Rain Bird Corporation is an international privately held manufacturer and provider of

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

products and services for landscapes, golf courses, sports fields, and agriculture which are designed to minimize water consumption. The firm is headquartered in

Azusa, California Azusa ( Tongva: ''Azuksa'', meaning "skunk") is a city in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains and located east of downtown Los Angeles. Its population wa ...

, with offices and manufacturing facilities in Tucson, Arizona;

Steele, Alabama Steele is a town in northeastern St. Clair County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1952. At the 2010 census the population was 1,043, down from 1,093. The town is a part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical ...

; Tijuana Mexico; France; and China. Rain Bird sells more than 4,000 products and services in over 130 countries.

History

Rain Bird had its origins in 1933 when

Glendora, California Glendora is a city in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County, California, east of Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census, the population of Glendora was 52,558. World-famous Route 66 runs through the city. Known as the "Pride of the Footh ...

, citrus grower Orton Englehart developed the first prototype of the horizontal action

impact sprinkler An impact sprinkler (sometimes called an impulse sprinkler) is a type of irrigation sprinkler in which the sprinkler head, driven in a circular motion by the force of the outgoing water, pivots on a bearing on top of its threaded attachment nu ...

. This new design offered slow rotation and more efficient watering than other sprinklers of that era, features that were long sought after by local irrigators. Orton's neighbor Clement LaFetra began helping him build and market the sprinklers, and they urged him to patent the invention. was awarded on April 16, 1935. Englehart preferred farming, so in 1935, he sold the business to Clement and Mary Elizabeth LaFetra. Clem LaFetra passed away in 1963 and his wife Mary "Betty" LaFetra became the second CEO of Rain Bird Corporation. Under her leadership, the company became global. She was CEO until 1978 when her son, Anthony La Fetra, became CEO. Antony La Fetra ran the company until his death in 2021. At that time, Art Ludwick was named interim CEO, and in February 2022, Mike Donoghue was named President and CEO. The name

Rain Bird Rain Bird Corporation is an international privately held manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services for landscapes, golf courses, sports fields, and agriculture which are designed to minimize water consumption. The firm is he ...

was taken from the Native American legend of a bird that brought rain, in reference to the bird-like appearance of the impact sprinkler in action. Since its beginnings, the firm has offered irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments, and residential landscapes. Rain Bird has obtained over 450 patents since its founding.

Recognition

The Rain Bird horizontal action impact-drive sprinkler head was recognized as a historic landmark of agricultural engineering in 1990 by the

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) is an international professional society devoted to agricultural and biological engineering. It was founded in December 1907 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as the A ...

. This invention led to sprinkler irrigation development that currently exceeds worldwide. In 2015, the firm was recognized by National Business Research Institute with its prestigious Circle of Excellence award, based upon its outstanding employee engagement.

References

External links

Rain Bird Corporation
* {{cite web, last=Howser, first=Huell, title=Rain Bird – California's Gold (12002), url=http://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/2010/11/08/rainbird-californias-gold-12002/, work=California's Gold, publisher=

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its foundi ...

Huell Howser Archive, authorlink=Huell Howser, date=November 8, 2010

Irrigation companies Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Manufacturing companies established in 1933 Companies based in Tucson, Arizona 1933 establishments in California