Obermeyer Hydro helps folks manage water worldwide

Editor's note: This is the third in a series of articles about light manufacturing employers in the Wellington area, where community leaders are hoping to attract more jobs for local residents.

By Gary Raham
Wellington Correspondent

Henry Obermeyer, president of Obermeyer Hydro Inc., tried living in Connecticut for a couple of years after graduating with an engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines, but the pull of the West became too great. He began looking for sites to relocate his spillway gate design and manufacturing company and finally, in 1990, settled down northwest of Wellington.

"Wellington is close enough to Denver to get supplies and close to I-80," he said. "When we order something, a truck can always be here as soon as we want it."

Obermeyer also likes the proximity to Denver International Airport because of the company's international projects, and he likes the availability of the Colorado State University Research Center Hydraulic Lab where they can build and test physical models of their gates. CSU is well known in the field of hydrology for inventing the Parshall flume, he said.

As Obermeyer Hydro's web site says, "Spillway gates are most simply described as a row of steel gate panels supported on their downstream side by inflatable air bladders." By controlling the pressure in the bladders, the gates can be fine-tuned to regulate the flow of water and maintain a constant level of water behind the gate. The steel gate panels overhang and protect the air bladders from floating debris, and a modular design makes the panels easy to install and minimizes the effect of damage to any one panel.

Obermeyer fabricates the gate panels and bladders within a modest building soon scheduled for a thousand-foot expansion. On the grounds outside, various gate prototypes sit for customers to inspect, including one 22 feet tall for a large installation in Taiwan.

"About half of our jobs come from overseas," said Obermeyer.

Since the company's inception in 1988, it has handled about 250 projects and now averages about 20 jobs per year. Most overseas work, he said, gets commissioned by governmental agencies, which hear about the company through international technical conferences, technical journals and word of mouth.

In the United States, Obermeyer Hydro has done work for the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corp of Engineers, state agencies and conservation groups. It is currently working with the Southwest Florida Water Management District on some Florida Everglades restoration work and expects some contracts for New Orleans restoration.

Obermeyer Hydro employs 35 people. Ten of these, including Obermeyer, hold engineering degrees, either from Colorado State University or Colorado School of Mines. The international contracts keep about six people traveling all the time.

"We have gates in at least a dozen countries," said Obermeyer, including "more than 20 projects in Japan alone."

Japan has special needs for water control because of all the typhoons it suffers. Using Obermeyer's gates, water levels in canals can be completely lowered, if necessary.

Travel is one of Obermeyer's favorite aspects of the job. "It's great getting to meet--and to really know--people from all over the world," he said.

While Wellington hosts the manufacturing part of the business, Obermeyer has licensees and agents worldwide. "The company has tremendous growth opportunities and has a strong international patent position," Obermeyer said.

As the demand for water increases rapidly worldwide, "we can help supply that water," he added.

When asked about favorite projects, Obermeyer smiled and said, "There's always something special about the last biggest one." The Taiwan job holds that record now, but a larger one is already in the planning stages.