November 2011, Vol. 66 No. 11
Business
General Machine Products Celebrates 75 Years
General Machine Products Company Inc. (GMP) celebrates 75 years of manufacturing and engineering excellence as a global provider of a wide range of products for the telecommunications, power utility and cable television industries, and the contractors who serve them.
Founded by engineer George M. Pfundt (1896-1987) in 1936, GMP’s product applications include the placement of fiber optic, copper conductor and coaxial cable both aerially and underground. GMP aerial cable lashing machines, Adams continuous duty winches and fiber optic cable pullers are accepted as the industry standard today. The complete line of GMP’s 1,100 plus products also includes cable reels and aerial blocks, cable cutters, unique RJ plug pressing tools, fiber optic cable blowing equipment, and other specially designed tools for the data, telecommunications and power utility markets.
Three generations of continuous leadership at General Machine Products Company — William, Nelson and George Pfundt.
Today, GMP facilities include a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Trevose, PA, in suburban Philadelphia, and in Rutland, England (its CBS Products Ltd. unit). Both facilities are equipped with a full complement of technologically advanced machine tools manned by a well-trained team of craftspeople.
Looking back
GMP started operations in Philadelphia as a specialty machine shop serving the local Bell Telephone company and the area’s electric utility company. GMP expanded to a production shop manufacturing experimental prototypes after forming close relationships with the Western Electric Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories.
In 1949, GMP and Bell Telephone Laboratories joined forces to pioneer the first modern automatic lashing machine, the Model B Lasher, establishing the telephone industry’s standard in lashing technology. Cable lashing machines, sometimes called “lashers” or “spinners”, are designed to wind stainless steel wire around telephone, power, and multi-media cable, thereby securing or “lashing” the cable to the supporting messenger strand between poles. Since its introduction, the company has produced over 30,000 lashing machines; some manufactured in the 1950’s are still on the job today.
Poised to meet utility demands
For three generations, GMP continues to develop and refine its product lines and continues its investments in new product R&D, manufacturing, quality assurance, distribution and inventory control and physical plant to maintain its leadership and ability to meet the changing needs of work crews in the telecommunications, power utility and cable television fields.
To meet those challenges, William Pfundt has led the company forward by spearheading the creation of worldwide sales organizations covering Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as across Latin America and Asia. Because of his leadership, GMP tools can be found on the job in Dublin, Ireland and Dubai, United Arab Emirates; from Delhi, India to Durango, Mexico. 215.357.5500, gmptools.com
Comments