Trade.Information

Company Name: Franklin Fueling Systems

Company Type: Global leader in the production and marketing of systems and components for the movement of water and automotive fuels

Company Profile

Franklin Fueling Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Electric, founded in Bluffton, Indiana USA in 1944 by E. J. (Ed) Schaefer and T. W. (Wayne) Kehoe. After successful careers as electrical engineers, Ed and Wayne began mass producing small electric motors custom-designed for specific needs. Only six years after founding Franklin Electric, the company experienced one of its most notable achievements when it designed and introduced the first practical submersible electric motor using water as a lubricant. This initial design has been the foundation of the diverse product line now available from Franklin Electric. 

With over 3,200 employees worldwide, Franklin Electric’s global team has manufacturing and distribution facilities located in the United States, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and China. 

To further expand the use of their submersible electric motor, Franklin acquired FE Petro, Inc. of McFarland, WI USA in 1988. Charles C. Franklin, the Founder and Chairman of FE Petro, recognized the need for a manufacturer who placed the highest priority on producing an innovative quality product at a competitive price, as well as on-time delivery combined with exemplary customer service. By following its founder’s vision, FE Petro grew rapidly into the industry’s technology leader in submersible gasoline pumping. Driven by the spirit of innovation, FE Petro introduced industry leading solutions such as variable length pumps and the MagShell pump. FE Petro, the global leader in submersible pumping technology and innovation, has successfully grown worldwide, taking the leadership in the ongoing move outside the US from traditional suction technology to submersible pumping technology. 

Because of the success experienced by FE Petro and the growing desire to provide customers with a complete fueling system, Franklin Electric acquired EBW, Inc. and APT, Inc. of Muskegon, MI USA in 2000. EBW had been an industry leading manufacturer of petroleum products for over 40 years. EBW added products to FE Petro’s offering which included underground and aboveground tank trim hardware, spill containers and manholes, suction systems, nozzles and breakaways, tank monitoring systems and tank truck accessories. 

APT manufactured products including UL 971 approved single- and double-wall flexible underground piping, flexible entry boots, poly containment sumps and fittings. 

The combination of FE Petro, EBW and APT products solidified Franklin Electric as an innovative fueling systems supplier, which led to the creation of Franklin Fueling Systems Inc. in 2004.

In an effort to bring local expertise and support to their international customers, Franklin Fueling Systems extended their global presence by establishing an office in Wittlich, Germany in 2002. Franklin Fueling Systems GmbH provides sales and technical support to the European, Middle East, African and Indian markets. Similar teams have been established in South America and recently Asia as well.

Global market penetration experienced by EBW Autostik electronics prompted FFS to further explore opportunities to complete their electronics product offering. This led to the acquisition of INCON, Inc. of Saco, ME USA in 2002. INCON completed the FFS portfolio of service station electronics by providing an innovative line of tank gauges, electronic line leak detection, environmental monitoring sensors and remote monitoring software. INCON systems are in operation throughout the world supplying industry leading innovations including magnetostrictive measurement technology, user-friendly tank gauge interface and state-of-the-art software packages. In 2004 FFS invested in a 92,000 square foot consolidated factory building in Madison, WN USA. This location houses all design, support, production and assembly of FE Petro, EBW and APT branded products. Over 150 people are working in two FFS manufacturing locations in Madison, WI and Saco, ME and are ISO 9001:2001 approved. 

To further prepare for present and future ecological containment and monitoring, FFS purchased Phil-Tite industries in July of 2005. This acquisition provided FFS with a solution for single- and double-wall fiberglass containment sumps, field replaceable and secondary contained spill container and the first ever CARB EVR system. 

In 2005 FFS launched the next generation of tank gauging platforms and software for fuel management and station management needs. As a result, the user can communicate with their monitoring console just by using an internet browser, as no proprietary protocols are needed any longer to transfer information in and out of the gauge. With this new product range (ICON tank monitoring consoles, TS-5, TS-550, TS-5000 and System Sentinel AnyWare software package) FFS has positioned itself at the top of tank gauging and fuel management technology and has proven its reputation as a truly innovative company.

Most recently, Franklin Fueling Systems acquired Healy Systems in the fall of 2006. This step further broadened the complete system offering from FFS to include Stage II Vapor Recovery products built with proven technology which has been in the field for over 25 years. Healy also manufactures the only EVR Phase II system to be certified by the California Air Resource Board.

About Company

Franklin Electric is a global leader in the production and marketing of systems and components for the movement of water and automotive fuels. Recognized as a technical leader in its specialties, Franklin serves customers around the world in residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, municipal and fueling applications.

Long recognized as the world’s largest manufacturer of submersible electric motors, Franklin Electric has been able to leverage its expertise in motor applications to grow and serve several different markets. The principal application for Franklin products is water well pumping systems, where the company offers pumps, motors, drives, and controls for use in a wide variety of residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial installations. In addition, Franklin Electric produces a vast array of products for fueling systems, from submersible fuel pumps to station hardware and piping to electronic controls, which are used in underground gasoline, diesel, and biofuel storage pumping systems. Finally, Franklin serves the water transfer market with products that include wastewater pumps, sump/sewage/effluent pumps, dewatering and trash pumps, condensate pumps, magnetic drive pumps, low pressure sewer systems, water garden pumps and products, and a wide variety of utility pumps.

With 3,200 employees worldwide, Franklin Electric is a global manufacturer with over twenty manufacturing and distribution facilities located in the United States, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Australia, South Africa, China and Japan.