MANSFIELD — The Gorman-Rupp Co. has elevated two longtime employees to senior leadership positions, establishing a new chief administrative post and selecting its head of information technology.

The Mansfield-based pump and fluid-handling systems manufacturer announced D.J. Daniels will become vice president and chief administrative officer. Keith Thomas will step into the role of vice president of information technology.

Both appointments take effect Jan. 4.

(Below are D.J. Daniels (left) and Keith Thomas.)

In the newly created role of chief administrative officer, Daniels will oversee the company’s information technology and human resources departments, along with its workforce development initiatives and the integration of artificial intelligence.

Daniels has spent 20 years with Gorman-Rupp across a range of progressively senior roles. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from Ohio University and an MBA from The Ohio State University.

Thomas, who has been with Gorman-Rupp for 26 years, will oversee the company’s IT operations following board approval of his promotion.

During his more than two decades in the department, Thomas guided several enterprise resource planning implementations and upgrades using Syteline ERP, in addition to managing broad systems integrations across corporate divisions.

A resident of Lexington, Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics with a specialization in computer science from John Carroll University and earned an MBA from Ashland University during his career at Gorman-Rupp.

The leadership changes bolster executive oversight at one of north-central Ohio’s anchor manufacturers.

Founded in Mansfield in 1933 by J.C. Gorman and H.E. Rupp during the Great Depression, The Gorman-Rupp Co. began operations in a suburban barn producing self-priming centrifugal pumps.

Over nine decades, the publicly traded industrial manufacturer has grown into a global supplier of pumps and fluid management equipment for municipal water, wastewater, fire protection, industrial, construction and petroleum operations.

Gorman-Rupp trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GRC.