Edwin J. Hunter was a visionary inventor, engineer, and business leader whose ideas helped transform the irrigation industry. Across five decades, his work reshaped how landscapes are irrigated and laid the foundation for many of the technologies professionals rely on today.
Ed began his career in 1937 with his brother, inventing and marketing aluminum Venetian blinds — a product that marked his first foray into practical, scalable design. In 1952, he formed Moist O’ Matic, a small company that introduced groundbreaking irrigation controllers and one of the first high-performance plastic sprinklers to the market. By 1960, the company had launched the first mass-marketed gear-driven sprinkler.
After selling Moist O’ Matic to The Toro Company in 1962, he stayed on to develop Toro’s Irrigation Division. During his tenure, Ed pioneered a range of irrigation innovations, including plastic valves, valve-in-head golf course sprinklers, and the stream rotor — all of which played a key role in modernizing turf irrigation systems.
His next venture began after retiring from Toro, when he started a small family business in 1981 with his son Paul called Hunter Industries. Soon after, his son Richard and daughter Ann joined the team. Together, they built a vertically integrated manufacturing operation to ensure quality at every stage of production.
In 1983, the small Hunter team introduced the groundbreaking PGP® Rotor: a durable, gear-driven marvel that was quieter, more efficient, and more precise than other rotors of its time. The introduction of this unique product sparked "The Rotor Revolution" in the landscape irrigation industry — replacing traditional impact sprinklers with gear-driven rotary models — and positioned Hunter Industries as a leader in innovation. Over the past 40 years, the company has continued to expand its offerings and engineering expertise to become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of irrigation products.
Although Ed Hunter passed away in 1998 at the age of 80, his legacy lives on through a culture of hands-on innovation, rigorous engineering, and long-term thinking — values that continue to define Hunter Industries today. Longtime employees still recall Ed arriving at meetings with metal shavings in his hair — a testament to his willingness to be on the factory floor, solving real-world engineering challenges. His curiosity, work ethic, and leadership style continue to inspire the teams at Hunter Industries and the broader landscape irrigation community.