Wheelabrator LaGrange, Georgia, Facility Celebrates 20 Years
Share:
LaGrange, GA - (July 23, 2007) - Wheelabrator Group will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its LaGrange, Ga., facility in September. The LaGrange location opened on Sept. 21, 1987, and it is the home of Wheelabrator Plus, the aftermarket-sales division that provides a full range of services, replacement parts and training.
LaGrange is also home to the Wheelabrator Group North American Research and Development Center along with a one-of-a-kind Customer Demonstration and Testing Facility and the Equipment Modernization Program (EMP) Team. The EMP Team focuses on providing equipment upgrades that are effective solutions for customers' requested improvements in productivity and to reduce the costs associated with the operation and maintenance of their existing blasting equipment.
"A core group of employees at this location moved to LaGrange from Mishawaka, Ind., in 1987 to start up the LaGrange facility. This small Georgia town, which is southwest of Atlanta on I-85, was a prime location because of its proximity to a major interstate and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta," said Wheelabrator Vice President North American Supply Chain Pierre Tanguay. "The City of LaGrange welcomed Wheelabrator and worked closely with the company to train the local workforce. The LaGrange facility now employs 130 people, with more than 20 additional employees working in field sales and service."
The LaGrange facility will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a luncheon and employee recognition this fall.
"A company is only as strong as its employees, and as the global leader in surface preparation technology, Wheelabrator has the talent to stay number one, now and in the future," Tanguay said. "We are honored to celebrate this milestone in the history of the Wheelabrator Group with the employees and the LaGrange community."
Wheelabrator will honor another historical milestone in 2008 as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary. It was founded in 1908 in Ohio as the Homogeneous Sand Mixing Machine Company. The company developed the Wheelabrator® airless blast cleaning wheel in 1932, a simple mechanical unit that used controlled centrifugal force instead of compressed air for abrasive blasting.
The Wheelabrator trademark soon became part of the corporate name spanning the decades from the 1940's to the present day .
Wheelabrator Group is the global leader in providing surface preparation and finishing solutions. Committed to offering the broadest array of technologies, products, services and technical know-how, Wheelabrator Group works closely with customers to deliver the best solutions for their specific requirements. The company's strategically located and electronically linked offices allow Wheelabrator Group to provide unrivalled customer service and support worldwide. For more information on Wheelabrator visit the web site at www.wheelabratorgroup.com or e-mail info@wheelabratorgroup.com.
