When Gorman-Rupp began business 75 years ago with a single pump, we were simply a manufacturer. A need existed, J.C. Gorman and Herb Rupp knew how to meet that need with a solution that did not yet exist, and a multinational business was born. From that point, we became a manufacturer, finding people who needed our product, and selling it to them. Today, Gorman-Rupp is a solutions provider. Each of our more than 3,000 pump models does something a little bit different. Each product is also interoperable; it can be used in combination with other products to provide a truly unique solution to a customer challenge.
Business in 2008 and 2009
For the most part, 2008 for Gorman-Rupp was an extremely productive year. The company met nearly all goals set in place and surpassed most corporate benchmarks. We are looking forward to another year of continued and sustained growth in 2009. As we reap the benefits of our many technological advances, we will have to remain focused on technology to continue manufacturing the high quality product that customers have come to expect, one which consistently meets the needs of the global marketplace.
Business and Technology Trends
The impact of global competition and technological advances within the industry are two key issues that cannot be ignored within our sector. It is easier today than ever to find manufacturers with similar products at a lower cost.
However, thanks largely in part to the Internet and the transfer of electronic data-fax, email or text message-this speed of communication has bridged any distance gap that previously existed and mounted any hurdles that once kept us from efficient product design and enhanced customer service. Today, ideas and innovations are easily shared in the quest for new product design. Knowledge transfer, as well as the pace by which we bring products to market, is faster than ever imagined.
In an effort to remain competitive, it is paramount that we continue to harness the Internet and other technological advances to their fullest advantage. We have invested millions of dollars in state-of-the-art machine tools, which have returned faster turnaround for product development and allowed our engineers to improve repeatability and with tighter tolerances. This is a sizeable benefit to the industry, overall, as downtime is minimized and parts can be repeated less expensively and more quickly. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) programs, for instance, allow us today to simulate the fluids through the pump and examine how they interface and interact with other components on the computer before steel is even cut. This has also allowed us and the industry in general to put better products in the marketplace more quickly, with fewer headaches and less field trials. In short, the capability of machines, tools and facilities is far superior than it was years ago.
Finally, maintaining a satisfied customer base is also a major concern amidst an increasingly competitive environment. To us, trust is the key to business. We spend a great deal of our time working to strengthen our distribution and customer relationships, from how we collect data to how we streamline orders. Innovation over the past several decades has clearly played an integral role in helping us build that trust, and ensure that the new and ever changing needs of our customers dictates the solutions we provide tomorrow.
Critical Issues
Our segment needs to continue to focus on addressing water conservation. Popular opinion says we take it for granted. At the end of the day, we never really question where our water is coming from, whether it is clean and disease free. However, we are running out of water, and conservation is imperative. Water reuse and putting forth solutions to maximize water so it can be reused again is reshaping the way we do business.
Fuel costs and energy are equally important as we search for more ways to conserve. The answer for us lies in uncovering more efficient ways to move the product with tighter tolerances-so more can be pumped, with less energy. Everything we do must contribute to a greener world-from moving sewage with less leakage and infiltration into waterways, to designing systems that take industrial waste to its designated location.
Today, some of the United States' brightest minds are grappling with issues they did not need to address decades ago-working hard to understand how we can best position ourselves to compete overall in this new global economy. In the end, we believe it all boils down to how you best manage sourcing, product development, technology and manpower to meet the customer's ever evolving needs.