MWI Pumps marks 100 years of family ownership and innovation in moving water
MWI Pumps (MWI), an American-made ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified pump manufacturer based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, specializes in the design, manufacturing, rental, sales, and servicing of high-efficiency, large-volume pumps. The company’s portfolio includes patented-design axial and mixed-flow propeller water pumps, centrifugal, mobile pumps, and village water supply units, which are used for construction dewatering, sewage bypass, flood control, stormwater, irrigation, emergency pumping, and water infrastructure security.
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, we sit down with President Dana Eller, who represents the Eller family’s fourth generation, to learn more about MWI, one of the last family-owned, independent pump companies in the State of Florida. “MWI specializes in the design and manufacture of large axial and mixed flow pumps that can pump anywhere from as little as 5000 gallons a minute to as many as one million gallons a minute,” Dana opens. “These are large pieces of equipment that pump water up to 75 feet high, and we create custom solutions that are built to order and designed for specific locations or applications.
“In terms of significant projects, we’ve worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, moving flood water in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Following this, we were awarded a contract from the US Government to install temporary pumps at three outfall canals. We had just three months to manufacture and install the pumps, so we rented an additional facility, ran three daily shifts, and recruited some retired employees to scale production while ensuring quality control processes were met. This project is testament to MWI’s ability to harness knowledge and experience to rapidly scale operations based on contract requirements.”
Elaborating on MWI’s history, Dana explains how the business has grown to its current position. “The company was originally formed as MWI Ironworks, an iron and steel equipment manufacturer, and we trace our history back to 1926 when my great grandfather, Hoyt Eller, ran a small machine shop in Deerfield Beach,” he narrates. “His son, Marlin Eller, took over the business and having recognized Florida’s lack of options to combat floods and hurricanes, he shifted the focus to pumping equipment for irrigation, drainage, and flood control applications.
“In 1928, a deadly hurricane, known as the Great Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, hit the State of Florida and flooded Lake Okeechobee. The US President at the time was Herbert Hoover, whose government created one of the world’s most extensive flood control systems in the world, now known as Florida’s Water Management Districts. Several pump stations were built to control water across the state, and we played a key role in establishing the network, supplying water pumps for the system and conducting essential repairs and maintenance.
“From this point onwards, we specialized in water pumps,” Dana states. “In the 1960s, my dad, David Eller, joined the business and together with Marlin, they developed the Hydraflo™ pump, which revolutionized axial pumping by eliminating the requirement for great lengths of pump shafting and making the pumps much easier to use. In 1983, we purchased the Florida division of the Allis-Chambers Corporation, formerly known as the Couch Pump Company, which added two specialist manufacturing facilities to our network. We recognized the history and customer loyalty attached to the Couch name and decided to re-establish the brand.”
Alongside sales, MWI also provides professional pump rental and repair services with six locations throughout Florida. “We started the rental division in 1968 as a complementary area of the business that enabled people to access quality pumps without huge upfront costs,” Dana reflects. “With excess manufacturing capacity available, we leveraged the opportunity to manufacture equipment for our own fleet. Today, we operate six rental locations and pump rentals account for around 50 percent of our business, with our portfolio including axial and mixed flow propeller pumps for storm water, flood control, drainage, irrigation, and construction dewatering.
“Aside from rentals, international sales have also been instrumental in our overall growth. MWI secured its first international sale in 1971 when my dad, who
wanted to go to Jamaica on his honeymoon, agreed to sell some pumps while he was there. He came back with a significant order for a large irrigation project on behalf of the government of Jamaica. This deal marked the start of our international growth, and we’ve since sold to more than 100 countries around the globe.”
While MWI is a 100-year-old, family-run business, Dana isn’t afraid to embrace modern concepts. “At the heart of any pump company is excellent machining capacity and capabilities,” he states. “Much of what we do is short production runs, but we’re modernizing our machine shop through a multi-million-dollar investment in technology and equipment. Based on our calculations, we believe this once-in-a-generation investment will allow us to increase our annual output by ten times within our existing footprint. We’ve also added 9000 square feet of manufacturing space to our Vero Beach facility, aimed at increasing production of our traditional extended line shaft pumps. We’ve also relocated our 120-inch vertical turret lathe to the Vero Beach site, which enables us to turn pumps up to ten feet in diameter.”
Part of this investment is the deployment of Red-D-Arc’s welding cobots. “Red-D-Arc are a great partner, and their lease model works well for us as we increasingly embrace automation,” Dana says. “The advantage of these cobots is that they conduct repetitive processes and take less training than welding robots. After trialing some, we realized that we needed cobots with a higher capacity, and our flexible partnership with Red-D-Arc meant we could easily swap the first model for larger ones.”
As our conversation closes, Dana turns his attention to MWI’s 100th anniversary and we ask what factors he believes have been crucial to reaching this milestone. “Although there has been lots of hard work across the four generations, MWI’s success is down to the grace of God,” he shares. “When I was eight years old, my dad was considering selling the business, but I cried and explained that I wanted to build pumps like him. I remember the conversation as though it was yesterday; we made a deal that if I was serious, I would start working in the business after school and during holidays, and he would hand the business over to me when I finished my engineering degree. That’s exactly what we did – my dad continued the business instead of retiring, and I went on to study engineering.
“Aside from growing up in the business, my degree has provided me with a deeper understanding of fundamental engineering principles and given me greater respect for our craftsmen who make quality products every day. This experience has shaped my approach to the business in several ways, such as employee engagement and resonating with our customers’ problems to develop a custom solution.
“Any company can have great products, but it’s the culture and people that support long-term success,” he continues. “Ultimately, we are a people company. We pride ourselves on creating long-term relationships with both employees and customers, some of whom have been purchasing pumps from us for over 50 years. As part of our 100th anniversary celebrations, I’ve been interviewing our long-serving employees, and it has been an amazing opportunity to focus on our people and cement our core values. It’s great to hear that everyone feels valued and is very proud of what they do and the impact our products have. We stand behind our work, and it shows in our products quality and reliability over time.
“My brother and sister also work in the business, both professional licensed engineers, with my brother overseeing our manufacturing and engineering, and my sister managing our building construction, safety, and ISO certifications. The fifth generation is also involved, so it’s great to see the younger generation filtering through.
“Our future is bright, and we’re always innovating to expand our portfolio,” Dana concludes. “We’re continuing to invest in our people and their capabilities to build custom axial and mixed flow propeller pumps, as well as expanding our rental division. As we grow, we’re strengthening our internal procedures and manufacturing processes to ensure we’re not only efficient but also to maintain our great customer support.”