Pentair to add nearly 100 jobs in Warwick

PROVIDENCE – State officials and Pentair Electronic Packaging, a unit of Minnesota-based Pentair Inc. (NYSE: PNR), have announced plans to add nearly 100 manufacturing jobs in Rhode Island.
“We welcome Pentair’s latest expansion in Rhode Island,” Gov. Donald L. Carcieiri said in a statement yesterday afternoon.
Pentair Electronic Packaging is a provider of standard and custom cases and enclosures for a wide variety of electronics. It now lists 180 employees at its Schroff Products plant in Warwick.
The company plans to expand that work force by roughly half as it relocates to Rhode Island several additional product lines that now are manufactured in Poway, Calif. – a shift that Pentair expects to complete by July 2009. (The Poway facility will continue to manufacture products under Calmark and Birtcher brands, as well as hosting engineering, sales and other operations, Pentair said.)
“This product move will help Pentair Electronic Packaging continue to provide outstanding quality and service for our customers,” said Steve Cotariu, Pentair’s general manager of global electronics.
“We are excited to leverage the strengths of the Rhode Island operations and look forward to working further with the R.I. Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and R.I. Department of Labor and Training (DLT) as we grow our operations,” Cotariu added.
The Warwick plant – a 141,000-square-foot production facility off Airport Road, at 170 Commerce Drive – is a center of competence for mechanics, electronics and thermal management, Pentair says on its Web site.
“Pentair’s decision to relocate manufacturing activity to Rhode Island is good news for our state,” said Saul Kaplan, the EDC’s executive director. “Rhode Island has a deep pool of well-qualified and skilled workers ready to support Pentair’s relocation and growth in Rhode Island.”
To find those workers, the company – in partnership with the DLT and EDC – will host a job fair on Tuesday, Dec. 16, from 3 to 7 p.m., at its Warwick plant. (Additional information is available by calling the DLT’s Laura Hart at 462-8090.)
“The Department of Labor and Training will play a leading role in helping Pentair Electronic Packaging in its recruitment efforts,” Sandra Powell, the DLT’s director, said in a statement.
“The majority of the company’s new jobs represent skilled and semi-skilled manufacturing operations. We are thrilled to offer this opportunity to Rhode Islanders at a time when new jobs are so urgently needed,” Powell said.
“These are good jobs in a progressive manufacturing company that is well-positioned for future growth,” the EDC’s Kaplan added. “We look forward to working with Pentair as they complete this transfer, and on implementing their plans for future growth in Warwick.”
Pentair Electronic Packaging’s Schroff Products – a business unit in the Technical Products Group of Golden Valley, Minn.-based Pentair Inc. (NYSE: PNR) – is a provider of high-end packaging, cases and enclosure systems for industrial, medical, military and other electronics. Additional information is available at www.Schroff.us and www.Pentair-EP.com.
The R.I. Economic Development Corporation is a quasi-public agency established to promote business development, preservation and expansion in the state and undertake port projects in Rhode Island. To learn more, visit www.riedc.com. For more information about the R.I. Department of Labor and Training and its Employer Service Unit, or to meet with an employer-service representative, call 1-888-616-JOBS or visit www.dlt.ri.gov.