Industry Outlook: Taking The Lead To Address Water Issues

Gretchen McClain, President, ITT Fluid Technology, Senior Vice President, ITT Corporation

Our mission at ITT Fluid Technology is to provide safe water and sanitation for everyone—globally. That’s both our goal and our passion. At ITT, we take great pride in our role as a thought leader in the water industry.

For more than 30 years, we have been instrumental in setting the standard for innovation, performance and reliability around the world. We bring extraordinary focus to the job of running our business, yet we never let ourselves lose sight of the larger perspective. Our products and services directly touch millions of customers and end-users—but our actions reach millions more people all over the world. From nanofi ltration membrane technology to low-cost, easy-to-use portable water treatment systems, ITT products play a central role in preserving the earth’s most precious resource and increasing access to safe water supplies.

It’s no secret that the world is facing unprecedented water challenges brought on by population growth, urbanization and shrinking fresh water supplies. Experts agree that it will take several trillion dollars of investments in water infrastructure over the next two decades to address this urgent issue. As the global leader in water equipment, we are well-positioned to serve this market with pumps, valves and treatment technologies.

While water scarcity truly is a global issue, its immediate impact is in developing countries. As part of our emerging market strategy, ITT is investing in new world-class manufacturing and service facilities, unifying and expanding our sales force and launching research and development centers in India and China.

We are committed to providing our customers in more than 130 countries with innovative technologies that meet their needs. This includes the supplying of next-generation products such as predictive monitoring controls, wear-resistant pumps and energy-effi cient disinfection systems that reduce operating and maintenance costs.

As a responsible citizen, we want to grow our company while also contributing to the greater good. In short, we want the world to be a better place because we are a part of it.

Corporate citizenship extends into many areas: environmental stewardship, workplace safety, product responsibility, “green” technologies, processes and facilities and philanthropy. At ITT, we are focused on doing a better job in all of these areas and we are committed to being a company that lives up to our responsibilities as a thought leader—and as a good global neighbor.

Our efforts have not gone unnoticed. ITT has been ranked in the top 10 on CRO magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list. This annual ranking evaluated more than 1100 large U.S. public companies and highlighted ITT for embracing high standards combined with strong fi nancial performance and responsible practices on environmental and social issues.

In conclusion, there’s no question that there are challenges ahead for our world’s water. There are some who believe that increased need, stressed supplies, pollution and geopolitics are clouding the future. At ITT we have a different outlook. We believe that our use—and reuse—of this precious resource will help defi ne the future of humanity. We are excited to be a part of the solution to this challenge. MT

This article is part of Maintenance Technology’s 2008 Industry Outlook, the annual executive roundtable. Columns from each of the 14 thought leaders who participated can be found at the following link: http://www.mt-online.com/article/0808-industry-outlook

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