I’m celebrating today, not because it is Cinco de Mayo, but because I participated in the Chesterton Grand Opening event. This was not some commonplace ribbon-cutting ceremony. This was a day where the cutting of the ribbon catapulted all the guests into action.

Brian Gilmore, Jay Ash, Brian O’Donnell, Andrew Chesterton, and Kevin Quinn are pictured above at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony which took place at the new Chesterton Groveland Facility on May 5, 2016.

Organized into groups, the guests were escorted through the new Chesterton facility, which contains the manufacturing plant, service center, corporate headquarters, and state-of-the-art training facility. The word “WOW” kept escaping my lips as I went through the large complex, which had individual stations manned by Chesterton’s experts. These panels of experts, which included Mike Grimanis, Doug Ell, Adam Powell, Ron Frisard, Andy Rodrique, Phil Mahoney, Rodney Roth, Steve Bowditch, Linda Loreth, Mike Botelho, Tracey Mailhot, Henri Azibert, Thiru Veeraraghavan, Scott Boyson, Jim Cairns, Bryan Giard, Christine House, Alan MacLean, Allison Sjolund, Ian Baynes and Guy Clement, spoke with us about many important topics – mechanical seals, packing, continuous improvement, employee involvement with lean manufacturing, training, mentoring, and so much more.

My excitement overflowed once I entered their training facility, which contains three very impressive labs that teach participants about rotating equipment, stationary equipment, and fluid power equipment. Their training classrooms are equipped with 70-inch interactive smart boards that allow students to interact with the instructor right from their own tablets. Guy Clement, Director of Chesterton Global Learning Services, explained the adult learning principles that guided the design of their training center. I saw with my own eyes just how well Chesterton has set up a training environment that supports true “hands on” learning. As Knowledge Providers in our industry, Chesterton is truly leading the way with this investment into this state-of-the-art training center!

Chesterton Team in the Pump Training Lab

Walking into Chesterton’s Pump Lab was most impressive. You all know how much I love pumps! There were several pumps installed in a closed loop and each pump had a piece of clear piping so we could see the fluid being pumped (in this case it was clean water).

Charli Matthews talks with Guy Clement in the Pump Training Lab

They use this lab to teach best practices and pump system efficiency, which we all know is extremely important with the recent DOE rulings. These rulings and other challenges the industry currently faces were topics of discussion in our recent interview with Brian O’Donnell, President of A. W. Chesterton Company.

Mr. O’Donnell spoke today not only of the company’s history, but of their investment over the past three years in facilities, equipment, and people – they have added more than 100 jobs in the Groveland location alone. Their employees are active in charities and community programs, and the employees run an internal program known as Love Where You Work. Their energy today was inspirational! My favorite part of the day was watching the whole Chesterton Team come together to highlight our industry. This day wasn’t just a monumental day for Chesterton. It showcased the true driving force within our industry… Knowledge.

Chesterton, a company that has been around for 132 years, prides itself on helping the industrial process industry BE BETTER (check out #AWCBetterTogether on Twitter to see pictures from today’s Grand Opening event). I invite you to learn more about ways Chesterton can support you. Read more about how Chesterton is expanding training and services to meet changing industry needs.