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Hagler History

Georgia Iron Works Days

The HAGLER legacy began over 70 years ago when Thomas W. Hagler, Sr., his brother, and two investors purchased Georgia Iron Works on March 11th, 1947. GIW was originally founded in 1891 by Henry C. Perkins, but it was the Hagler family who brought massive growth to the company. It was a foundry and fabrication shop that was making portable sawmills, but later went on to cast iron pumps and parts.

It was Tom Hagler, Sr., who took on the task of turning the company around, and that he did, serving as President from 1947 to 1971, and began an era of designing, manufacturing, and selling large-scale dredging and mining pumps. Tom Hagler had set high expectations to increase sales and profits during the 1950s, and by 1959, GIW’s net worth had reached $1,077,561 with a net profit of $80,865—an impressive increase compared to the original $33,736 net profit and $264,693 in assets when it was purchased.

1920s GIW Sand & Dredging Pump

Tom Smith employee in the 1930's by Tom Hagler, Sr. as the first GIW truck driver.

1947 Board of Directors (Thomas W. Hagler, Sr. on left)

In 1956, Tom’s son, Thomas W. Hagler, Jr., joined GIW as a mechanical engineer in charge of drafting, the hydraulic lab, and conducting field tests. In 1971, following his father’s footsteps, he became president, treasurer, and chief executive officer.

1950's-Tom Hagler, Jr. (on right) + Pierce Thompkins running a pump test in the hydraulic lab.

GIW outgrew their old facility in Augusta and opened a new facility in Grovetown, GA. During the last year of construction of this new facility, GIW made record shipments. The rewards of expanding to this new facility were finally seen by the 1970s with the company starting off at $4,000,000 and reaching $21,900,000 by the next decade. During this time, Tom Hagler, Jr., took over as president, and the company was marketing their products abroad to countries like Canada, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Jamaica, and South America.

Tom Hagler Sr. 1950's in front of dredge pump

Tom Hagler, Sr. standing next to a large impeller for a double-wall dredge pump

After many years of growth and success, GIW was sold to KSB in 1993, becoming a great addition to the KSB family of companies.

The Early days of Hagler

Hagler and Associates, now doing business as HAGLER Process, was started in 1997 by Tom Hagler, III, after leaving KSB and purchasing the industrial pump sales division of United Pump + Controls. During these early days, they were an industrial distributor selling pumps, boiler controls, and accessories. Tom took on his first major engineering project designing and building skidded pump systems for the Standard Gypsum plant owned by Georgia Pacific in Cumberland City, TN in 2000. This plant was manufacturing wallboard, and Tom's role in this was to size and sell pumps to meet the designed performance requirements, design and fabricate the skids to include flowmeters, valves and fittings, and size and supply fiberglass and wax metering systems equipment.


Thomas Hagler IV joined the business with his dad in December of 2010 to help grow the business, get new product lines, and reach new customers. Thomas helped grow the company significantly, increasing efforts in sales, operations, and dedicating several years to growing repair and shop services.

1999- Tom at City Gypsum Plant

Tom with Waukesha Cherry-Burrell Pumps

2017- Thomas & Tom meeting about pump skid designs

Evolving into HAGLER Process

For the next decade, they consistently sold pumps and process equipment, growing their revenue and gaining new customers. Tom and Thomas continued to take on new projects with engineered custom skids and pump sizing. As the business continued to advance, they put a lot of their efforts toward investments in services and equipment for their shop to grow their added value alongside selling top-of-the-line products.


From 2020 to now, the company has been experiencing a period of growth with new opportunities in territory and products that are expanding their capabilities. Within the past few years, their team has grown with the addition of a handful of valuable employees. This has allowed them to increase their efforts in marketing, repair services, sales, and project management. Being a value-added distributor has been their mission during this growth process. Making investments in service tools & equipment, reverse engineering, metrology, training, and talent has helped grow their service capabilities to new heights.

T3 and T4 standing beside a picture of their family legacy

2024- Annual team kickoff meetings

Talking through a pump repair and rebuild in the shop

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Reach out to us today by filling out the form below. Whether you have questions about our products, are looking for a tailored solution, or have a piece of equipment you need repaired, our team is here to assist you. Your success is our priority, and we're excited to collaborate with you to achieve your industrial goals. Let's turn your ideas into reality. Contact us now and let our experts guide you through the perfect solution for your needs.

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