Fernco Inc.
The Fernco Joint Sealer Company was formally established in 1964 by plumbing contractor
William Zopfi of Ferndale, Michigan. Mr. Zopfi, a master plumber, developed a pre-formed
tar donut for use on his own jobs in the Detroit area during the housing boom of the late
1940's. Word spread of his invention as other contractors wanted to take advantage of this
labor saving product and purchased them directly from Mr. Zopfi, who set up a small shop in
a garage behind his plumbing business. Before long, his "Fernco" business exceeded his
plumbing contracting business and he dedicated his efforts full-time to the manufacture of
Fernco products.
Darrell Cooper joined the Fernco Joint Sealer Company as Executive Vice President in 1970.
During this time there was an ever-increasing demand for Fernco's expanded line of products
as a result of new piping materials coming into the market and the continued growth in housing
starts. Darrell's initial focus within the company was to first organize the product offering
in a simplified format to accommodate the literally thousands of possible combinations of
transition joints made possible by the use of Fernco donuts and couplings. In addition, it
was Darrell's vision which built the foundation of a company that could potentially grow into
a multi-million dollar industry.
In 1974 Fernco Joint Sealer Company, which employed twelve people at the time, enjoyed its
first million-dollar year. By 1977 it was virtually impossible to keep up with demand in the
limited space of the Ferndale facility and the decision was made to purchase a 100,000
square foot building in Davison, Michigan, located 10 miles east of Flint.
Following the move in December, 1977, Fernco employed twenty-eight people and the products were produced
with liquid PVC (plastisol) in a poured molding process still known today as the "blue line",
named for the blue color of the ovens used at the time. Because the "blue line" process was a
relatively slow method of manufacture it became apparent that the only way to increase
production to meet growing demand was to invest in plastic injection molding machines. The
first injection molding machine arrived in April of 1978.
Retiring to Florida in 1979, Mr. Zopfi sold his interests to Darrell who formed a new company, Fernco Inc. Darrell was determined to find a better way to create opportunities and insure the future of not only the company, but the future of the people within the growing Fernco family. He envisioned every employee, regardless of job level, participating in a dynamic, self-directed team environment with above average income and benefits.
The 1980's were a time of explosive growth and prosperity. Substantial capital investments were made in injection molding capabilities and process improvements. The first six-cavity die, the 1056-44, arrived in 1981 followed by several more high-capacity tools in a relatively short period of time. New product innovations such as flexible elbows, tees, hose grips, dishwasher connectors, utility connectors and Lowflex shielded couplings to name a few, made Fernco a company known for the highest quality and service standards in the industry. With the introduction of the PlumbQwik product line in 1984, Fernco market share increased with the growing retail "do-it-yourself" home-center/hardware market.
At the same time as business in the U.S. was expanding, Darrell recognized that the markets
in Canada were experiencing similar growth and in 1987 purchased a building in Sarnia, Ontario,
Canada to establish Fernco Connectors, Ltd. Because of this foresight, Fernco products are now
the number one product-of-choice in all of Canada today.
In the 1990's, to remain competitive and to better serve our growing customer base, our product
line expanded to include Proflex specialty transition couplings and No-Hub (MJ) couplings.
A 50,000 square foot distribution/manufacturing facility, Fernco West, Sparks, Nevada was
established in 1989 for the western U.S. market. To better service our customers in Europe,
Fernco International, Ltd., located in Stockport, England, was formed in 1993 to manufacture and distribute
rubber and PVC based products. Extensive employee training programs have been used for many
years in all facilities and an ISO 9000 quality rating assures our customers of continuous
product improvement, quality and services.
In August, 2002, Fernco acquired the #1 seller of flexible couplings in Europe,
Flex-Seal Couplings, LTD. Flex-Seal, located in Wombwell, England, sells and distributes couplings in England and Europe.
The company also has an European office located in Eshwege, Germany. The Flex-Seal acquisition positions Fernco, Inc. as
the number one manufacturer and distributor of flexible couplings in the world.
With the close of the millennium, led by the vision of a Board of Directors consisting of
Chairman, Darrell Cooper, his sons, Chris-CEO, Mark- President, daughter Heather and recently
retired CEO, Joe Kryska, Fernco is prepared for growth and profitability in the
ever challenging global markets....