About The Kilpatrick Company
Our Story... A Brief History
In 1958, Boynton Pump, Well & Sprinkler Supply was formed in Boynton Beach, Florida to sell pumps and irrigation products and materials in the rapidly growing Boynton Beach area. The founder of Boynton Pump, Well & Sprinkler Supply was Richard Palmer, who had previously retired from the New York City Police Department.
After attending Berry College in Rome, Georgia, Harold & Suzie Kilpatrick, moved from Atlanta, Georgia to South Florida in 1961 to get a fresh start and a change of scenery after Harold had recently Survived surgery for cancer. They had one child, Hal, Jr., and moved to the Boynton Beach area near Delray Beach, where Harold’s brother, Dan, was a school teacher.
Harold got a job with Trieste Construction in Delray Beach, running the crew that installed sprinkler systems for the homes that Trieste Construction built in the area. Harold had worked on the plumbing crew for the work Study Program while at Berry College, and this helped prepare him for the sprinkler business. In 1965, Trieste Construction decided to get out of the sprinkler installation business, as it was beginning to become its own specialty trade. Harold decided to start his own sprinkler company and so Kilpatrick Lawn Sprinklers, Inc. was born with the slogan, “Call the Irishman”.
Harold purchased materials from Boynton Pump, Well & Sprinkler Supply and became friends with Richard Palmer. In 1968, Mr. Palmer wanted to retire and sell his sprinkler supply company and decided that Harold should buy it. And so, Mr. Palmer convinced Harold to purchase the company and made it possible for him to do so. Harold incorporated it as Boynton Pump & Supply, Inc. Bob Jarvis, who worked for Kilpatrick Lawn Sprinklers after getting out of the Navy, was recruited to run Boynton Pump & Supply and became a stock-holder, while Harold ran Kilpatrick Lawn Sprinklers. Sales revenue in that first year was $100,000.
Pictured Above: Harold Kilpatrick, Sr.
Growth and Development
In 1976, under Rain Bird’s Master Turf Distributor Program, Harold opened Store’s in Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Pierce. Also in 1976, he changed the name of Kilpatrick Lawn Sprinklers to Southeastern Irrigation to reflect the large commercial and golf course installations that it was doing.
In 1984, he sold Southeastern Irrigation to concentrate on the distribution business. Also in 1984, Boynton Pump & Irrigation Supply was appointed the Rain Bird and HUNTER landscape distributor for South Florida, and Tim Kilpatrick joined the company after graduation from Stetson University.
Jon Kilpatrick joined the company’s Golf Division in 1990 after attending college, and Hal Kilpatrick Jr. joined the company to head up its Irrigation Design Department after teaching graphic design at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale. A short time later, Hal acquired the assets of the design department to start a separate and independent design and consulting firm by the name of Irrigation Services Group, Inc., which is now recognized as one of the leading firms in the world.
In 1994, The Kilpatrick Company purchased the Jacobsen Distributorship for South Florida from RSI Holdings, with Garry Callahan. In 1996, Kilpatrick International Sales Company (KISCO) was formed to service the Caribbean and Latin America.
Expansion and Acquisition
1998 marked the 40th Anniversary of the company, which was commemorated with a logo and many other promotional events. It also marked the year in which The Kilpatrick Company acquired Pifer, Inc. of Jupiter, Florida, which specialized in turf equipment sales in Southeastern Florida and the Caribbean and Latin America, and merged it’s operations into Kilpatrick Turf Equipment in Southern Florida and into KISCO in our international markets, which was renamed KISCOPifer. The merger has established The Kilpatrick Company as one of the largest distributors of turf care equipment in the world with customers in over 35 countries. The company has been named the Distributor of the Year several times by Jacobsen/TEXTRON, and in 1998, the company was named the Rain Bird Golf Distributor of the Year for the Southeastern United States and in 1999 was named the Distributor of the Year by HUNTER.
In 2003, Kilpatrick Turf & Commercial Equipment acquired the distribution of Jacobsen products, parts, and service in Georgia from Stovall; in 2004, it acquired Northern Florida from Tresca and in 2005, Alabama and the Florida pan-handle was acquired from TIECO.
Pictured Above: The Kilpatrick building in Boynton Beach, FL
Today
2008 marks the 50th year of service to the industry and community for the Kilpatrick Companies. In late 2007, President Tim Kilpatrick and Executive Vice President Jon Kilpatrick decided to change the name of Boynton Pump & Irrigation to KILPATRICK Irrigation & Landscape Products. This change brings more brand consistency to the Kilpatrick family of Companies, and better represents the products and services the Company offers to Florida customers.
