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Gorman-Rupp
Gorman-Rupp, founded 1933, is a publicly traded pump manufacturer in Mansfield, Ohio, moving water, sewage, and petroleum across 140 countries.
Gorman-Rupp
Gorman-Rupp was founded in Mansfield, Ohio in 1933 by J.C. Gorman and H.E. Rupp, two engineers who saw a gap in reliable pump manufacturing during the Great Depression. The business went public on the American Stock Exchange in 1972 and later moved to the New York Stock Exchange under ticker GRC. Today the company operates from its original headquarters, still manufacturing pumps in the United States while distributing globally. The company designs and manufactures pumps across five primary categories: self-priming centrifugal, standard centrifugal, submersible, rotary gear, and diaphragm pumps. Municipal water and wastewater represents the largest end-market, followed by construction, industrial, petroleum, fire protection, and agriculture. Gorman-Rupp sells through a network of over 1,300 distributors worldwide, with international sales contributing roughly 25–30% of revenue. Its pumps move water, sewage, petroleum, chemicals, and slurries for customers ranging from municipal governments to oil-field operators. The firm competes with Xylem and Franklin Electric in the North American utility-pump market. Gorman-Rupp employs roughly 1,450 people across its Ohio facilities and acquired Fill-Rite, a fuel-transfer pump brand, and Sotera, a chemical-transfer pump line, from Tuthill Corporation in 2019. The Fill-Rite acquisition expanded the company's reach into the petroleum-handling and agricultural-chemical markets (per company filings, 2019). In May 2024, Gorman-Rupp reported first-quarter net sales above $158 million, with management citing stable municipal demand and gradually recovering construction markets (per the firm, May 2024). The company has maintained uninterrupted dividends since 1972. The structural differentiator is Gorman-Rupp's status as a publicly traded industrial manufacturer rather than a diversified holding company or portfolio operator. It does not allocate third-party capital, does not operate as a family office, and distributes profits to shareholders through dividends rather than reinvesting into an expanding private-equity-style portfolio. The founding Gorman and Rupp families retain no disclosed controlling interest, making this an operator-run public company with an unusually long independent history in a consolidating industrial sector.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1933
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Mansfield
Corporate office
Mansfield, OH, United States
Principals
Scott A. King
President & CEO
James C. Kerr
CFO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Is Gorman-Rupp a family office or an operating company?
Gorman-Rupp is a publicly traded operating company, listed on the NYSE under ticker GRC. It manufactures and sells industrial pumps, not investment management services. The company does not allocate third-party capital, and the founding families retain no disclosed controlling stake. It functions as a traditional industrial manufacturer with shareholder returns through dividends.
What end-markets does Gorman-Rupp serve?
Municipal water and wastewater is the largest end-market, followed by construction, industrial processing, petroleum handling, fire protection, and agriculture. The firm's pumps move water, sewage, chemicals, slurries, and petroleum products. This municipal-heavy revenue mix provides a degree of counter-cyclical stability not typically found in pure industrial-cyclical names.
How does Gorman-Rupp generate its revenue?
Revenue comes from selling pumps and pump systems through a network of over 1,300 distributors worldwide. International sales account for roughly 25–30% of total revenue, with products sold in more than 140 countries. The company does not generate material recurring service or software revenue — it is a traditional equipment manufacturer.
What was the Fill-Rite acquisition and why did it matter?
In 2019, Gorman-Rupp acquired the Fill-Rite and Sotera pump brands from Tuthill Corporation, expanding into fuel-transfer and chemical-transfer pumps. The deal added petroleum-handling and agricultural-chemical exposure to a portfolio previously concentrated in water and wastewater. It represented a rare M&A move for a company that had grown primarily organically since 1933.
Who runs Gorman-Rupp's operations and investment decisions?
Scott A. King has served as President and CEO since 2019, after previously holding the CFO role. James C. Kerr serves as CFO. The company operates with a traditional public-company governance structure — a board of directors oversees strategy, and the executive team handles day-to-day operations. There is no separate investment committee or family-council structure.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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