By Karen R. Smith
Falcon Stainless, Inc.
11750 Roscoe Boulevard #1
Sun Valley, Calif. 91352
www.falconstainless.com and www.waterconnectors.com
email: [email protected]
Phone: (818) 767-3569 or toll free (800) 814-8444
Fax: (818) 768-8533
Every single water device, large or small, has to be connected to incoming water. No matter how wonderful any single one of those devices might be, if the connection fails, the whole system stops. Hundreds—often thousands—of dollars worth of equipment all hinges on one or two narrow tubes, either of stainless steel or poly. Walk down the plumbing aisle of any department store and you’ll see a wall of them in all different lengths and diameters. None are remotely like the ones made by Falcon Stainless.
“When someone is faced with a wall of connectors, the differences may not be immediately apparent,” explained Vice President Melanie Wolff. “But that’s only made us more diligent about reaching out to the marketplace and explaining the Falcon Stainless difference,” she added.
In 1989, Gray Pender purchased Stainless Flex Industries, a connector company with a respectable client base of about 350 accounts. Pender began a concerted redesign of the product line with a new design he patented in corrugated stainless steel. Over the course of the next decade, product development continued and in 1999 the firm incorporated as Falcon Stainless, Inc. Today, Falcon Stainless has over 3,000 customers—including the top 10 firms in the water treatment industry. “Once professionals get acquainted with Falcon Stainless products, they don’t use anything else,” Wolff summed up.
Falcon makes corrugated stainless steel flexible full-port potable water connectors from 3/8” interior diameter (ID) to two inches ID (9.525 mm to 50.8 mm), along with proprietary connectors that have been custom-designed for GE Autotrol, Hague, Culligan and Clack bypasses. “Falcon products satisfy the need for a quick, secure, full-port installation made of superior materials,” she stated.
All Falcon Stainless products are approved, listed and tested to the industry’s top standards (IAMPO/UPC to NSF61 and ASME A112.18.6) including the necessary special approvals for Wisconsin, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas and Canada. “We just received our approvals for Australia and New Zealand and are very excited to begin pioneering our products ‘down under’,” Wolff said.
As that expansion harvests market share in the southern hemisphere, the firm will also concentrate on Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada in the coming five years. Mergers are not out of the question, Wolff notes, as the nature of Falcon Stainless products puts the spotlight on the installation side of any water treatment project. “Throughout the coming decade, we will increase our foray into proprietary connectors—making the installation as important as the equipment being installed,” Wolff said.
The family knows they must continue to market—because their competition is relentless. Companies regularly attempt to persuade their customers to switch, claiming to have similar products for lower prices. “It sounds simple, but they do not treat the metal—or the customer—the way we do,” Wolff said.
The future is water and water is life. Potable water, water for agriculture and water for industry are all different parts of the cycle and all are vital to that cycle. Wolfe believes it’s everyone’s job to do their best to leave the world a better place for future generations.
Stainless steel is the ultimate green product, endlessly recyclable, energy efficient and waste-free. Falcon adds to the ‘green’ profile of their business by building in product longevity and reducing packaging. “Our mission is to provide the highest quality superior engineered connectors to homes and businesses—in fact, to every home and business!” And she means it.