Thompson Pump Celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2020
Thompson Pump and Manufacturing Co., one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of heavy-duty portable diesel-powered bypass and dewatering pumps, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in business in 2020. The company is already looking ahead to the next 50 years as it continues to be a leader in the industry, nationally and internationally.
Founded in Port Orange, Fla., in 1970 by George A. Thompson and his sons Bill and George M., Thompson Pump exemplifies the American spirit. At the time of its inception, George A. had been working as an operating engineer in NASA’s Apollo program; his son Bill had just finished college; and his younger son George M. had recently completed high school. Bill Thompson, president of Thompson Pump, recalls that the construction market in the Southeast was booming and there was a tremendous need for infrastructure. From its humble beginnings as a dewatering contractor, to the family’s dreams, aggressive goals and willingness to risk it all, Thompson Pump soon turned its focus to making and selling the pumps they had been using as a dewatering subcontractor. The family’s hard work, investment, creativity and ingenuity helped it grow from three employees to a thriving organization that currently serves the pumping and dewatering needs of more than 6,000 national and international clients.
“We’re living the American Dream! Reaching this milestone of 50 years is very gratifying for me, the entire Thompson family and the folks who stood side-by-side with us serving our customers and building our company,” said Bill Thompson. “I wish my father, my brother and many of the fine individuals who played significant roles with us on this journey could be here to experience and celebrate this achievement with us, but I’m honored to share this with my two sons, Chris and Bobby, who are helping lead the company into the future.”
From the very beginning, Thompson Pump’s product inventions and innovations positively changed the dewatering and bypass pumping landscape. By improving existing products and designs, developing new products to change how portable pumping is done, implementing techniques to speed up the lowering of ground water, and working with companies to develop new piping products to make sewer bypass and hydraulic fracturing easier, more economical and more efficient, Thompson Pump has made a significant impact in the industry.
Thompson says his company’s lasting effects can be seen in a great many places. “Seldom can I go far, especially in the Southeast, without recognizing a project of some sort – a bridge, a highway, a high-rise building, a hospital, a school, a housing development, a mine, a refinery, a wastewater treatment plant or an electric power generating plant for which we supplied pumps, expertise and operational support,” Thompson said.
Thompson attributes the company’s success to the family and the company’s long-time employees. “In our Logistics Center, we have a wall dedicated to displaying the photos of team members who have been with us for at least 25 years, some over 40 years. I refer to it as our Wall of Honor,” Thompson said. “This longevity symbolizes the high value our family places on the fine people who have supported our company in many different capacities for a very long time. Their contributions to our success cannot be overstated.”
As for the next 50 years, Thompson says the company is refocusing on the design, development and manufacturing of new products. He says he sees Thompson Pump and Manufacturing Co., continuing as a leader in the industry, with the family’s third generation at the helm.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.