Several hundred people attended an open house hosted by Liberty Pumps in Bergen on April 27 to celebrate and tour the latest expansion at the Bergen-based manufacturer, which has experienced remarkable growth in its 50 years.
The company, which makes sump, sewage, effluent pumps and engineered pump systems, recently completed a major 123,000 square feet expansion at its Apple Tree Corporate Park facility and the April 27 open house included a dedication ceremony hosted by president/CEO Charlie Cook.
Cook described how the business has grown – from a handful of employees in 1965 when his uncle Fred Cook founded the company and manufactured a small line of sump pumps – to the current 190 employees.
“We just wanted to survive,” Cook said, “we kept our heads down, kept doing what we do best and slowly we just grew. We are very proud of where we are today.”
The business began in a 4,800 square feet building on Buffalo Road, which is now the Scomac Machine Shop. With the new addition, the current plant is now more than 240,000 square feet and Liberty Pumps products are shipped to 25 countries around the world, including China, Cook said.
Liberty Pumps is a local, family-run business and Cook said Liberty Pumps became a family/employee owned ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) company recently. “Our workers are now owners,” Cook said.
He explained that Liberty Pumps is known for its innovative, high quality products, has won multiple awards from Inc. 5000, and is a Rochester Top 100 Company.
“The most important thing is how you serve the customer,” Cook said. “No one in the industry is better at it than we are. We know our customers and try to anticipate their needs.”
He noted the Executive Team, which sets the direction of the company, is composed of graduates from local high schools, including Byron-Bergen. “They are all locally raised and educated,” Cook said. “There’s nothing wrong with a rural education like we had here in Genesee County.”
During the dedication, Cook remembered two of Liberty Pumps original investors and board members – Harris Wilcox and Leon Katzen, and dedicated the new expansion in memory of them.
Cook thanked Town of Bergen officials, “they have been very supportive of our product and our company being in Bergen,” Cook said. He noted the local workforce is remarkable. “They have a sense of pride that goes into the products they build.”
Bergen Town Supervisor Don Cunningham is a Liberty Pumps member/employee. He said it’s amazing to witness how the company has expanded over the years. “To have a company established here experience this kind of growth is phenomenal,” he said.
The latest expansion includes an additional manufacturing area with space for new manufacturing cells; an increased warehouse area; a new powder coat line; a larger research and engineering lab; a new lunchroom; a 20,000 gallon test pit; and a marketing wing and product training center.
