About Us
Discover the rich history of the iconic Mueller® logo, the blue block. For nearly a century, we have crafted an unwavering commitment to positively impacting communities close to home and around the globe.
Our Work
We are driven by the belief that quality should last a lifetime. From solar milk coolers in rural Africa to lifesaving medical equipment, our products are making a global impact. We are committed to delivering tailored solutions that provide lasting value and positively impact the products and processes that shape everyday life.
Our Culture
The people who make up Paul Mueller Company have built a strong work ethic and a friendly atmosphere. With a long-standing reputation for high-quality equipment and excellent customer service, we have built our culture on open book management, transparency, and in-house training for advancement.
In 2011, David Moore was appointed CEO of Paul Mueller Company. As the grandson of our founder, Paul Mueller, David deeply believed in the diverse experience and dedication of our workforce. He entered his new role with the firm belief that every employee had the ability to change the trajectory of where we were headed as a company. In 2012, our company launched an initiative that reshaped the culture entirely.
We unite around a shared goal by giving coworkers a stake in the company’s financial outcomes. Through ongoing training in financial literacy and process improvement, we build skills that drive success. Open-book management empowers every team member to contribute innovative and sustainable solutions by leveraging diverse functional, technical, and educational expertise.
Everyone has a stake in the outcome.
Crafting excellence for nearly a century.
The 1940s
In 1940, Paul Mueller and his partner Gordon Mann opened Mann and Mueller Heating and Sheet Metal Works in Springfield, Missouri, USA. Their first employee was Joe White, who eventually became the Executive Vice President. In 1943, Paul bought Gordon Mann's share of the business after Mr. Mann became ill, and the name of the business was changed to Paul Mueller Company.
In 1944, the company entered the food processing business, manufacturing chicken pluckers, scalders, and eviscerating equipment. The company was incorporated in Missouri in 1946, and that same year, they began manufacturing dairy processing equipment for the first time, including cheese vats, culture tanks, and cheese presses.
The 1950s
In 1950, we relocated to Phelps Street from Commercial Street, as the addition of processing equipment led to a growth in manufacturing. The original building on Phelps Street was 27,000 square feet on a three-acre lot. The new space allowed for the production of even more new products, and in 1955, we started building our first dairy farm milk coolers. These EmBee milk coolers were manufactured for the Meyer-Blanke Company. The farm milk cooler developed by Paul Mueller Company has been crucial to our success and growth. Thanks to the hard work and talents of our employees, we are now globally recognized as the producer of the industry's highest-quality farm milk cooling and storage systems. We are always striving for improvement and continue to develop our dairy farm equipment with the farmer's bottom line in mind. With over 72,000 milk coolers in approximately 125 countries, we can proudly take some credit for cooling and storing the world's milk.
The 1960s
In 1960, we decided to stop our heating and sheet metal contracting activities and focus on manufacturing food processing equipment. We obtained ASME® certification to build pressure vessels in 1961, an essential step in becoming a significant producer of stainless steel processing equipment. By 1964, our manufacturing facilities in Springfield, Missouri were expanded to our current space of 1,000,000 square feet on almost 50 acres. That same year, we began manufacturing beer aging and fermenting equipment in the United States, and in 1965, we started building wine tanks. Since then, our well-crafted tanks have been installed in wineries in Mexico, Japan, and the United States. Our wine fermenting and storage tanks can be built specifically for either red or white wine processing. In 1966, our global journey began with the export of milk coolers to the Geertjes family in The Netherlands. Just two years later, Mueller Europa was formed.
The 1970s
In 1970, a partnership with Meko Holland was formed to handle milk tank sales in the Netherlands, forging a deep relationship with the world's leading dairy economy and expertise. The Mueller Fre-Heater® was introduced in 1976. The Fre-Heater is an energy-saving unit that uses heat produced during the milk cooling process to generate hot water. Fre-Heaters are now built at our Osceola, Iowa, USA facility and shipped worldwide.
The 1980s
In 1981, the manufacture of our Temp-Plate® heat transfer surface was moved to the Warren Street facility in Springfield, Missouri. Developed over a period of years, Temp-Plate® improved nearly all of our products. In 1984, Paul Mueller Company acquired the license to manufacture and sell the Accu-Therm® plate heat exchanger. In 1987, we acquired our manufacturing facilities in Osceola, Iowa, which provided an additional 212,800 square feet of manufacturing floor space on a 50-acre plot. That same year, we purchased the water purification product line from Barnstead Industrial Products of Boston. This was the beginning of our PyroPure® line.
In 1988, SSP (A Dutch manufacturing company) opened and began manufacturing Mueller dairy tanks in Lichtenvoorde, Netherlands.
The 1990s
In 1992, we acquired the rights to manufacture and sell vapor compression stills, our present VaPure® product line.
In 1998, Mueller Field Operations, Inc. (now an independent company named Adaptive Stainless) was established to enable us to compete for larger contracts requiring on-site fabrication of tanks and other equipment.
The 2000s
In early 2002, we were asked to help develop a stainless steel wine barrel prototype for a prominent California winemaker. In 2003, we began producing our all-stainless steel wine barrels. In 2008, Paul Mueller Company acquired our long-time licensee, SSP Lichtenvoorde B.V. It formed Mueller B.V., which manufactures dairy farm equipment products, beer tanks, and a full range of heat transfer and processing equipment for international markets.
The 2010s
In August 2011, David Moore became the President and CEO of Paul Mueller Company. In 2012, Mueller Asia was established in Vietnam to provide sales, manufacturing, and dealer support to an emerging dairy market. In 2014, the company celebrated 60 years of providing milk-cooling solutions. As we entered 2015, plans were being made to celebrate Mr. Paul Mueller’s 100th birthday. However, on the afternoon of January 19, Mr. Mueller passed away at his home in Springfield, Missouri. Instead of celebrating his birthday, we had a milestone moment to celebrate his life, legacy, and the profound impact he made on the everyday life and culture of the company he founded 75 years ago. In 2016, DEG Engineering GmbH, a German company specializing in thermo-plate heat exchanger and reactor design, was acquired. On April 9, 2018, a beautiful new facility was opened for production in Groenlo, Netherlands, combining all Netherlands operations into one facility.
The 2020s
As of December 31, 2021, Paul Mueller Company, Inc. sold its entire equity interest in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mueller Field Operations, Inc. (MFO), now known as Adaptive Stainless, to the management of MFO. Though no longer a subsidiary of Paul Mueller Company, Adaptive Stainless remains a trusted service provider with a proven history of design-build field construction, repair, service, and installation of Mueller equipment.