Godwin Pumps, a manufacturer of portable rental pumps with 24 branch offices and a network of over 100 distributors worldwide, has more than 400 of its portable diesel-driven and electric submersible pumps working to relieve floodwaters inundating the Midwest.
Within four hours of a Federal Emergency Management Association call last week, Godwin’s Chicago branch manager, Jeff Pass, began deploying 28 flagship Godwin Dri-Prime 6-inch and 8-inch pumps to Iowa’s FEMA headquarters at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa.
On June 9, Godwin’s Bridgeport, N.J.-based headquarters mobilized 48 6-inch pumps to Camp Dodge. On June 10, Godwin sent an additional 20 6- and 8-inch pumps from Bridgeport to FEMA in Iowa. At current, Godwin’s Chicago branch has helped to supply 174 pumps to locations including the Iowa Department of Transportation in Oakdale (43 6- and 8-inch pumps), the city of Rock Island, Ill. (nine 4- to 12-inch pumps), and the Army Corps of Engineers in Terre Haute, Ind. (eight 8-inch pumps and one light tower). These efforts have been supported by Godwin’s branch locations including Houston, Buffalo, N.Y., Atlanta, Los Angeles, Tampa, Fla., and its multiple branches in Virginia and the Carolinas that have combined to ship 20 tractor trailer loads of pumps and related equipment to various locations throughout the Midwest.
“These floodwaters are farther-reaching than you can grasp from watching news segments,” says Bob Spinner, Midwest corporate manager for Godwin Pumps. “Having seen it first-hand, we are well-aware that the flooding won’t stop while we load trucks. We moved as many pumps as we could, as fast as we possibly could. The amount of pumps that we were able to mobilize is truly impressive.”
In addition to the pumps deploying directly from Godwin branch locations, Godwin distributors throughout the Midwest including Central Service & Supply, Heartland Pump Rental & Sales, Lee Mathews Equipment and Lincoln Contractors Supply have responded to flood relief efforts. Roughly 300 units have deployed to locations throughout Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
“We are proud of the way our branches and distributors have responded to these floods,” said John Paz, president of Godwin Pumps. “They have been tireless in identifying the needs of the people calling upon them — whenever they call upon them — and in quickly mobilizing the equipment that will provide relief. It’s been a true team effort — one that you can only step back and appreciate once the threat is over. Our pumps and people will remain on the scene until the waters recede.”
