Wheelabrator Group is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its LaGrange GA facility in September 2007. The LaGrange location opened Sept 21, 1987, and it is the home of Wheelabrator Plus, the aftermarket sales division that provides services, replacement parts, and training.
LaGrange is also home to the Wheelabrator Group North American Research and Development Center, along with the Customer Demonstration and Testing Facility and the Equipment Modernization Program (EMP) Team. The EMP Team focuses on providing equipment upgrades that boost customer productivity and reduce costs associated with the operation and maintenance of blasting equipment.
The LaGrange facility now employs 130 people, with more than 20 additional employees working in field sales and service. This facility will celebrate its anniversary with a luncheon and employee recognition this fall.
Wheelabrator will honor another historical milestone in 2008 as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary. It was founded in 1908 in Ohio as the Homogeneous Sand Mixing Machine Co. The company developed the Wheelabrator airless blast cleaning wheel in 1932, a simple mechanical unit that used controlled centrifugal force instead of compressed air for abrasive blasting.