State, native dignitaries honor mission that may defend town from pure flooding disasters

A. O. Smith Company (NYSE: AOS), a pacesetter in water heating and water remedy, will host a celebration on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 9 a.m. CDT, marking the completion of a virtually 7,000-foot earthen berm, flood gates and pumping
stations surrounding the A. O. Smith Ashland Metropolis manufacturing plant, town’s water remedy facility and the Cumberland Electrical Membership Company substation. The 20-month mission is the end result of a 12-year collaboration among the many U.S. Military Corp of Engineers, the State of Tennessee, Tennessee Division of Transportation, Cheatham County, city of Ashland Metropolis and A. O. Smith.

Native authorities officers, together with the Firm’s management staff, will collect for a ribbon chopping ceremony to rejoice the reopening of a portion of the highway that has been closed for greater than a 12 months and runs adjoining to the A.O. Smith plant. Tennessee Deputy Governor Butch Eley; Ashland Metropolis Mayor J. T. Smith; and Stan Settles, representing Senator Invoice Hagerty’s workplace, will likely be in attendance.

“I couldn’t be extra happy to witness the progress and completion of this mission,” stated Mayor Smith. “It was really a staff effort and one that will not be potential with out the dedication of A. O. Smith. These enhancements will assist maintain our native companies, residents and houses secure from future flooding disasters.”

In Might 2010, a file 13.57 inches of rain fell in a 36-hour interval over Center Tennessee, inflicting the Cumberland River to crest 52 ft. Roughly 1,700 ft east of the river’s banks, A. O. Smith’s Ashland Metropolis plant was inundated, shutting down operations for 4 weeks and costing the Firm $66 million to totally get well. The mission will guarantee Ashland Metropolis, its water remedy facility, the native energy utility’s substation, and A. O. Smith operations will likely be secure from the subsequent 500-year flood.

The $16.6 million mission was funded by a mix of private and non-private entities. “This mission is a main instance of certainly one of our firm’s values in motion – ‘A. O. Smith will likely be an excellent citizen’ – working to guard the individuals who reside and work within the metropolis we’ve referred to as residence since 1961,” stated Dave Warren, president and normal supervisor of the Firm’s North America Water Heating enterprise, headquartered in Ashland Metropolis. “This mission was very important to the neighborhood and our long-term sustainability on this city.”