I was a Grand Canyon River Guide in my youth. Then I was an Automotive Machine shop worker, and I worked one year as a high school auto shop teacher. In 1983 I started Jack’s Plastic Welding back in my Mom’s old shop in Logan Utah. Then by 1985 I was married, and moved to Durango Co with my new Bride. We started working in a renovated chicken coup in Bondad Colorado, 20 miles south of Durango, near the NM border. By 1990 Errol was my business partner, and we had employees. We moved to our present location in Aztec, NM. We produced products for whitewater rafting, and the business grew slowly till around 2000 when we had a drought. We decided that we needed to make other things besides river equipment. Rivers became a dwindling resource due to climate change. We were one of the first companies to sell inflatables, Dry bags and waterproof mattresses on the internet. We have maintained a web presence since 1993. We made an inflatable virtual reality raft ride for a large amusement park company, in 1997 and were able to purchase our first RF welder. In 2007 we purchased our first computerized cutting system, and doubled our shop space when we leased the building next door. In 2008 we purchased Solid Works Design software, and the CAD-CAM combination launched us into new product lines that we were not capable of before. Our business has evolved along with our machine suppliers, and our fabric suppliers, each getting better as the years marched on. There were a number of game changing projects we were able to make as a result of our successes. Inflatables parts for computerized medical training dummies with inflatable lungs and blood bladders, The first Gamov Hyperbaric bag for mountain climbers, search and rescue equipment, environmental test equipment for coral reefs, Inflatable structures, and much more. We currently make stabilization collars and rescue rafts for NASA. As I ease into retirement, I look at legacy projects like the coral kindergarten to help save coral reefs from extinction in the face of climate change. Our project to convert wave energy to desalinated water was just accepted as one of the semifinalists in the Waves to Water Competition. See more at our web page about what we are most proud of. As the business progressed and grew into new markets and engineering capability, so did our work force. People started to get ever more specialized. These days I am semi-retired, and there are others who are learning design and patterning, as well as new fabrication techniques. We have always operated on the assumption that our employees are our most valuable resource, and they have valuable ideas to contribute. The business is an incredibly interesting and fun place to work. We consider JPW to be a big part of the solution. See more about the things we are most proud of. http://www.jpwinc.com/mostproud.htm