Franklin Electric breaks ground

Published: April 21, 2012 3:00 a.m.

Franklin Electric breaks ground

Ever-growing sales spur move to new, larger headquarters near airport

Sherry Slater | The Journal Gazette

When Franklin Electric Inc. moved into its Bluffton headquarters 60 years ago, the company’s annual sales were about $3.5 million.

This year, the global manufacturer is on pace to report almost $1 billion in revenue.

Chairman and CEO Scott Trumbull on Friday pointed to the vast difference between those figures as evidence the company is overdue for an updated head office.

Trumbull joined city and county officials in breaking ground on the company’s new headquarters – a $32 million to $36 million project – after a short ceremony under blue skies and a wind-blown white tent.

Construction work has already begun at the location, 9255 Coverdale Road, near Fort Wayne International Airport.

The 120,000-square-foot headquarters and engineering center is expected to open in about 15 months with about 225 workers.

Franklin Electric designs and makes submersible motors and pumping systems used to move water and fuel. Customers include homeowners, municipalities, and companies in commercial, agricultural and industrial industries.