Gorman-Rupp Makes European Expansions and an Acquisition

Gorman-Rupp Co. made more than $10 million in cash investments in expansions of its European operations in Ireland and The Netherlands and a planned acquisition in Belgium.

The company’s G-R Europe subsidiary reached an agreement in principal to acquire Hydro+ SA and Hydro+ Rental based near Namur, Belgium, subject to due diligence and a definitive purchase agreement. Hydro+ has been the company’s Belgian pump and pump systems distributor since 1998, and in 2011 formed Hydro Rental to expand pump and pump system rentals in the region. Hydro’s principal products are centrifugal pumps supplied by the company. Hydro+ began converting some of these pumps into packaged pump station systems tailored for the European market. Combined annual revenues of the Hydro companies are about U.S. $4 million. The deal is expected to be completed this month.

Gorman-Rupp’s Patterson Pump Ireland Limited, based in Mullingar, Ireland, completed its construction of and move into new production, test and administrative facilities. The facilities have been expanded several times to 20,000 square feet. Patterson Pump is a leader in the design, development and sale of large-scale fire-protection systems for buildings and plants with thousands of occupants in more than 25 countries.

The company’s Gorman-Rupp Europe subsidiary has consolidated its operating facilities into a larger facility in Culemborg, Netherlands, southeast of Amsterdam. The consolidation provides GR Europe with improved logistical capabilities to serve its customers including more efficient access to Rotterdam’s large international commercial port facilities for receipt of pumps principally supplied by the company from its Gorman-Rupp Pumps Group facilities in Mansfield, Ohio.

Jeffrey Gorman, president and CEO of Gorman-Rupp, said “although the company faces a number of global economic headwinds at this time, we believe these European expansion investments will help position The Gorman-Rupp Company for future growth once these temporary challenges are dissipated or resolved. We continue to be pleased that our 80-plus years of proven financial strength provide the company with exceptional flexibility to make these types of growth-oriented investments when the appropriate opportunities arise.”