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Rain Bird makes sprinklers, valves, and controllers that water lawns, landscapes, and crops.
Rain Bird is an irrigation company. It makes the sprinklers that pop up out of your lawn, the valves that turn the water on and off, and the controllers that decide when each zone gets watered. Farmers use its gear too, to water crops efficiently instead of flooding fields.
The business is simple at its core: it sells hardware and the smarts that run it. A homeowner or landscaping crew buys sprinkler heads and a controller; a farm buys drip lines and valves. The pitch is saving water and labor. A well-tuned system puts the right amount of water in the right place at the right time, which matters more as water gets scarcer and utility bills climb. Rain Bird is private, founded in 1933, and headquartered in Azusa, California. Its famous origin story is that founder Clement LaFetra watched his son run through a sprinkler and thought there had to be a better way to water. That turned into a business built on one idea: apply water precisely rather than broadly. The company also runs a training arm that teaches irrigation professionals how to design and install systems, which helps lock in loyalty to its products.
Its main competitors are other irrigation brands like Toro and Hunter Industries, plus a long tail of cheaper hardware. Rain Bird's edge is brand trust and a deep catalog across both home and agricultural markets, which lets it sell to landscapers, golf courses, and growers from the same playbook.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026