Rain Bird history

Production began in the LaFetra family barn on October 13, 1935.

In 1941, in response to customer demand, Rain Bird introduced pop-up impact sprinklers that, when not in operation, disappeared out of sight below turf level.

In May 1946, LaFetra moved Rain Bird into its first modern factory on Foothill Avenue in Glendora, California.

In 1948, Rain Bird also prepared its Sprinkler Irrigation Handbook, which quickly became the industry's standard irrigation reference book.

In 1950, the company formed Rain Bird Sprinkler Mfg.

In 1956, the company built its second field service truck equipped with its own power plant and its own machinery to do all the necessary repair work on any of the Rain Bird sprinklers.

In 1960, an innovative valve closed at pressures below 20 psi to prevent line drainage, flooding, and runoff at the sprinkler head when the system was turned off.

In one of the more clever applications of Rain Bird sprinklers, in 1961, students at the University of California Agricultural Extension Service developed a labor-saving system for washing dairy cows.

A patented feature in 1962 completely eliminated side-splash from the oscillating drive arm by redirecting the water stream forward through a novel "S" tube.

In 1970, Rain Bird added a plastic injection molding division where high-powered injection molding machines transformed barrels of plastic chips into the parts needed for Rain Bird sprinkler products.

She remained president and chairman of the board until 1978 when she turned over leadership of the company to her son, Anthony LaFetra.

Rain Bird took product testing to more scrupulous levels in 1979 with the establishment of the Rain Bird Product Research Center in Glendora, California.

By 1984, Rain Bird was introducing commercial irrigation application control units at universities, parks, corporate campuses, and other large commercial sites.

New levels of user-friendly programming for irrigation control systems became possible in 1991 with handheld, icon-based control units.

In 2003, the company launched Rain Bird Services Corporation to provide irrigation training class resources.

"Glendora, Calif.-based Sprinkler Firm Reports Increased Sales, Expects Backlog," Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, June 16, 2004.