Leon
Walker founded the Walker Pump Company in the 1940's. Due to the
shortage of metal after the War, Mr. Walker had difficulty manufacturing
new pump housings. In an effort to keep the existing pumps
running, Walker Pump Company began refurbishing old pump housings to
keep up with product demand.
The
available methods for cleaning pump housings proved inefficient and
labor intensive. Mr. Walker had serious concerns about cost,
durability and efficiency of equipment. When he could not find a
machine well-suited for his application he decided to build one. The
first Walker Peenimpac Machine made it's New York debut in 1955.
Interest was so strong for this equipment that the Walker Peenimpac
Machine Company was born in 1956.
The
company moved to Georgia in 1963. That same year Raymond Lightsey
joined the organization as a shop foreman. The next year Mr.
Walker passed away and his wife Helen took over the management of the
company and the design of the equipment. It was during this time
that the company saw its most significant growth, adding new products
and expanding into international markets. Mrs. Walker passed
away in 1993 transferring the ownership of the company to Raymond
Lightsey, now the Operations Manager.
After
years of successfully building blasting equipment and nearing
retirement age, Raymond sold the business in 2002 to the current owner
of Shotking. However, he is still employed by the business as a
consultant and still makes decisions in equipment design and assists
customers with equipment they purchased and he built 35 years ago.
The
Shotking staff still carry on the tradition of building simple, durable
equipment to the pioneering design concepts first created by Leon
Walker in the 1955.
