Lochinvar Corporation to Build New World Headquarters

Press

by Lochinvar | 06/20/2008

Lochinvar Corporation, a Nashville Tennessee headquartered manufacturer of high efficiency water heaters, boilers, swimming pool heaters and hot water storage tanks, announced today plans to relocate its world headquarters to Lebanon Tennessee. Construction is due to begin May 1, 2000 at Lochinvar's 75-acre site in Lebanon. The new 310,000 square foot facility will house a manufacturing plant, an engineering development lab, administrative offices, a state-of-the-art training facility, and a distribution center. Currently, Lochinvar operates out of five separate offices in six facilities throughout middle Tennessee. The new facility will consolidate all of the existing operations into one building.

Lochinvar is one of the oldest privately held corporations in middle Tennessee with roots in the water heater business dating back to 1919. Walter Vallett, Sr. started the company in the early 1900's in Detroit, Michigan. Under the direction of Bill Vallett, Sr., the company headquarters was moved to Nashville in 1972, after the acquisition of the Wagoner Water Heater Company. Today, Lochinvar is owned and operated by the third generation of the Vallett family, with Bill Vallett, Jr. as president, Jeff Vallett as senior vice president of sales and marketing, and Tom Vallett as senior vice president of operations.

"Lochinvar has averaged a 15% growth rate per year for each of the last 15 years. This growth created the need for eight building expansions since opening our current facility in 1980," said Bill Vallett. "Combining our six facilities under one roof will give us the opportunity to improve our communication and logistical efficiencies and give us the space to continue our rate of growth."

The new facility will include a new 80 seat amphitheater style training center with the latest in audio visual technologies, and a dedicated hands on training lab for service and application training of sales people, engineers, and plumbing and heating contractors. "One of our business foundations is research and development of leading edge technologies in water heating," said Jeff Vallett. "With the high degree of technology comes the obligation to train the industry on the installation, service and maintenance of these new products." 75,000 square feet of the new facility will serve as the United States southeastern distribution center. Lochinvar has additional distribution centers in Detroit, Dallas, Tampa, Philadelphia, and Banbury England in the UK. Occupancy in the new facility is expected in the spring of 2001. Included in this project will be a 15,000 square foot expansion of the storage tank manufacturing facility that was built on the Lebanon site in January 1998.