July 2019 Vol.74 No. 7
Business News
AMERICAN
AMERICAN Flow Control, the valve and hydrant division of AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is forming AMERICAN Innovation, LLC, a company dedicated to research and development. In addition, the AMERICAN Flow Control Center for Innovative Excellence will be constructed in Crawfordsville, Ind.
The 30,000-square-foot facility, which will cost $9 to $12 million to build, will employ approximately eight research and development personnel and include the latest equipment and technologies for enhancing existing valve and hydrant products, as well as developing new infrastructure-related products.
“It will expand our research and design functions, allowing us to fast-track innovations to get products to market more quickly,” said John Hagelskamp, division sales manager for AMERICAN Flow Control.
One-third of the facility’s 17 acres will be offices and labs; the remainder will be a shop for building, and indoor and outdoor space for testing product prototypes. “Crawfordsville was chosen in part because … it will be ideal for evaluating the impact of changing environmental conditions on products,” he noted.
Also, incentives from state and local governments were a draw, and the location just outside of Indianapolis makes the facility easily accessible and near several major engineering schools. •
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