PUPI® manufactures specially designed crossarms and components used by electrical utilities around the world.
PUPI® has offered superior fiberglass crossarm products to the electric utilities industry since 1990. Engineered for superior load capacity, stiffness and resistance to ultraviolet radiation and weathering, leading utilities choose PUPI® fiberglass components for consistent performance and long-term return on investment.
PUPI® crossarms is a product of Geotek, an internationally recognized manufacturer of reinforced pultruded products for the utilities, animal containment, nursery and consumer markets. The Geotek staff brings nearly 40 years of pultrusion experience to the PUPI® manufacturing process.
Company History
PUPI® (Pultruded Utility Products Incorporated) was formed in 1990 to design, manufacture and market fiberglass composite crossarms for electrical utilities. The first order of 900 crossarms was produced for Pennsylvania Power & Light in 1990.
Geotek was founded in January, 1991 by principals of Aligned Fiber Composites (AFC), a fiberglass pultrusion firm established in 1971. Geotek initially focused on pultruded fiberglass fencing products but quickly moved into the development and manufacturing of a variety of other pultruded products.
In 1994, PUPI® began its partnership with Geotek to refine and manufacture crossarms. Leveraging Geotek’s expertise in product design and pultrusion, PUPI® crossarms were significantly redesigned for improved strength, stiffness, and resistance to ultraviolet radiation and weathering. Extensive testing of the various crossarm configurations was performed with state-of-the-art equipment and procedures to develop the present PUPI® crossarm designs. Products are tested on an ongoing basis to ensure reliable performance. Since 1994, all PUPI® crossarms have been manufactured by Geotek.
PUPI® products are manufactured under U.S. Patent #6834469 for an internal bushing system and under U.S. Patent #5492583 for the in-line surface coating process, with other patents pending.
Geotek purchased the interests of the other partners in PUPI® in March of 2000. On February 4, 2009, the majority interest in Geotek was purchased by Granite Equity Partners, a Minnesota-based private equity firm. Granite Equity Partners is committed to providing the resources required to continue PUPI’s leadership and growth.
Today, PUPI® has grown into the leading provider of fiberglass crossarms in North America, producing hundreds of configurations of crossarms, deadend assemblies and braces in a newly-expanded 95,000 square foot facility in Stewartville, MN.