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WET history
WET company history timeline
WET was founded as WET Enterprises, Inc., which at the time stood for Water Entertainment Technologies, by Mark Fuller, Melanie Simon, and Alan Robinson in 1983.
The company was renamed WET Design in 1985, the same year that Claire Kahn joined the company as Director of Design.
1986;22:241–247. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Fomon S. Infant feeding in the 20th century: Formula and beikost.
The company's first major project came in 1986 when it collaborated with the firm of I. M. Pei as well as landscape architects Dan Kiley and Peter Ker Walker to create the waterscape of Fountain Place (at Allied Bank Tower) in Dallas, Texas.
Contracts provided a detailed account of the wet nursing service, including duration of breastfeeding, clothing supplies, lamp oil, and payment for the service (Anonymous, 1987).
WET's first municipal project came in 1987 when it was commissioned to create a work for the Los Angeles Music Center.
However, in 1988, the formula industry began advertising directly to the public, which created tension between the medical profession and the formula manufacturers.
In 1988, WET introduced the first of its patented shooters, the MiniShooter, which utilizes compressed air to propel water in the air, for the Seto Ohashi Exhibition in Sakaide City, Japan.
By 1990, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a statement listing reasons for the organization's opposition to advertising infant formulas to the general public.
1991;145:282–286. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Hediger M, Overpeck M, Kuezmarski R, Ruan W. Association between infant breastfeeding and overweight in young children.
WET teamed with architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in 1991 for a water feature at the Gas Company Tower in Los Angeles, California.
1994;41(5):925–941. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Leung AK, Sauve RS. Breast is best for babies.
Despite this preference, since 1865 scientists have tried to create a synthetic formula equal to human milk. Thus, formula is not responsive to a growing infant's nutritional needs, which makes the digestive process more difficult (Lawrence, 1994). The differences in digestion and absorption of breastfeeding versus formula-feeding have been linked to key issues involving poor child health outcomes.
1997;24(4):380–388. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Couper J. Annotation: Environmental triggers of type 1 diabetes.
1998;316:21–25. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
WET completed its first major project in Europe in 1998 with the fountains for the 1998 Lisboa Expo in Lisbon, Portugal.
Kries et al. (1999) examined the impact of breastfeeding on the risk of childhood obesity in 9,357 children who were 5 to 6 years of age and were participating in a mandatory school health examination.
Wet nursing began as early as 2000 BC and extended until the 20th century.
The use of animal's milk for infant feeding is noted as far back as 2000 BC. Since then, alternative milk sources have evolved to include the synthetic formulas of today.
Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus can cause serious health complications from microvascular and macrovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, renal failure, blindness, and neuropathy (Ludwig & Ebbeling, 2001).
2001;286(12):1427–1430. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Osborn MS. The rent breasts: A brief history of wet-nursing.
Young et al. (2002) performed a case-control study of 92 Type 2 diabetic and nondiabetic children and found a strong benefit for infants who were breastfed longer than 12 months.
2002;87:478–481. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Lawrence P. Breast milk best source of nutrition for term and preterm infants.
WET became part of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah by winning the competition for the design of the Cauldron that lights the Olympic flame.
2005;97(7):1010–1019. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Ludwig D, Ebbeling C. Type 2 diabetes mellitus in children: Primary care and public health considerations.
In 2005, WET was contracted to design a water themed set for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, marking one of the company's first commissioned temporary features.
It continued with casino designs in 2008 when the company was commissioned to transform the volcano feature at the Mirage Hotel and Casino.
WET was credited in 2009 with creating the world's largest performing fountain, with its creation of The Dubai Fountain.
The Fountain contains 6,600 underwater lights which can be seen from space more than 200 miles away. It was also in 2009 that the company was commissioned to create five fountains for the Las Vegas City Center.
WET completed additional Dubai projects beginning in 2010.
The company was also commissioned to create the fountain show for the Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea for the expo's signature Big-O Water Feature.
WET created Luminous, a water wall spanning over 3 stories tall for the W Hotels Guangzhou’s entrance, debuting with the hotel’s opening in April 2013.
For the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, WET created The Waters of the Olympic Park, a colorful choreographed fountain located in the Sochi Medals Plaza.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Prohibition in Virginia, the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation hosted a Prohibition Pub Tour on Saturday, September 10, 2016.
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WET competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. | - | $8.2M | 66 | 1 |
| TRO | 1982 | $15.0M | 200 | - |
| Heller Manus Architects | 1984 | $4.4M | 41 | - |
| Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 1936 | $347.0M | 724 | 77 |
| Fentress Architects | 1980 | $17.0M | 150 | - |
| Ennead Architects | 1963 | $19.3M | 191 | - |
| Steelman Partners | 1987 | $48.3M | 250 | - |
| Things Remembered | 1966 | $1.8B | 7,500 | - |
| Value Pawn And Jewelry | 1994 | $180.0M | 606 | - |
| HomeSafe | 1979 | $10.0M | 50 | 20 |
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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of WET, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about WET. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at WET. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by WET. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of WET and its employees or that of Zippia.
WET may also be known as or be related to WET and Wet Design.