Trying to find lawn sprinklers made in the USA these days is harder than finding an honest politician. For the past 40+ years large corporations have been snapping up small independent companies and those corporations themselves have been snapped up by even larger corporations. As a result, trying to track down who makes what – and more importantly, where – takes time and effort. But that’s what I’m here for; to do the homework so that you don’t have to.
So, Which Lawn Sprinklers are Made in the USA?
There are a lot of companies that make lawn sprinklers and a lot whose headquarters are located in the USA. But, as most of us know by now, an American office address does not always equal an American manufacturing plant. I was, however, able to narrow things down and determine that the following companies still make their lawn sprinklers in the USA.
Dramm
Dramm Corporation was started in the early 1940s by John G. Dramm who had an idea for a better kind of lawn sprinkler. He called it the 400 Water Breaker, because it broke down the hard, heavy stream of water that typically flowed from a garden hose into 400 tiny streams that produced a soft shower that was spread evenly over a large area.
Dramm shared his idea with friends and associates and soon he had enough orders to start his company. Today. Dramm is arguably one of the best-known names in backyard irrigation products and consists of 4 different business groups: the commercial group, the retail group, the organic group and the Dramm Water group.
Despite intense pressure – and because they insisted on keeping the company a private, family-owned business – the Dramm family has been able to successfully resist numerous attempts by global consumer product corporations to buy them out.
They have also resisted the call of China and kept their production base right here in the USA. In 1999 they opened a state of the art 55,000 square foot facility in Algoma, Wisconsin, which they anticipate expanding to 100,000 square feet within the next year or two. If you’re looking for a lawn sprinkler made in the USA, you can start here.
Nelson (Middleton, WI)
The Nelson Company was established in 1911 to market a variety of garden products. Eventually, they shifted their primary focus to sprinklers and established a reputation for producing quality products at reasonable prices.
The Nelson Company was bought by Bosch, and then Bosch’s gardening and watering business was in turn bought by Fiskars Corporation of Helsinki, Finland a few years back. Fiskars is the oldest company in Finland, having been established in 1649 when European settlers were still trying to gain a foothold on the North American continent. Fiskars also bought Gilmour Sprinklers at the same time they bought Nelson (more on that in a bit).
Much to everyone’s delight, Fiskars did not move production out of the US when they purchased Bosch/Nelson and in fact, have done just the opposite. They actually expanded their production base in Wisconsin where the sprinklers are still produced under the Nelson banner.
Nelson (Walla Walla, Washington)
Confusingly there is another American manufacturer of sprinklers also named Nelson. But whereas it took some effort to unravel the Bosch/Nelson/Fiskars knot, this Nelson Corporation is a privately owned company that makes no bones about their American roots and the fact that their sprinklers (they are best known for their powerful “Big Gun” sprinklers) have been made with pride at their factory in Walla Walla, WA for more than 45 years.
This Nelson company started life in the early 20th century as Central Brass and Stamping Company. In 1972 Central Brass and Stamping became Nelson Irrigation and for most of the past 50 years they have focused on producing new and better watering and irrigation equipment for residential and commercial customers.
The company prides itself on its approach which emphasizes continuous R&D. This has led them to branch out into a number of irrigation-related fields including pressure and flow control devices, rotator technology and more. To use the company’s word, their products take a “holistic” approach to irrigation.
Gilmour
Gilmour Manufacturing was founded in 1949 by Robert Gilmour on the strength of his invention of the pistol grip hose nozzle. Over the years they grew into a formidable presence in the lawn care and gardening sector and their manufacturing plant in Excelsior Springs, Missouri employed hundreds of workers.
Gilmour was acquired by Vermont American tool company in 1984 and Vermont American was, in turn, acquired by Bosch in 2000. In 2014 Bosch sold its watering solutions arm (which included Gilmour and Nelson of Middleton, WI) to Fiskars of Finland, makers of the now-iconic orange handle safety scissors. So, is the Gilmour-branded Fiskars lawn sprinkler made in USA? As of this writing, yes, at the aforementioned Excelsior Springs plant.
American Impact Sprinklers
This is a small private company with a manufacturing and distribution facility located in Minden, Nevada, east of Lake Tahoe. Not much information is available about this company other than they use a forging process to create their brass sprinklers which, according to the company, creates a tougher, longer-lasting product.
You can buy American Impact (made in the USA) lawn sprinklers directly through their website (see below), or you can contact the company and request information on a dealer near you.
Final Note
Things change incredibly fast in the lawn and garden space. As of this writing, the information provided above on lawn sprinklers made in USA is correct. However, it is entirely possible that by the time you read this something may have changed. If you wish to know the absolute most up-to-date information on a particular company I suggest you contact them directly
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