ITT Goulds Pumps expands manufacturing facility

SENECA FALLS — ITT Goulds Pumps, Inc., a unit of ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT), is in the midst of an expansion project that will add 75,000 square feet of manufacturing space and at least 50 jobs to its plant in Seneca Falls.

The business manufactures pumps for the oil and gas, mining, chemical, energy, pulp and paper, and other industries, and will increase both its capabilities and capacity with the expansion, company officials say.

ITT Goulds Pumps first announced the $27 million project in November 2012 and began with an expansion of its research and development facility that wrapped up at the end of 2013. That project added new space to house more engineers at ITT Goulds Pumps, which currently employs about 860 people.

The company is now well into the construction of the manufacturing facility, with an expected completion date of late June. The company campus in Seneca Falls has 900,000 square feet of space “under roof,” at 240 Fall St., says Michael Dellefave, general manager at ITT Goulds Pumps, but needs more manufacturing space. The facility also includes a foundry, machine shop, and quality control space, he notes, but the manufacturing end of things is running out of space.

ITT Goulds Pumps hired VIP Structures of Syracuse to design and build the facility.

“We’re making very good progress,” Dellefave says. The primary steel is up and the roof is on, he says. Cranes are inside ready to set equipment and work is under way on building the interior offices. A portion of the new space will house a test floor for pumps with a capacity of up to 8,000 horsepower.

“Our goal is to be production ready by the end of June” Dellefave says.

ITT Goulds Pumps received an incentive package from Empire State Development totaling more than $5 million for the project, including $1.5 million in Excelsior Jobs Program benefits and a $100,000 training grant. The company is using cash flow and operating revenue to fund the project, Dellefave says.

ITT Goulds Pumps purchased and refurbished a used energy substation from BAE Systems that was damaged in 2011 flooding in Johnson City and also invested in demand-management software that will help the company monitor and manage its energy usage, Dellefave notes.

 Once complete, the new space will position ITT for growth in the pump market, says Anthony D’Angelo, senior manager of communications. Currently, the majority of pumps produced by ITT Goulds Pumps (www.gouldspumps.com) are standard, almost “off the shelf” varieties, he says, but the new facility will provide the space and equipment to produce highly customized pumps that are in demand in the oil gas, and mining industries.

“This gives us capability to enter into segments of the market we can’t play in today,” Dellefave adds. By expanding further into that customized market, he says the company hopes to grow revenue as well as employment. “From a revenue standpoint, our plan ideally would double the size of our business over the next three to five years,” he says. That plan includes production at a $34 million facility that opened in South Korea in 2013. That facility will serve the Eastern Hemisphere while Seneca Falls will serve the Western Hemisphere.

In terms of jobs, ITT Goulds Pumps will add at least 50 new employees and at least half of those positions will be technical ones while half will be production and other non-technical positions.

“We’ve already begun some of the hiring,” says Ronald Golumbeck, vice president of human resources at ITT. The company is working with workforce boards and one-stop career centers across an eight-county region to find people to fill the positions, he says. The company will phase in all the jobs over the next year.

Headquartered in White Plains, ITT Corp. (www.itt.com) has about 8,500 employees worldwide and generated revenue of $2.5 billion in 2013. ITT acquired Goulds Pumps in 1997.

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