Effective Dec. 1 2007, the Grundfos Group, with headquarters in Denmark, has acquired Peerless Pump Co., a US-based (Indianapolis, IN, and five other North American facilities) manufacturer of pumps and fire protection systems. With more than 400 employees and annual sales of $110 million, Peerless is Grundfos’ largest acquisition to date.

“The US market has a significant growth potential, and, seen in that perspective, the acquisition of Peerless is of great strategic importance to Grundfos,” said Carsten Bjerg, group president and CEO of Grundfos Group.

Currently, Grundfos’ sales in North America are $300 million. The US pump market alone is estimated to be $6 billion. With the latest acquisition, Grundfos expects to double sales within a four-year period, reaching $600 million.

Soren O. Sorensen, group executive vice president and Chairman of the Board of Grundfos in North America, said, “with the acquisition of Peerless we extend our product range as well as our US sales organization significantly. We expect a lot from this deal and see great potential for globalization especially of the Peerless fire protection systems.”

Dean E. Douglas, president and CEO of Peerless, will continue in his present position and report to the Grundfos Group’s new Regional Managing Director, Jes Munk Hansen.

“We see Grundfos’ acquisition of Peerless as an extremely positive move for our customers ," Douglas said.