AMERICAN Flow Control to Open Crawfordsville Research and Development Facility
Alabama based company AMERICAN Flow Control, the valve and hydrant division of AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company, has formed a new company that will be dedicated to research and innovation.
The near company called AMERICAN Innovation LLC plans to invest in a new Indiana based R&D facility that will cost $9 – $12 million. Division sales manager, John Hagelskamp, said that the facility “will expand our research and design functions, allowing us to fast track innovations to get products to market more quickly.”
The facility will be built on 17 acres with both indoor and outdoor product testing taking place. It will also include the latest industry related equipment and technologies and for developing new products. The central Indianapolis location of the facility also making it easily accessible to several engineering schools. Hagelskamp also noted that the Crawfordsville, Indiana location was chosen due to “its easily accessible location and proximity to several major engineering schools.”
According to the company’s officials, the new facility will hire up to eight R&D professionals, including technicians and engineers by the end of 2020. AMERICAN Innovation LLC’s job creation plans have attracted a $130,000 conditional tax credits from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Construction of the AMERICAN Flow Control Center for Innovation Excellence is due to begin towards the end of the year and completed in mid-2020.