Factory tour of Interpump Group (General Pump)
I had the privilege of touring the Interpump (General Pump) factory on a recent trip to Europe which is a key supplier for us. Interpump is located in the industrial area in the north central part of Italy with beautiful farmland and quaint towns mixed in between the industrial developments.

The tour of Interpump began with an explanation of their commitment to investing in technology in computer numerical controlled machines to provide them an edge in quality instead of investing in a factory in China.  They are also investing in new designs to keep competitive on price.  The high speed machinery combined with the new design will continue to provide Hydro Tek with pump that provides a better value to our pressure washer users.  The tour began with rows of screw machines that only needed a couple of operators to run many machines in a very efficient manner.  The next stop was a cluster of multi-axis automatic milling machines used to make the heads and bodies of the pressure washer pumps. The parts were supplied with a robotic arm for machining without human intervention.  The next stop was grinding machines making crankshafts in a very precise and automated system to ensure the longevity of the power end of the pump in heavy pressure washing applications.  The final assembly for the pressure washer pumps was done in work cells that were laid out in a productive system to produce quickly without wasted time.  My wife was surprised that the number of women who were assembling the pumps, I was only impressed at how quickly they put out the finished product in perfect fashion.

We also toured a separate factory where they made the ceramic plungers for the pressure washer pumps.  Interpump chose to make these in their own factory as there is quite an art to turning the soft white powder into an ultra hard ceramic plunger with no cracks or defects. We finished the tour with Carrado Barozzi, sales manager, and enjoyed an extensive Italian lunch and then he treated us to a tour of the Ferrari museum.

Although there many impressive attractions to see in Italy, it was a real highlight for me to visit the Interpump plant especially after purchasing their pumps for 25 years.

I can understand why many pressure washer dealers and end users ask for General Pump. The factory people and systems to make these pressure washer pumps exhibited a passion for the highest quality standards and a future commitment to remain highly competitive and maintain their position as the largest ceramic pump producer for pressure washers.

- John