Its Secret Is In Its People

Burt Process Equipment
Written by Pauline Muller

It is always refreshing to come across a company with a sense of care toward the world at large – especially when it comes to serious matters like potable water. Burt Process Equipment is not only a highly respected manufacturer and distributor of fluid-handling components, systems, and industrial tools, but it is also a company with philanthropy at its core and a major supporter of the United Nations’ mission to provide access to clean drinking water.
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Over forty percent of the world’s people have lives that revolve around the daily struggle of gathering just enough to survive, and water is one of these crucial needs. After fifty years in the trade, there is nothing the Burt family does not know about manufacturing and distribution systems. Together with its partners, Burt Process Equipment is doing everything in its power to help countries in dire need of access to good water.

“Clean water is a vital and limited resource. Burt Process Equipment values the environment and stands to be a leader in global water quality,” says President Stephen Burt.

The company is particularly well-known for its advanced engineering and custom system manufacturing. It employs next-generation manufacturing technology and has ample space for building massive systems at its 50,000-square-foot headquarters in Hamden, Connecticut.

Burt Process serves an array of industries from chemical processing, industrial manufacturing, food and beverage firms to oil refineries, adhesives manufacturers, craft breweries, wineries, hospitals, municipalities, and pharmaceutical companies. All of these rely on its engineering to run manufacturing and chemical treatment processes successfully.

The company is especially proud of its master steel fabricators, welders, plastic fabricators, and control panel technicians. It also has an engineering department with chemical, mechanical, electrical, process and information technology specialists. Burt Process designers offer expert computer aided design (CAD) drawings, piping system and instrumentation diagrams (P&ID).

The company’s services include selecting assembly tools, sizing pumps, advising clients on the compatibility of certain materials with various chemicals, assisting them in choosing the best tanks and instruments for their needs, and guiding them on control applications that align with their unique equipment requirements.

Burt Process Equipment’s portfolio provides low-maintenance pH systems that are quick and easy to fit, pre-packaged chemical and polymer feed systems used in treatment facilities, reverse osmosis and deionized water systems used for purifying water to varying degrees, as well as water saving rainwater reclamation systems.

Burt Process Equipment is responsible for some inspirational work that contributes to saving millions of lives annually. Thanks to its wastewater treatment equipment, one of the company’s biotechnology clients could continue producing their vaccines and antibodies that prevent babies from succumbing to influenza and rotavirus. This alone is said to save an average of 125 million lives, annually. The new system supported the customer’s production capacity, and more people’s lives are being saved as a result.

The company’s capabilities and service have secured it a reputation for excellence and partnerships with companies like Ingersoll Rand, Grundfos, ARO, Georg Fischer, IDEX, and Netzsch. Its local facilities mainly serve New England, New York and the Mid-Atlantic states of the U.S., while its website has enabled it to supply the world market with quality fluid handling and water treatment equipment. Burt Process has recently opened a brand new stocking facility in southern California in March of this year to serve its West Coast clients.

“I know of no other industrial distributor in the U.S. that has seen our level of growth in the distribution business and matches our engineering staff and state-of-the-art manufacturing capacity for building high-quality systems as we do,” says Marketing Director Susan Burt, daughter of founder William Burt.

After six years of working as an applications engineer, Bill decided it was time to set out on his own. He and his wife, Lillian, worked tirelessly to establish an industrial pipe, valve, and fitting distributorship. Burt Process Equipment soon became the preferred supplier for many manufacturing businesses and plating shops.

He was joined by his friend William Schwanfelder in 1970 who established the company’s manufacturing division. The business continued growing rapidly through its fiberglass and steel tank fabrication capabilities. As the manufacturing business expanded to custom plastic tanks and corrosion-resistant plating lines in the 1980s, the duo never looked back. Since then, the business has grown to have more than one hundred employees, well over twenty thousand customers, and at least forty premier equipment suppliers.

Bill Burt’s legacy lives on. He and Lil had great faith in people, and the two took on the responsibility of looking out for their employees like they did for their own family. The couple also believed that they and their staff should enjoy the quality of life that comes with business stability. Today, their children, along with the company’s other senior leaders, still uphold these core values for Burt Process.

Burt Process Equipment is devoted to improving the lives of those affected by a lack of clean water. “To help provide clean water and sanitation to world populations has become the cornerstone of our global water initiative,” says Sue.

“We are committing to step up our influence to help with disaster relief efforts and positively impact world populations that are in need of potable water. We are partnering with exceptional companies and organizations that share our passion and drive to assist in the world water crisis,” she adds.

Its partners in this endeavor include Water Mission, Grundfos, and GF Piping systems. Burt Process Equipment is sharing its vast pool of expertise and innovative technology for reducing energy and water use in manufacturing operations around the world. “Our expertise is in providing best-in-class components, solving problems and engineering custom water and wastewater treatment systems to help our industrial and municipal clients globally,” says Sue.

Sue’s advice to those just starting out in business is to be passionate about what they do and to see every day as an opportunity to help and change others’ lives for the better. “We must use our talents and recognize talents in others who work with us to be successful. First, you must cultivate trust, respect, and collaboration with your team and then you will be positioned to do great things,” she says.

The company’s future is focused on becoming increasingly more involved in contributing its inventions to help combat water scarcity around the world. It is also committed to growing via a set of strategically formulated expansion goals. Burt Process will continue building on its existing sustainability strategies such as its solar-powered manufacturing facility and its sophisticated water treatment systems that minimize its carbon footprint.

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