Grenada, Miss. — Milwaukee Tool is excited to announce construction on their newest facility in Mississippi. Located in Grenada County, Mississippi, Milwaukee’s latest expansion will accommodate the company’s growing power tool accessories and power tool business, and will also serve as a centralized repair facility. The new location will create more than 800 new jobs, and Read more
HVAC
Grenada, Miss. — Milwaukee Tool is excited to announce construction on their newest facility in Mississippi. Located in Grenada County, Mississippi, Milwaukee’s latest expansion will accommodate the company’s growing power tool accessories and power tool business, and will also serve as a centralized repair facility. The new location will create more than 800 new jobs, and is planned to open in mid-2023.
“We’re thrilled to, once again, expand our footprint in the state of Mississippi, where we’ve been able to recruit some of the best talent in the country,” said Steve Richman, Milwaukee Tool Group President. “Our success is the result of our talented people and the culture we’ve created; it is unparalleled in the industry. We are committed to investing in new talent, and the right opportunities to continue meeting the needs of our distributor and user partners with the speed and agility that defines who we are as a company.”
Milwaukee® is investing more than $60 million into advanced technology and manufacturing equipment at their new 563,000-square-foot Grenada location. The facility will house critical accessory manufacturing capabilities, and will join the company’s other service hub in Greenwood, IN, as one of Milwaukee Tool’s main axis points for service operations.
Milwaukee Tool, which employs more than 10,000 people in the U.S., has continually expanded their footprint domestically and globally as their company experiences incredible double-digit growth. In Mississippi, the company has invested more than $209 million in domestic expansion projects over the last 5 years and employs 4,400 people.
More About Milwaukee’s Growth & U.S. Investments
Milwaukee Tool is a global company with manufacturing, distribution, and operations presences across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company has designed, engineered, and manufactured products in the United States for nearly 100 years.
In the last year, Milwaukee® has invested $216 million in domestic expansion projects. In addition to this new Grenada location, the company’s other domestic presences include Greenwood, Olive Branch, Clinton, and Jackson, MS, as well as in Brookfield, Menomonee Falls, Milwaukee, West Bend, Mukwonago, and Sun Prairie, Wis., Cookeville, Tenn., Chicago, Ill., and Greenwood, Ind.
The Most Comprehensive Cross Reference, Parts and Equipment Database Tool for HVAC Bluon, Inc., the rapidly growing company focused on upgrading the HVAC industry, today announced the launch of BluonSearch, the most comprehensive parts and equipment cross-reference database in HVAC. BluonSearch represents a giant leap forward in enabling HVAC distributors to quickly determine their customers’ Read more
The Most Comprehensive Cross Reference, Parts and Equipment Database Tool for HVAC
Bluon, Inc., the rapidly growing company focused on upgrading the HVAC industry, today announced the launch of BluonSearch, the most comprehensive parts and equipment cross-reference database in HVAC. BluonSearch represents a giant leap forward in enabling HVAC distributors to quickly determine their customers’ needs and satisfy them using their local inventory – all through a highly intuitive, brand-agnostic tool providing instant access to over 300,000 unique model numbers and 3 million unique parts, with over 40 million listed cross-references.
Distributors lose a staggering portion of potential part orders – estimated at up to 50% – by not having an easy-to-use, comprehensive database enabling them to determine what part, or equivalent part, their customer actually needs. BluonSearch solves what is a shockingly pervasive problem in the HVAC industry, costing local distributors billions in lost potential revenue, and technicians countless hours of lost time.
BluonSearch is the rebirth of XREF, acquired by Bluon in 2021, that provided basic access to replacement parts and cross-reference information for HVAC distributors nationwide. Bluon and its unique team of technicians and database engineers spent nine months pouring over the immense database adding specifications and new connections and most importantly, ensuring data accuracy. The result is BluonSearch, an entirely new, updated database that allows even the most novice employees to instantly add decades of experience to their daily interactions with customers.
“We are excited to provide our customers with a much-needed, comprehensive equipment and cross-reference tool,” said Adam Curry, vice president of software at Bluon. “It turns out that the world of HVAC parts and equipment is kind of a mess. The industry is large but fragmented, so we’ve had hundreds of manufacturers produce millions of parts, but no one has created a truly brand-agnostic map for navigating it all. This lack of a simple search tool is a hidden tax on the industry, costing billions in missed sales and lost productivity. BluonSearch is a huge leap forward for HVAC distributors and their customers.”
Webstone, a brand of NIBCO, announces new press × NPT products including ball valves with reversible handles, elbows, and couplings. Choose between MIP or FIP ends to easily transition from iron to copper or appliances to system piping. Also available is the new press ball valve with bleeder and reversible handle and large Pro-Pal® Union Read more
Webstone, a brand of NIBCO, announces new press × NPT products including ball valves with reversible handles, elbows, and couplings. Choose between MIP or FIP ends to easily transition from iron to copper or appliances to system piping. Also available is the new press ball valve with bleeder and reversible handle and large Pro-Pal® Union Ball™ (sizes 1¼” and 1½”) in FIP, sweat, and press. All products feature lead-free dezincification-resistant brass.
Learn more at www.webstonevalves.com/press
Apple Valley, Minn. — Uponor North America (Uponor) held a ceremonial “pipe-cutting event” to mark the opening of its $5.5 million, 25,000-square-foot expansion to the Hutchinson, Minn., facility. This new space will increase the company’s PEX-a pipe extrusion production capacity by more than 10 percent, while growing highly skilled jobs in Hutchinson in the coming Read more
Apple Valley, Minn. — Uponor North America (Uponor) held a ceremonial “pipe-cutting event” to mark the opening of its $5.5 million, 25,000-square-foot expansion to the Hutchinson, Minn., facility. This new space will increase the company’s PEX-a pipe extrusion production capacity by more than 10 percent, while growing highly skilled jobs in Hutchinson in the coming years.
Michael Rauterkus, president and CEO, Uponor Group, (center) joins business leaders as he cuts the ceremonial PEX-a pipe to mark the opening of the company’s $5.5 million, 25,000 sq. ft. expansion in Hutchinson, Minn.
The expansion project broke ground in July 2021 with PCL Construction as the general contractor, Tekton Engineers as the structural engineer, Focal Point Partners as the electrical subcontractor, and Legend Companies as the mechanical subcontractor. The renovated space will allow Uponor to move forward with a major investment in next-generation extrusion technology.
Michael Rauterkus, president and CEO, Uponor Group, took part in the event. This was his first trip to visit Uponor facilities across North America since joining the company in August 2021. He toured the Hutchinson production facility, met with team members, and helped cut the ceremonial pipe.
“Today was a special day for Uponor North America,” Rauterkus said during the event. “Seeing this investment become a reality and knowing what is possible from a manufacturing potential, I am certain Uponor will continue to make positive impacts on the Hutchinson area. I am eager to see what happens next with this team.”
“This expansion reinforces our commitment to Hutchinson and the team members who help us deliver for our customers. I want to thank our construction partners for their efforts in designing and building this space, as well as our global partners across Uponor who saw the potential in what our Hutchinson team could achieve with this major investment,” said Jon Sillerud, vice president, Operations, Uponor North America.
Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical (Hiller), the region’s premier provider of residential and commercial plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical service and repair, was included among Ruud’s “Top Market Maker” winners and honored as the #1 Top Ruud ProPartner for 2021. This award follows Hiller’s six first-place recognitions among Ruud’s list of Most Reliable Contractors. The Read more
Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical (Hiller), the region’s premier provider of residential and commercial plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical service and repair, was included among Ruud’s “Top Market Maker” winners and honored as the #1 Top Ruud ProPartner for 2021. This award follows Hiller’s six first-place recognitions among Ruud’s list of Most Reliable Contractors.
The Ruud Market Makers award recognizes exceptional U.S.-based contracting businesses for sales, customer support, and overall service excellence. Through their strong vendor relationships with Ferguson Enterprises (Nashville) and Coburn Supply (Memphis), Hiller was ranked among the Top 10 “Market Makers” for 2021.
Above this honor, Hiller was named Ruud’s “Most Valuable Player”, recognizing their “overall stellar performance” as the #1 Top Ruud ProPartner of 2021. The company was honored via email announcement in February, then via live announcement at the 2022 International ProPartner Conference at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 7 and 8, 2022. Chief Executive Officer, Jimmy Hiller and Chief Operating Officer, Jimmy Hiller, Jr. accepted the award in person at the event.
“We couldn’t be more grateful to receive the MVP recognition from Ruud this year”, remarked Jimmy Hiller, founder and CEO of Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical. “In partnership with our wonderful distributors, we are able to provide Ruud’s exceptional equipment to so many families across the southeast. Ruud’s commitment to installation and maintenance excellence,” he continued, “parallels our own high quality and service standards, so we are exceptionally thankful for this award, that acknowledges this commitment.”
Launched in 1990 with a single employee and just $500, Hiller was founded on the tenets of professionalism, exceptional levels of customer satisfaction, and a dedication to high quality work. As a result, Hiller has grown exponentially, operating across 15 locations in 7 states with a fleet of over 500 trucks.
Ruud, part of the Rheem family of brands, provides Ruud-branded heating, cooling, and water heating products for residential and light commercial use to professional installers across the United States and Canada. Named for water heating pioneer, Edwin Ruud, the brand was acquired by Rheem in 1960. To learn more, visit www.ruud.com. Founded in 1925, Rheem is the only manufacturer in the world that produces heating, cooling, water heating, pool/spa heating and commercial refrigeration products. Rheem, headquartered in Atlanta, has an international presence in 14 countries. To learn more, visit www.rheem.com
Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical provides residential and commercial service and repair throughout Tennessee, Southern Kentucky, Northern Alabama, Northern Georgia, Southeastern Arkansas, Northeastern Mississippi, and Northwest Florida. As the homeowner’s premier provider of choice with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, Hiller is Tennessee’s largest residential and commercial plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical services provider. Hiller, a 12-time honoree to the Inc. 5000 List, employs more than 700 associates, boasts a fleet of 500 “Happy Face” trucks across 15 locations, and has responded to over 1.5 million service calls. Hiller is a proud sponsor of the Nashville Predators, the Tennessee Volunteers, and the Vanderbilt Commodores.