2000s
The decade started extremely poorly for Pentair. The botched opening of its new corporate office and distribution center in Jackson caused an immediate drop in revenue as the shipping facility encountered numerous issues. Orders shipped late, with incorrect products, or not at all. Complaints rose, sales fell, and returns poured in. By the end of the year, the entire management team in Jackson would be fired.[16] It took almost three years to sort out the mess and return the Delta and Porter-Cable lines to profitability. This caused Pentair to further review its holdings and look at ways to cut costs. It expanded its production in Taiwan and started to negotiate with the union of its Delta manufacturing facility to reduce payroll.[17] In 2003 it was announced that negotiations had failed, and the Tupelo plant would close the following year. While operations were wound down in Tupelo, Pentair continued to expand its water products business.
In July 2004, Pentair bought WICOR Industries, the former water systems subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy, for $850 million.[18] WICOR made water pumps, filters, and pool equipment components under the Sta-Rite, SHURflo, and Hypro brands. To help offset this purchase it sold its entire tool operation to Stanley Black & Decker that October.[19] This marked Pentair's exit from the tool business.
In 2005, Pentair bought some of the assets of APW for $144 million, including McLean Thermal Management, Aspen Motion Technologies, and Electronic Solutions,[20] all of which provide thermal management products[21] and integration services to the telecom, medical, and security industries. This broadened Pentair's technical products line to include markets outside of the traditional electrical and electronics businesses.
In 2006, Pentair purchased Germany-based Jung Pumpen GmbH,[22][23] which makes pumps and other products for wastewater processing. The deal was completed in early 2007 for $227 million.[24]
Other acquisitions in 2005 and 2006 included Acu-Trol, Inc.,[25] Delta Environmental Products, selected assets of Krystal Klear, and a 70% stake in Beijing Jieming Tiandi Environmental Equipment (which was later renamed to Beijing Pentair Water Jieming), which produces fiberglass-reinforced pressure tanks and filters.
The company has announced an agreement to acquire water filtration and separation firm Porous Media for approximately $225 million. It has said that it plans to continue an active course of acquisitions, especially to grow its business outside the American market.
