A supporter of the Keystone XL pipeline project, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Terri Lynn Land stopped in Niles Friday morning for a tour of Delta Industrial Valves, a company that would benefit greatly from the building of the pipeline, according to company president Keith Stelter.

Stelter said his business would add between 15 and 20 jobs if the project to connect the Canadian oil sands to the U.S. Golf Coast with pipeline were approved.

“If it never gets done we wouldn’t go out of business, but it would definitely help us grow by at least a third of where we are right now,” said Stelter, whose company makes industrial valves that would be used in the project. “In the surrounding area, it would probably add 50 to 100 jobs.”

Last week, a bipartisan effort by the Senate to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project failed, causing political analysts to conclude that a binding vote for the project won’t happen until after the November elections.

“The Senate has been playing politics with the project and, meanwhile, here’s a business that would actually be affected by it,” Land said.

Citing statistics provided by the U.S. State Department, Land said the pipeline would create approximately 42,000 American jobs, including many in Michigan, while increasing energy security.

“Those two things together would be really helpful,” she said.

Land said it was her first time visiting Delta Industrial Valves, an employer of about 85 people.

“They have a great business,” she said.

Delta Industrial Valves was the first stop in Land’s summer jobs tour, which will include several visits with job creators across the state.

Land, a former Michigan secretary of state, is Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Carl Levin. U.S. Rep. Gary Peters is the only Democrat running for the seat.