Summerfest Business Alliance Member Spotlight
1.) Tell Us Your Story!
If you’ve let the toilet flush itself with a Zurn hands-free flush valve, avoided paper towels with a World Dryer hand dryer, rehydrated at an Elkay bottle filling station or just appreciate water quality, safety, hygiene, flow control and conservation, you know Milwaukee-based Zurn Elkay Water Solutions.
We’re actively working toward a more sustainable future as we deliver customer-focused solutions that make clean water more accessible and sustainable, minimize our environmental footprint and foster a workplace that empowers our 2,500 associates. Since our founding in Erie, PA, 125 years ago, we’ve built a Sustainably Inspired® legacy of innovation, rooted in our guiding principle to simply do the right thing.
2.) What does the future hold for your organization?
Clean water is fundamental to human safety, public health and our planet’s ecosystems, and from our humble beginnings in a Pennsylvania barn 125 years ago, we’ve applied a sustainably inspired approach to addressing water-related challenges.
Those challenges continue to evolve to include unprecedented flooding, drought, pollution, contamination and natural disasters, ensuring water quality, safety and accessibility is more vital than ever before.
As the unrivaled leader in water solutions, we deliver to our customers a comprehensive, innovative portfolio of products and systems that promote health and hydration, protect clean water sources, conserve water and energy and provide safer, cleaner drinking water.
Unsurprisingly, our business strategy and sustainability strategy are increasingly one and the same. Whether it’s optimizing our products to further reduce water usage, enhancing our filters to remove new types of contaminants or making it even easier to eliminate single-use plastic bottles, our products enable our customers to efficiently and effectively reduce their own buildings’ impacts on the world.
But behind every product and solution are the talented 2,500 associates—about 150 here in Milwaukee—who help bring Zurn Elkay’s vision to life. We believe our associates thrive and contribute to our purpose when they’re in a work environment where they’re empowered to make an impact and encouraged to be their authentic self. We’re proud that our associates recognize us as a company where they can perform their best, grow their career and thrive.
Our 125-year legacy is built on innovation and responsibility. We align our operations with environmental stewardship and public health principles, turning challenges into solutions and ensuring our commitment to sustainability creates a meaningful impact for the next 125 years.
3.) How do you impact your community?
We’re committed to all the communities where our associates live, work, learn and play, especially in our hometown, and we make both financial and in-kind contributions centered around supporting organizations that deliver basic needs, education and environmental conservation.
We’ve got a special interest in helping address the health and safety of drinking water in areas where lead levels are high and resources are low, which was the driving force behind our donation of $2.2 million worth of Elkay® drinking water filters to Milwaukee Public Schools to ensure that all students, teachers, staff and community members have access to safer, cleaner drinking water.
We’re also passionate supporters of local organizations like Hunger Task Force, Sojourner Family Peace Center, United Community Center, Urban Ecology Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Next Door, whether through direct company giving or through the Zurn Foundation, which has supported our communities for more than seven decades.
We also encourage and support volunteerism and philanthropic giving among our associates, empowering them to strengthen their communities based on their own preferences and priorities. We provide every associate 20 hours of community-sponsored volunteerism each year and match up to $5,000 in personal philanthropy.