The History of StoneAge

In 1979, in a dusty old garage, two young men, Jerry Zink and John Wolgamott, worked to develop an idea into a viable tool. They met while working for a Colorado university think tank and soon collaborated to design a tool worth pitching to the mining industry. Yes, the first StoneAge tool was a hand-held waterjet drill used by uranium miners to drill holes in rocks rather than blasting. Hence the name “StoneAge.” Just as they succeeded in getting the technology right, the uranium mining market collapsed, leaving them with a great waterjet tool and no customers. To make ends meet they marketed their tool to civil engineers and even built houses in rock formations. As luck would have it, the Water Jet Technology Association (WJTA) had just formed and they presented their tool to some early water blast contractors. After some initial testing, they found that their new waterjet drill was very useful in the cleaning of pipes, tubes, and plugged heat exchangers. Other high pressure cleaning equipment using similar technology soon followed the water drill. Thus the foundation was laid for a new “water jet engineering company”.

StoneAge is now recognized as a world leader in providing tools and equipment for water blast cleaning. We specialize in mechanized equipment and rotary nozzles. We have hundreds of customers and distributors located around the world. The same two men (not so young anymore) still help guide the company in the development of new and better tools. But they are now part of a larger dynamic team that has grown to provide comprehensive engineering, manufacturing and engineering service capabilities. StoneAge is 100% employee owned and retains over 90 full time staff on its payroll. The garage has been replaced by a modern, well-equipped facility, but the commitment to quality and practicality remains strong as ever.

Working with StoneAge

• Worldwide distribution
• Large inventory for quick shipments
• 87% of our orders are shipped with expedited delivery
• Every employee is part of our Customer Service Team
• Live receptionists, no phone directories during regular business hours
• Direct access to our Engineering Department
• Regional Repair Centers

At StoneAge, we believe in a philosophy of operating globally and giving back locally. We know we can make the greatest impact on our communities by supporting causes that are important right in our own neighborhoods.

Charitable Contributions Projects
StoneAge provides various opportunities for our employees to give back to our communities. Each quarter, we vote on how to allocate our charitable contributions, and these funds are then distributed to local, Four Corners-based nonprofit groups. Recent recipients have included:

Big Brothers Big Sisters
Manna Soup Kitchen
Country Kids With Cancer
Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County
Durango Community Homeless Shelter
La Plata County Humane Society
StoneAge also sponsors and supports many local organizations, such as:

La Plata Open Space Conservancy
Community Connections
Fort Lewis College Engineers without Borders
Fort Lewis College School of Business Administration
Women’s Resource Center: Girl’s Night Out
Animas High School Robotics Team
Music in the Mountains
U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge

Community Activities

StoneAge provides its employees with multiple volunteer events each year as a way to donate personally to our community. These have included:

Treats For The Troops
Project Merry Christmas
Soles 4 Souls Shoe Drive
Local Food Bank Drives
Community Clean-up Days
Volunteer Cooks at Manna Soup Kitchen
We encourage employees to participate in outside activities that match their values and passions. Our employees give their time to organizations such as:

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic
Durango Snowdown events
Volunteer Fire Departments & Firefighters
Adaptive Sports Association of Durango
Director roles on various community Boards
In addition, StoneAge always welcomes community members from outside of our organization to learn more about what we do. We frequently host visits from student organizations, business and government leaders, as well as local and regional companies.

Economic Development

We believe that the business community must work closely with local economic development groups as well as government entities to promote a business-friendly community and to create rewarding and engaging jobs. StoneAge is proud to be a Chairman’s Circle Investor with the La Plata Economic Development Alliance as well as a member of the Durango Chamber of Commerce.

StoneAge is also pleased to participate in the I’m From Durango campaign. This initiative promotes goods and services made locally and helps bring awareness to our vibrant business community. Visit iamfromdurango.com for more information.

Internships

StoneAge strongly supports education through traditional, non-traditional, technical, and vocational efforts. We believe that it’s our responsibility, in part, to help the future work force of America gain valuable knowledge and experience that will help them advance in their careers. Interested internship candidates should send their resumes and cover letters to careers@stoneagetools.com.

STEM Program

We support the engineers and technicians of tomorrow by providing internships for local high school students through the Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) Internship program.

Engineering Internships

StoneAge offers at least one Engineering internship each summer. Eligible candidates must be full-time students working towards an Engineering-related degree at an accredited college or university.

Other Internship Opportunities

StoneAge seeks ways to support Durango area students whenever possible by offering internships in all departments. Please contact us about potential opportunities, or if you have any questions or inquiries.

Clean & Green

StoneAge consciously supports the environment. Not only do our tools permit cleaning with just pure water (no harmful chemicals required), but our facility is also designed to reduce our carbon footprint. Our operation features automatic timers on light switches to reduce energy usage, recycling bins stationed throughout the building, reuse of packing materials (both our own and our vendors’) whenever possible, and recirculating the water we use to test our equipment.

Additionally, StoneAge supports alternative transportation by providing bike racks and showers for employees who choose this healthy commute mode. We also participate in Durango’s annual Clean Commute Challenge, where we compete with other local businesses to see how many employees are willing to get out of their cars for at least one day a year!