Our History
Wiginton was founded by Joe E. Wiginton in 1967. Joe Wiginton was the 8th child of 12 in a family of dirt poor West Texas Sharecroppers. Sheer survival depended on hard labor and teamwork. That made an impression on Joe and is the core to the success of Wiginton today. Before being drafted by the Army in 1955, Joe was given the opportunity to join the crew of pipe fitters when the William H. LaDew Company installed a fire sprinkler system in a local cotton mill.
After serving his country in the Army, Joe returned to fire protection and the fire sprinkler industry and worked his way up the ranks. Ten years later, he decided to form Wiginton Fire Sprinklers out of the $5,000 savings account his wife (Jo Dell) had squirreled away. In the beginning, Wiginton sold systems purely on the ability for a building owner to save money on fire insurance. In Florida, most of the installations were retro-fits of existing facilities like citrus packing houses and other industrial type complexes. Because fire sprinklers were so effective, codes and legislation began demanding fire sprinkler systems in buildings as a means of fire protection. When legislation was passed requiring fire sprinklers in the existing nursing homes throughout Florida, Wiginton was there creating a safe environment for the elderly and again when the high rise hotels were retrofitted with fire sprinkler systems.
Wiginton is certainly a pioneer of its industry and is recognized as such by the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), an association built upon promoting and improving the methods of fire protection. Despite the economic cycles, incoming entrepreneurs and a second generation transition, Wiginton continues to thrive through innovation quality, integrity and dedication. Joe’s unique leadership qualities are woven throughout the company’s culture and instilled in his two sons, Don and Alan Wiginton. Currently, Don and Alan enjoy honoring their father as industry leaders in their own right and as the leaders of one of the largest and most respected fire sprinkler companies in the United States.
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