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Water-Ways retail store is located in the Southern
San Joaquin Valley and provides a full line of
Grooved Pipe and Fittings, Aluminum and Steel
Weld-on Fittings, Gaskets, Ring-Locks, and PVC
Pipe. We also have a full Rental Fleet of Pumps,
Dragline Pipe, “J” Stands, and Portable
Fire Hydrants. Our full service manufacturing
shop produces Steel and Aluminum Manifolds, all
of our Grooved Fittings, Hold Bands and your custom
fittings needs.
After 55+ years in the Valley,
Water-Ways guarantees the quickest, best and most
complete service. We take pride in your project,
whether it is a one-half acre project or a thousand
acre project, we’ve got you covered.
In 1949 at the age of 28, Vic
Tkac made a couple of momentous decisions. He
married and quit his job as a field engineer in
San Francisco. Vic was sure that he would be better
off and happier working for himself.
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In December of 1950 Vic became partners
with Jack Brockhouse and moved to Bakersfield
to start an irrigation business. Vic and
Jack agreed that if in six months they were
still “eating capital” they
would call the venture off and move on.
Water-Ways Irrigation’s first office
was a house on Donna Avenue. The office
consisted of a card table, a portable typewriter
and a small green metal file.
In June of 1950, Water-Ways moved to Brundage
Lane. It was hard work, but Water-Ways kept
growing. |
Through the 1960’s and 1970’s the
Company opened branches in Santa Maria to serve
the Salinas Valley. Water-Ways continued to provide
innovative methods of irrigation and service.
During these years the company began to expand.
Water-Ways became involved with not only the small
and medium sized growers but with the large corporations
as well. Water-Ways expanded its retail business
and began to offer more to their customers.
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The company moved two more
times in the 1970”s and 1980’s,
each time being displaced by the city’s
growth. Eventually, Water-Ways combined
all of its locations into one convent location
at 20935 Stockdale Highway where Water-Ways
could cover all of its customers needs.
In May of 1991, as Vic began to have less
to do with the day-to-day operations of
the company, his youngest son Jeffrey came
aboard. |
In September of 1994 Jeffrey took over as President
of Water-Ways. Jeffrey introduced Water-Ways to
the Industrial Market, and today the company is
truly a full-service operation.
The card table, portable typewriter and small
green metal file are long gone, however the heart
and soul of Water-Ways is as much as it was so
many years ago.
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