Creating a splash with Pentair
ON AUGUST 1 2004, TWO OF THE WORLD’S LEADERS IN WATER TECHNOLOGIES WERE UNITED WHEN PENTAIR COMPLETED ITS ACQUISITION OF WICOR INDUSTRIES – MANUFACTURERS OF STA-RITE WATER SYSTEM, FILTRATION, AND POOL EQUIPMENT PRODUCTS – CREATING A US$2 BILLION GLOBAL WATER TECHNOLOGIES BUSINESS.
Steve Brooks, Managing Director, Onga Pty Ltd, said “The acquisition represents the most significant and greatest opportunity for all our customers and employees to date.”
“The Sta-Rite Group, of which Onga has been a dynamic member for many years, has always set itself the task of providing innovative products and systems for the movement, treatment and enjoyment of water, and this acquisition simply makes that task easier,” Brooks said.
Pentair, founded in 1966, entered the water technologies market in August 1986 with the acquisition of F.E. Myers, a manufacturer of pumps and water handling systems. Since then the group has continued to grow and add major brands to its group, including the likes of Hydromatic, Aurora and Fairbanks Morse pumps; Fleck and SIATA water conditioning valves;WellMate and Structural tanks; Plymouth Products, American Plumber, Pentek and Everpure filtration products; National Pool Tile, Rainbow Lifegard, Kreepy Krauly, Letro Products and Pentair Pool Products.
In a statement released by Pentair at the time of the acquisition, Richard J. Cathcart, president and chief operating officer of Pentair’s Water Technologies Group, said: “This represents a giant step toward our goal of satisfying the global need for safe, clean water. We expect to combine Pentair’s proven operating disciplines with WICOR’s strong customer orientation to enhance sales relationships with our customers, build our collective brands, grow our technology, accelerate the development of innovative products, expand our global footprint, and deliver superior products and service to our customers. There are also strong parallels in our company cultures, both of which are built on core values of integrity and respect.”
Stay tuned for further details on this exciting acquisition as we wade deeper in the full Onga and Pentair integration. |
