Rain Bird Celebrates 75 Years of Irrigation Innovation
The Patent for the Horizontal Action Impact Drive Sprinkler, Filed On
December 18, 1933, Marked the Beginning of Seven Decades of Irrigation
Innovation by Rain Bird
AZUSA, Calif. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) December 18, 2008 --
Rain
Bird, the worldwide leading manufacturer and provider of
irrigation products and services, is celebrating the filing of the patent
for its first product – the Horizontal Action Impact Drive Sprinkler
Head, 75 years ago today, December 18, 1933. That first sprinkler
revolutionized the food production industry and ushered in a new era in
irrigation. Over the ensuing seven decades, Rain Bird has been awarded
more than 130 patents for its innovative irrigation technology focused
on effective, efficient and responsible irrigation through the Intelligent
Use of Water™.
Rain Bird’s founders Clem and Mary LaFetra recognized the potential of
this device, which was invented by their neighbor and citrus farmer
Orton Englehart in 1932. Clem LaFetra urged Englehart to file a patent
for the invention, which he subsequently did in 1933. However, Englehart
preferred farming, and in 1935 he sold the business to LaFetra, whose
family still operates the Southern California-based company today.
While Rain Bird initially focused on making irrigation products for use
on citrus crops, one of the company’s first commercial customers in the
early ‘30s was the Los Angeles Country Club. Today, 75 years later, Rain
Bird sprinklers, valves and controllers are used to manage outdoor water
use in varied applications – amusement parks, sports arenas, golf
courses, botanical gardens, private homes, farms and vineyards – both
domestically and internationally.
“We’re very proud of the pioneering role Rain Bird has played in
irrigation,” says Director of Corporate Marketing, Dave Johnson. “Nearly
eight decades later, we continue to strive for improvements to the
efficiency of outdoor water management by providing products and
services that use this precious resource as intelligently as possible.”
In 1990, the American Society of Agricultural Engineers designated the
Rain Bird Impact Drive Sprinkler Head as a historic landmark of
agricultural engineering. The Rain Bird sprinkler was recognized for its
major impact on worldwide agricultural development and the efficient use
of water in sprinkler irrigation. This invention led to sprinkler
irrigation development that currently exceeds 50 million acres worldwide.
Since its entrance into the marketplace, Rain Bird has become the
largest manufacturer of irrigation systems in the world. Rain Bird
manufactures and sells over 4,000 irrigation products, meeting the needs
of growers, golf course superintendents, homeowners, contractors and
commercial property managers -- in over 130 countries.
Today, Rain Bird is committed to The
Intelligent Use of Water and is dedicated to educating
the public about water conservation and its critical role in the
environment. Since 1997, Rain Bird has taken that message to be heard
and seen worldwide with its annual participation in the Tournament of
Roses Parade – exhibiting its beautiful and inventive floats to draw
global attention to the importance of water to all animal species and
natural habitats. The 2009 Rose
Parade will mark the company’s 13th year of
participation in this New Year’s Day tradition in Pasadena, Calif.
“It is a celebratory year for us,” adds Johnson. “The anniversary
underscores our ongoing commitment to leveraging our expertise and
innovative technologies to drive the message of water conservation
globally.”
More information on the invention of the original horizontal action
impact drive sprinkler and Rain Bird’s history can be found in the Rain
Bird Virtual
Museum, at http://www.rainbird.com/about/museum
ABOUT RAIN BIRD CORPORATION
Based in Azusa, Calif., Rain Bird Corporation is the leading
manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services. Since its
beginnings in 1933, Rain Bird has offered the industry’s broadest range
of irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas,
commercial developments and homes in more than 130 countries around the
world. Rain Bird has been awarded more than 130 patents, including the
first in 1935 for the impact sprinkler. Rain Bird and The Intelligent
Use of Water™ is about using water wisely. Its commitment extends
beyond products to education, training and services for the industry and
the community. Rain Bird maintains state-of-the-art manufacturing
assembly facilities in the United States, France, Sweden and Mexico http://www.rainbird.com.
MULTIMEDIA GALLERY http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5857724
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