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For the 2nd year in a row, Watts has been named one of America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek magazine!
We want to wish all our customers, business partners, employees, friends and families a safe and bountiful Thanksgiving!
Happy Veterans Day! See how we helped veteran Rick Lewis of Nebraska turn his tiny house into a home with 500 sq feet of SunTouch WarmWire heating cable.
Check out our newly-updated Diversity and Inclusion page on Watts.com!
After winning "Business of the Year" at last year's annual Greater Vernon Chamber Business Excellence Awards Gala, tekmar (a Watts brand from Vernon, BC, Canada) wanted to give back to other local businesses who were nominated this year. This year, the organization is sponsoring the "Manufacturer of the Year" award at the gala. "We are excited to be a part of this event and take a more active role in our business community," said Greg Leupin, general manager, tekmar. "Being awarded "Business of the Year" was a very proud moment for us, and we are grateful to provide this opportunity to other organizations." *image from last year's gala*
As SoFi Stadium and Allegiant Stadium, two newly constructed NFL facilities, hosted their first football games last week, Watts products were among the many state-of-the-art features that were unveiled. The impressive and ultra-modern SoFi Stadium, home to both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams, has more than 1,000 Watts backflow preventers in total, protecting 70,000 fans from potential hazards of any cross-contamination. Other Watts products in the stadium include the One Flow filtration system, automatic control valves, pressure reducing valves and strainers. Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, also has Watts backflow preventers installed in public concession stands and private suites. Additionally, there are more than 300 Powers mixing valves in place for scald protection. SoFi and Allegiant are not the only professional sports arenas equipped by Watts: previous projects include Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium.
With the school year starting, our company has stepped up to ensure disadvantaged youth in the Washington, D.C. area have the necessary supplies for distance learning this fall. In addition to donating laptops to students, we also donated to the "Back to School Bash" virtual fundraiser, which was held to provide hundreds of backpacks to D.C. students in need. Each bag includes a digital device, internet access, traditional school supplies, personal protective equipment and some recreational supplies. This helps begin to close the digital divide, which puts students at a greater disadvantage among their peers who have access to technology.
As one of Newsweek's "Most Responsible Companies in America," Watts is advancing our commitment to sustainability by piloting a trash delineation program in North Andover and Andover, MA, USA, our global headquarters. The program replaces trash cans at individual desks with designated trash zones on every floor to increase trash delineation and recycling. Plastic trash bags can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills, releasing thousands of metric tons of methane into the atmosphere, which is 30-times more harmful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. This program decreases the amount of waste generated on site and reduces the quantity of trash bags used by 75 percent. "Minimizing our company's carbon footprint and reducing our contribution to landfills is the right thing to do for our planet, employees, customers and investors," said CFO Shashank Patel.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic presented a hurdle, 26 of our colleagues in Europe were not going to let it stop them from raising money for cancer patients and their families. With coronavirus forcing the cancellation of an organized public fundraiser, the group created its own charity run on a route that looped around the site in Dattenberg, Germany. Setting out on a 5.2 km course through the fields and woods along the Rhine river, all runners made sure to follow COVID-19 health and safety measures. Participants then donated the proceeds to "Tour der Hoffnung," an organization that helps cancer patients and their families. Congrats to our team in Dattenberg for such a successful event!
Through our partnership with the Planet Water Foundation, we recently funded the installation of two AquaTower water filtration systems that provide clean drinking water for children and families in need in Aguascalientes, Mexico. About five children every week in the San Juan de la Natura and El Carmen villages suffer stomachaches and headaches from a contaminated water supply, resulting in a high rate of absences from school, per Planet Water. The towers, which were installed near the schools of both villages, remove harmful contaminates, such as bacteria and viruses, and provide 4,000 people with clean water daily. According to Planet Water, this spares villagers from long walks to other cities to get clean water, allows students to attend class illness-free, and gives them the ability to practice handwashing with soap, a simple yet effective way to help prevent the spread of diseases such as COVID-19. Since 2016, our partnership has brought clean water to approximately 30,000 people in Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand and Puerto Rico.
