grundfos.

Grundfos celebrated its 40th anniversary — Grundfos celebrated the 40th anniversary of its American company in the place where it all began, Fresno, Calif. Photo courtesy of Grundfos.

Denmark-based Grundfos celebrated 40 years of operations in the United States with a ceremony at its facility in Fresno, Calif., on Nov. 14, 2013. Since 1973, Grundfos USA has grown from one small office in Fresno to more than 1,300 employees in five major facilities nationwide.

“This milestone is incredibly significant because in only 40 years Grundfos has grown into a strong competitor in the U.S. pump market,” said Niels Due Jensen, chairman of the Poul Due Jensen Foundation and son of Grundfos’ founder. “It was one of my father’s biggest dreams to establish his company here in the U.S. and I think he would have been very proud to see the results of all that hard work and dedication.”

During the ceremony, Due Jensen presented Grundfos USA with a sculpture celebrating this business milestone. With 40 years of history now behind the company, Grundfos looks toward the future, aiming to double its annual revenues to $1 billion by 2017.

Looking to the future

“In celebrating our 40th anniversary, we are focusing on our employees and customers, both past and present, who have been a part of this incredible journey,” said Dennis Wierzbicki, president of Grundfos USA. “As we have repeated throughout this anniversary year, pride in our past is a force of our future. We’re proud of the tremendous success we’ve experienced in the past 40 years, and intend to keep that momentum in our drive to double our sales to $1 billion by 2017 through growing our market share and supporting our partners through innovative technologies and products.”

Grundfos Fresno is devoted to the production, assembly, distribution and servicing of pumps and related equipment for the agricultural, irrigation, residential, commercial and industrial markets in North America. Grundfos employs more than 330 people in the Fresno area.

“A longtime member of the Fresno community, Grundfos truly leads by example when it comes to good corporate citizenship,” said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin. “Their company values are much more than words on a page. Earlier this year, we witnessed their firm commitment to sustainability in action through the opening of one of the largest water conservation projects in the nation right here at their facility in Fresno and I’m proud to say that we have such an active community leader in Fresno.”

Grundfos recently completed an aggressive five-year investment plan in the Fresno facility with the opening of a Water Technology Center for promoting innovative water research and developing sustainable solutions, a Water Conservation Project that uses recycled water to support the external water needs of the entire campus, and a 1.1 megawatt solar energy system that provides more than 40 percent of the energy needed to power the 180,000-sq.-ft. facility.