Thinking Outside The ‘Pump In A Box'

Dan Thompson of Cornell Pump Company discusses the level of expertise and reliability that comes from finding your niche in the marketplace.

The following is an excerpt from a Q&A with Water Online Radio. Click on the Radio Player above to hear the full interview.

Todd Schnick: Tell us all about Cornell Pump Company. What do you do?

Dan: Cornell has been in business since 1946, and we really are a niche pump company. We have specific markets that we service, and we are now entering into the mining business. We’re involved in fracking and different things like that. For this particular market, water and wastewater, we meld end suction pumps for water distribution and for sewage handling, collections.

Todd Schnick: Cornell Pumps has been around for quite a long time. What kind of changes have you seen, and what do you see next in store for the industry?

Dan: The real issue for us has been efficiency improvements – trying to build a better product that uses less energy; the application of variable frequency drives that will optimize the pump station operations for collection systems.

Also, recently, the constituents in sewage have changed, so we have to do more to try to break up clogging, diffuse balls of material that build up, and try to pass it through the pump station and get it to the treatment plant.

Todd Schnick: What are some of the products that you offer?

Dan: We do nothing but end suction centrifugal pumps. We do them in various configurations, but they’re built for sewage collection pump stations and treatment facilities.

Todd Schnick: What makes Cornell Pump different? Talk about a few of the things that are unique.

Dan: Again, Cornell is a niche pump company.  There’s a phrase in the industry – a pump in a box. These are not predesigned; our pumps are custom built to meet specifications, written by the engineer.