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The idea for the WAGS valve was born out of experiencing the pain and frustration of not be able to offer a solution to a customer's problem.
Back in 1986, while working for a plumber and replacing approximately four water heaters daily, Paul Almberg saw the devastation to people's property that a leaking water heater causes. The homeowners were usually angry and disgusted that there wasn't a product to prevent their tank from ruining everything. This was understandable, especially when you were in the process of replacing the failed water heater with a new tank, that you knew was going to fail again in the same fashion in just a few short years.
Move forward to 1992, Paul Almberg was now doing gas appliance service work for the local gas company when he recognized another problem. When the water heater tank ruptured it sometimes extinguished the pilot. The main burner tries to fire because of the flow of water and there is nothing to shut off the unburned gas until the main valve safety drops out. Now when a gas-fired water heater fails you have a potential gas safety concern plus the damage and inconvenience from a flood.
The frustration of not being able to help his customers prevent flooding caused by a leaking water heater and the identification of the gas safety concern nagged at Paul. He had to do something. He started working on a device to solve the problem. One day while talking to a co-worker, Clyde Baragwanath, Paul told him about his concept. Clyde immediately understood the need and thought that the concept Paul had been playing around with could actually work. Both were working nights for the gas company, so they pooled their knowledge from years in the field together with their desire to solve the problem and started working in their basements during the day.
After spending countless hours in their basements, thousands of dollars on lawyers and patent searches, being strung along by false "we can make you rich" infomercial style marketing companies Paul and Clyde were exhausted and really not much further ahead of where Paul was in 1986. They came to the realization that they needed help if they were to make the concept a reality.
It was now 1996 and Paul and Clyde decided that to be taken seriously they needed to have a working product, not just a bunch of concept drawings. It was time to "just do it", to eliminate any doubt that the concept wouldn't work. Their desire to get an actual part made lead them through contacts that family and friend's had to the door of Fielding Manufacturing and Steve Fielding. Fielding Manufacturing specializes in zinc die casting and injection molding, but for Paul and Clyde they had the engineering expertise and tooling capability to actual make a prototype of their concept. They also had a financial supporter in Steve Fielding who had the contacts, enthusiasm and business know-how that would be vital to their success. Together the three of them founded Aquagard, LLC.
Things were starting to happen at a faster pace. An engineer named Mark Miller joined Aquagard and brought his design and patent experience with him. He helped redesign the valve with fewer parts for ease of manufacturing. At about the same time, they received a grant from the State of Rhode Island supported Slater Fund. Things were starting to come together. With the grant money, Mark's engineering changes, and the rapid prototyping capability at Fielding Manufacturing, all the hard work was starting to pay off. In July of 1998 the first prototypes were completed and successfully tested.
By late 1998 the Aquagard team first met with Taco. It was evident from the very beginning that Taco, a leading manufacturer of HVAC equipment, possessed the resources, internal talent, and distribution network to make the WAGS valve a huge success. Not long after the first meeting Taco purchased the rights to manufacture and market the valve. A select multidisciplinary team of Taco employees then started the process of taking Aquagard's prototype and tuning it into a manufacturable, reliable product that could be sold through its distribution network. It turned out be a task full of challenges, but none to great not to overcome.
Taco has invested millions in the development, life testing, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of the product. We proudly embraced the mission of bringing Paul's concept to completion. The long product development journey of the WAGS valve has never looked so bright as it does today. After all these years, the Taco WAGS development team on behalf of all the employees of Taco and the four Aquagard principles are pleased to finally offer a solution to the disastrous flooding and gas safety concerns caused by leaking water heaters. The WAGS valve has arrived!
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