Work will begin on distribution center later this year, officials say
A new foundry nearing completion at GIW Industries will prime the Grovetown facility to meet rising global demand in the mining industry.
The 50,000-square-foot white-iron foundry will open in April and become fully operational this summer, said Pamela Aaron, a brand manager for GIW.
Under construction since early 2014, the 72-foot-tall foundry will house new heat treatment and melting furnaces, sand silos and six cranes to accommodate the large-scale slurry pumps produced at the site, according to the GIW Vice President of Operations Thomas Mueller.
Later this year, work will begin on a distribution center to open in mid-2016.
The center will initially be 45,000 square feet but can expand by another 35,000 square feet, Aaron said.
GIW’s parent company, Frankenthal, Germany-based KSB Group, is investing about $75 million in the five-year project.
The new foundry alone is expected to cost about $40 million, Aaron said.
GIW – formerly known as Georgia Iron Works – designs and makes heavy industrial pumps and related equipment used in the mining industry at its locations in Grovetown and Thomson.
The centrifugal pumps are built to transport a mix of rocks and water and have been used in various settings, ranging from mineral processing to wastewater.
Aaron said the new foundry will produce more than 10,000 tons of castings annually.
GIW hired about 10 new employees last year because of the expansion and will add at least 32 more highly-skilled factory workers and staff over the next two years.
The company currently employs about 614 people, including temporary workers, Aaron said.
Originally founded in downtown Augusta in 1891, GIW later relocated to a larger area in Grovetown and added operations in Thomson.
Its first slurry pump was made in 1914. In 1988, a portion of GIW was purchased by KSB, which bought the remainder of the company in 1996.
Source: newstimes.augusta.com
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