Rain Bird

←: For other uses of "Rain Bird" and "Rainbird", see Rainbird.

Rain Bird Corporation is a large international privately held manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services that helps create and maintain beautiful landscapes, golf courses, sports fields, and productive agricultural crops while saving water. Rain Bird is headquartered in Azusa, California, with offices and manufacturing facilities in Tucson, Arizona, Mexico, France, and China. Rain Bird Corporation is known as the irrigation industry leader with its high quality products and services being sold in over 130 countries worldwide.

History

Rain Bird had its origins in early 1933 when Glendora, California citrus grower Orton Englehardt developed the first prototype of the horizontal action impact sprinkler. The 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 friend and neighbor Clement LaFetra began helping him make and market the sprinklers and urged him to patent the invention. The patent (U.S. Patent No. 1,997,901) was awarded on April 16, 1935. Englehardt preferred farming, so in 1935 he sold the business to Clement and Mary Elizabeth LaFetra, whose descendants still operate the company today. The name Rain Bird 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, Rain Bird has offered irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments, and residential landscapes worldwide. Rain Bird has been awarded over 450 patents in the last 80+ years. Rain Bird also offers education, training and services for the industry and the community through its Rain Bird Academy and Rain Bird Factory Trained education programs.

Corporate philosophy

The company's guiding philosophy called "The Intelligent Use of Water" is about using water wisely. The company is committed to developing products and systems that use water efficiently, including drip irrigation, high efficiency sprinkler nozzles, advanced computer-based central control and weather-based self-adjusting controllers.^[2] With prolonged drought affecting many parts of the world, Rain Bird is actively involved in promoting and supporting efforts to educate consumers, government and industry about ways to use water more efficiently. The company has held 13 global summit meetings to facilitate discussion of water issues, in addition to publishing four educational white papers on the subject. In 2015 the company developed the 25 Ways to Save 25% campaign and website http://25ways.rainbird.com which is a resource for consumers and industry professionals who are seeking practical tips on how to effectively save water outdoors.

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 Engineers.^[3] This invention led to sprinkler irrigation development that currently exceeds 50 million acres worldwide. Other products that have received this award include Eli Whitney's cotton gin.

In 2015 Rain Bird Corporation was recognized by National Business Research Institute (NBRI) with its prestigious Circle of Excellence award based upon its outstanding achievement in Employee Engagement. To qualify for this honor, the organization must score at or above stretch performance at the 75th benchmarking percentile when measured against their industry. Rain Bird has distinguished itself by reaching Stretch Performance in its first year of assessment with NBRI.

Rain Bird has solicited employee feedback through its annual employee survey for over 20 years. Rain Bird employees have taken action in response to this feedback each year, continually improving the company and making working at Rain Bird a positive experience. As a result of this, employee participation in the survey is extremely high and results have continued to improve over the years.

Partnerships

In 2010, Rain Bird, in partnership with the non-profit American Public Gardens Association, established National Public Gardens Day, a national day of celebration to raise awareness of America’s public gardens and their important role in promoting environmental stewardship and awareness, plant and water conservation, and education in communities nationwide.^[4]

References

External links

• Rain Bird Corporation
• Howser, Huell (November 8, 2010). "Rainbird – California's Gold (12002)". California's Gold. Chapman University Huell Howser Archive.