A. O. Smith Corporation celebrated the grand opening of its new Lloyd R. Smith Corporate Technology Center. The 42,700-square-foot research and development lab, located adjacent to the company’s world headquarters in Milwaukee, will serve as the company’s global innovation hub. Teams of engineers will concept, test, and finalize core technologies to be used in A. O. Smith products around the globe.

“We have a world-class team of extraordinary engineers and problem solvers, and now they have a world-class facility to help them in doing their work,” said Kevin Wheeler, president and chief executive officer, A. O. Smith Corp. “The Lloyd R. Smith Corporate Technology Center will be our innovation hub of tomorrow, identifying new and emerging technologies, and designing state-of-the-art water technology solutions.”

A. O. Smith’s corporate technology team — the team working in the new facility — focuses on advanced research and development in the area of potable and hydronic water heating, water treatment, and air purification. The new research center features water heating and boiler performance test labs, water treatment labs, an air test lab, as well as a number of specialized development labs. In addition, the new research center has a prototype lab where product prototypes, test fixtures, and other equipment will be built.

“Here, at the new Lloyd R. Smith Corporate Technology Center, our engineers will be working to not only meet, but exceed, the demands of consumers by generating new and innovative water technologies that heat, clean, and conserve water,” said Dr. Robert Heideman, senior vice president and chief technology officer at A. O. Smith. “Even more exciting is that the layout of the facility will help in increasing our team’s efficiency and decreasing overall product development time.”

The new facility is named after Lloyd Raymond Smith who led the company for three decades in the early 1900s and was responsible for some of the company’s technological breakthroughs, such as A. O. Smith’s proprietary glass-lining on water heater tanks.