ProDryers is a proud partner and distributor of Sloan products. But do you know the history of Sloan as a company or what their first products were?

The story starts in 1906 when William Elvis Sloan established the Sloan Valve Company in Chicago. His very first product was the manual Royal Flushometer, which revolutionized the plumbing industry by replacing tank and chain fixtures in restrooms. It required less energy and water than its predecessors, being unaffected by gravity. Fun fact: Sloan still sells a series of Royal flushometers, referring to these products as the design that started it all.

The company got off to a financially rocky start but saw a $341,000 increase in sales between the years 1912 and 1916. After World War I, the company grew rapidly because it hired innovative people and developed new products, which established it as a leading manufacturer by 1928 when it introduced piston flushometers. When the stock market crashed in 1929, Sloan Valve Company managed to suffer less than most, even though they didn't see a profit increase for over four years. Amid this recession, Sloan still managed to innovate and develop and introduced another new product:= the Floor Valve.

Everything changed when World War II began: Sloan Valve Company had to start creating wartime artillery, which earned the company the Army-Navy E Award. Sloan also created and introduced Vacuum Breakers in 1940, which eliminated the threat of wartime water contamination. More and more women become employees at the factory since most men were sent to war, and before long, women make up around 85% of Sloan's workforce. In the face of fears about recession, the company stepped up its game and thrived over the next two decades.

By the 1960s, manufacturing operations had been improved so drastically that Sloan was able to open a new foundry in Melrose Park, Illinois. This foundry was called the most modern of its time, introducing new shipping methods, new milling machines, and new coupling operations. Since then, the company has grown dramatically, but it keeps its same focus on sustainability, innovation, and reliability.

We hope you've learned something from this small history of Sloan products!