About Kennedy Valve


Kennedy Valve

Located in Elmira, NY, Kennedy Valve employs over 400 people with annual sales in excess of $125 million. Additional economic impacts include:

  • $24.5 million in annual payroll
  • $31.6 million of local purchases of material and services
  • Payments of $6.6 million a year on utilities
  • Generating almost $212,300 in property tax revenue in the Elmira area
  • Supporting more than 400 jobs and $31.6 million in economic activity throughout the State of New York



Capital Improvements

Since 1997, McWane, Inc. has placed in service in excess of $32 Million in Capital improvement projects in this facility to make its production processes safer, environmentally sound and more productive to ensure relatively consistent employment levels.


Environmental Capital Improvements

Since 1997, over $4.5 million has been invested in capital improvements related to environmental control and pollution prevention. This represents 13.8 percent of total capital spending during the period. An additional $11 million in operating expenses was also invested in environmental, health and safety related efforts. Examples of environmental upgrades include the following:

  • Phase I of improvements to the air systems in the melt area
  • Phase II of improvements to stormwater drainage
  • Chip Cyclone/Dryer/Briquette Machine


Implemented Environmental Upgrades

  • Partially enclosing the melt dust generation and bagging area, which prevents stormwater from coming into contact with the dust
  • Installing a bigger fan, motor and base on the cleaning room dust collector that increased the capacity of the baghouse by 30,000 CFM, thus improving the capture and collection of airborne dust from the cleaning room. A silencer was also added to the stack to control noise
  • Installing a new acid scrubber to control emissions from the three core making machines
  • Installing a closed-loop water cooling system that decreased demand for city water supply and decreased the possibility of a water discharge
  • Making improvements to the scrap yard to keep scrap contained under roof and to minimize the area where scrap is stored
  • Upgrading of spill response equipment
  • Installing a new sand silo that controls particulate emissions during sand unloading and transfer activities
  • Installing a new resin tanker off-load containment area to control any spillage during unloading activity
  • Constructing a 6,000 gallon bulk tank containment area in the core building to control spills if they should occur
  • Redesigning ventilation systems within the plant to reduce worker exposure to airborne dust
  • Installing a vibratory separator to separate sand and dirt from metal so that this material can be kept off the ground and away from stormwater
  • Cement Paving of the yards for dust control purposes

Plant-Specific Training Initiatives/Programs

Kennedy Valve has implemented a comprehensive “best-in-class” Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Program that is integrated with operational management and supported by experienced and qualified EHS professionals and staff. The EHS Program in many cases exceeds standards required by regulatory authorities. The EHS Program includes, but is not limited to:

  • An Ethics and Compliance Policy as well as a specific EHS Policy, EHS Directives, and detailed EHS procedures and Kennedy specific work instructions
  • A state-of-the-art web-based EHS Management System, which includes state-of-the-art EHS software systems, OpsEnvironmental, Dakota Tracer, and Medgate, and provides a consistent and coordinated means for Kennedy Valve and all of McWane’s facilities to identify, document, assess, measure, report, and continuously improve with respect to environmental protection and workplace health and safety
  • Qualified and professional full-time EHS staff, including an Environmental Manager, an Environmental Technician, a Health and Safety Manager, a Foundry Safety Engineer, a Finishing Safety Engineer, a Safety Training Facilitator, a Workers Compensation Administrator, two Nurses, and a Safety Clerk
  • Joint management-labor safety committees
  • Extensive training and educational programs
  • Significant capital and operational investment
  • Strict internal and external control mechanisms
  • A 24 hour “Access Line” for reporting suspected violations of law, regulation, or Company policy and other concerns, asking questions, or seeking advice, all on a confidential and anonymous basis

OSHA 10 hour training for supervisors and above

Hands-on fire extinguisher training for key personnel

First Aid and CPR/AED classes

Mildred Ramsey “Super Supervisor”


Awards/Recognitions

  • United Way Silver and Bronze Stars for Giving
    • 2003, 2004, and 2005
  • American Red Cross 2006 – Bloodhound Award
  • ADAI 2006 Best of Category in Advertising Design

Employee Outreach

  • Monthly employee safety suggestion program with monthly, quarterly, and annual prize winners
  • Annual Kennedy Valve picnic
  • Monthly department lunches for safety performance
  • Employee “Town Hall” Meetings
  • Annual Flu Shot clinic

Community Outreach Efforts

  • Marine Corps Toys for Tots annual 4th of July Pride Ride
  • 100 Year Anniversary Open House
  • United Way
  • World Hunger Day annual Empty Bowl Lunch
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • Internship program with Elmira College
  • American Red Cross Blood Drives
  • Salvation Army Coats for Kids Drive

Social Responsibility

  • Kennedy Valve recycles/melts more than 25,000 tons of scrap iron each year