INDUSTRY NEWS

Henderson Companies announces ESOP move

Henderson Companies, the parent company of Henderson Engineers and Henderson Building Solutions, is proud to announce it has become a 100% employee-owned firm after launching an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

“Henderson has always focused on providing a people-first culture where our employees could thrive and do their best work,” said Kevin Lewis, president and CEO of Henderson Companies. “Moving to an ESOP company was a natural next step in our firm’s evolution. Our employees are what sets us apart, so we want to empower them all to think and act like owners. As an ESOP, employees on all levels are more engaged and focused on client service because they have a stake in the success of Henderson.”

Henderson, which was founded in 1970 in Kansas City, Missouri, began as a small family business with three employees. Since then, it has evolved into a $197 million design and construction powerhouse that works for renowned brands across five different market sectors. Last year, the firm’s previous ownership group of 58 overwhelmingly voted to create an ESOP, enabling all eligible employees, regardless of rank, to own beneficial shares of Henderson Companies.

The announcement comes as Henderson simultaneously celebrates 52 years in business and reaches 1,000 employees nationwide. The move to an employee-owned company was part of a long-term leadership transition and company restructure that Henderson announced earlier this year.

“It’s fitting to be sharing this exciting news right as we hit two major milestones in our history in terms of our longevity and the size of our personnel,” explained Rich Smith, Henderson’s president-emeritus who advocated for Henderson’s move to an ESOP during his tenure as CEO. “This has been something we’ve been working on for a number of years to protect the legacy and culture of Henderson for years to come. We consulted with several employee-owned firms within the AEC industry, and they all had nothing but positive things to say. We’re confident becoming an ESOP will mean continued success for Henderson employees and our clients.”

As part of the transition to an ESOP in January 2022, Henderson Companies named a new board of directors. The Henderson Companies Board is led by Robin Broder, Henderson’s chief marketing officer, as the newly elected chairman of the Board. Other Board members include new CEO Kevin Lewis along with Dave Haake, Shane Lutz, Drew Rimmer, Vince Masilionis, and Andrew Bennett. The Henderson Companies Board also will include two external members, still to be announced, that will be non-employees.

Sloan partners with The Water Council’s WAVE program

Sloan announced its partnership with The Water Council as the inaugural member of its recently-launched WAVE program.

A water stewardship initiative, the WAVE program provides companies like Sloan — a Water Council member since 2011 — with ways to improve their water stewardship efforts.

These efforts are then independently verified by SCS Global Services, an international leader in third-party sustainability verification. Verified companies can confidently state they are credibly and strategically addressing water challenges and opportunities where it matters most.

“Water is earth’s most precious resource, and it’s important to understand and prioritize our water risks and shared water challenges in order to become better stewards,” said Patrick Boyle, Sloan director of sustainability. “Sloan’s historic partnership with The Water Council’s WAVE program provides us with an exciting opportunity to lead by example by communicating our corporate water stewardship efforts.”

The six-step methodology for improving, reporting, and reorganizing effective corporate water stewardship includes:

• Understanding water uses, impacts and risks;
• Approving a corporate water stewardship policy;
• Prioritizing sites where water-related risks can be mitigated; and
• Communicating a corporate action plan, goals and timeline.

“Sloan is a market leader and global influencer when it comes to sustainability, and we’re proud to welcome them as the first official WAVE client,” said Dean Amhaus, The Water Council president and CEO. “We designed WAVE to benefit a variety of companies, whether you’re just starting on your water stewardship journey or already addressing water risks like Sloan.”

Bell & Gossett’s Little Red Schoolhouse reopens for in-person training

Xylem Bell & Gossett recently reopened the Little Red Schoolhouse, the company’s suburban Chicago training center for professionals dedicated to the plumbing and hydronic HVAC industries.

Xylem Bell & Gossett’s Little Red Schoolhouse in Morton Grove, Illinois, has been an industry icon in education for more than 60 years, having trained more than 62,000 engineers, contractors and other hydronic HVAC and plumbing professionals have been educated in the proper design, installation and maintenance of hydronic and steam systems.

The Little Red Schoolhouse offers training covering a wide range of seminars tailored to different occupations within the industry, and is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).

“Industry professionals recognize the value of in-person training, and we are happy to welcome them back to the Little Red Schoolhouse,” said Mike Licastro, director of training. “Whether it’s manufacturers’ representatives, engineers or contractors, our goal is for training to provide a knowledge base that makes them better equipped to perform their daily job duties related to hydronic and steam product application and system design.”

Instruction at the facility is well known for taking a systems-based approach that teaches students not only about individual components but also how those components work together once installed in a complete plumbing and HVAC system.

Xylem Bell & Gossett, through the Little Red Schoolhouse, has a long history of providing industry professionals with the in-depth hydronic system design knowledge they need to confidently and expertly help their customers. The learning center was updated in 2019 to ensure Bell & Gossett’s mission of education continues to add value to and advance the industry.

Along with cutting-edge technology, Bell & Gossett has reinforced its emphasis on hands-on training with dedicated space for three new demonstration areas that feature functional displays of equipment for a variety of commercial and industrial applications, including variable speed controller technology, plumbing products and service and maintenance.

Little Red Schoolhouse second-quarter schedule
Modern Hydronic Heating Systems — Basic Seminar*, May 10-12
Large Chilled Water System Design*, May 24-26
Plumbing System Design, June 7-9

* Seminar approved by GBCI to provide credit toward the credential maintenance requirements of the LEED Associate and LEED AP certifications

To learn more about the Little Red Schoolhouse, enrollment, course descriptions and online courses, visit www.bellgossett.com.

Hydraulic Institute announces appointment of new board of directors and officers

The Hydraulic Institute (HI), the largest association of pump manufacturers and suppliers to the pump industry in North America and the global authority on pumps and pumping systems, installed new leadership during its 2022 Annual Conference. During this conference, the 2022-2023 Officers were announced:

• DeLancey Davis, president, Headwater Companies; vice president of Franklin Electric as chairman of the board;
• Brian Sweeney, president, Crane Pumps & Systems as board president;
• Scott King, president of the Gorman-Rupp Co. as HI treasurer; and
• Rob Phillips, vice president of global engineering at Flowserve Corp. as HI secretary.

Three new members joined the board:

• Ansell Sims, president, Grundfos;
• Julian Atchia, vice president of research and development, SJE-Rhombus; and
• Randy Bennett, vice president of technology and operations, Leistritz Advanced Technologies.

Two vice president positions were confirmed:

• Vice President of Education: Scott Tystad, educational leader, Pentair; and
• Vice President of Membership: Mike Ketchum, vice president of sales and business development, Iwaki America.

The board transition took place at the annual conference where outgoing board members: Karl Buscher, PSG Dover; Rob Philips, Flowserve and H.J. Dewes, ABB were also recognized during the awards ceremony and thanked for their service on the HI Board since 2019.

The board of directors will provide organizational oversight to HI and guide the direction of its strategic plan.