RIDGID

The limited-edition craft beer celebrates trade professionals and the RIDGID legacy

RIDGID®, a part of Emerson’s professional tools portfolio, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with RIDGID Wrenched 100 IPA, a limited-edition anniversary beer. The brew, created in collaboration with Unplugged Brewing Company, pays tribute to the expert tradespeople who work hard and know how to unplug.

Unplugged is an Elyria-based craft brewery and worked closely with the RIDGID team to create the bold and steady brew – just like the brand that inspired it. “Our goal was to say thank you to the trade professionals who over the past 100 years have put their trust in our tools every day on jobsites around the world,” said Becky Brotherton, director of brand and marketing, RIDGID for Emerson. “Having a small, hardworking brewery in our own backyard allowed us to create something that was truly special.”

The specialty craft beer is available for purchase in select Northeast Ohio stores and online for direct-to-home shipping in 41 states through December. To purchase online, visit: rivalrybrews.com/products/ridgid-wrenched-100. Enjoy responsibly.

“RIDGID is an iconic name, recognized around the world, and we’re proud to help them celebrate this milestone anniversary,” said Carlos Lopez, owner of Unplugged Brewery. “As a small business owner, it’s been an honor to create this brew for a company that celebrates its customers in this special way.”

In addition to the RIDGID Wrenched 100 IPA, a limited edition RIDGID beer tap is also available to purchase for use or display. The tap is manufactured at RIDGID global headquarters in Elyria, Ohio, on the same production lines used to produce the brand’s legendary wrenches. It fits a 3/8″-16 body thread or can sit upright for display in a home or shop. Commemorative pint glasses, t-shirts, signs, and hats are also available at ridgidgear.com.

In 1923, the Ridge Tool Company invented the modern straight pipe wrench, introducing it to the world under their brand, RIDGID. Since then, every step forward has been taken with the tradesperson in mind. Today, RIDGID’s pipe wrench design is the best-selling pipe wrench in the world, and many of the wrenches that were sold back in the 1920s and 30s are still in use today.

This year, RIDGID is celebrating 100 years of designing and building innovative tools trusted on jobsites around the world and handed down from generation to generation. To commemorate the occasion, RIDGID is spending 2023 celebrating the trades, their impact on our world, and the brand’s legacy.

To learn more about the 100th anniversary, individuals are invited to visit RIDGID.com/100 or their social channels – @RIDGIDTools on Facebook, @RIDGIDTools on Instagram, and @RIDGIDTools on TikTok.

Emerson’s professional tools business, which includes RIDGID as well as the Greenlee® and Klauke® brands, provides the industry’s broadest portfolio of advanced, reliable tools and technologies for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades globally. Visit emerson.com/professionaltools for more information.

Features best in-pipe image, navigation flexibility and digital zoom/pan for enhanced traceability

RIDGID®, a part of Emerson’s professional tools portfolio, introduces the first reel of its kind to provide digital self-leveling with no moving parts, the SeeSnake® Mini Pro Inspection Camera with TruSense® Technology. It is the latest reel in the RIDGID portfolio of inspection and drain cleaning tools, each designed to complement each other and provide the strongest breadth and depth of products to help meet the toughest jobsite challenges.

The small, yet rugged Mini Pro is designed to inspect up to 200 feet of 1.5- to 8-inch pipe with its mid-flex push cable that can navigate hard 90-degree bends. Its innovative 25 mm digital self-leveling camera always keeps the in-pipe image upright and is shorter than the traditional 25 mm camera head.

“The industry-first digital capabilities of the Mini Pro take pipe inspection to a whole new level,” said Kelsey David, product manager, RIDGID for Emerson. “The smooth in-pipe images that remain upright at all times combine with enhanced in-pipe location and positioning capabilities to increase user confidence and improve pipe inspection efficiency.”

TruSense establishes a two-way datalink between the camera head and a TruSense enabled monitor. With TruSense, advanced sensors on the camera head convey valuable information about the in-pipe environment, including the high-dynamic range (HDR) image sensor that offers bright, clear in-pipe imaging in difficult lighting conditions. The TiltSense™ Inclinometer measures the camera’s angle and displays the degree of tilt on the monitor – giving professionals a useful indicator of the pitch of the camera in-pipe. Digital zoom/pan provides the ability to focus on a single point of interest for a better understanding and view of what’s happening in-pipe.

The Mini Pro is backed by the manufacturer’s RIDGID Full Lifetime Warranty.

To purchase or learn more about the Mini Pro and the entire line of RIDGID inspection solutions, visit RIDGID.com, or call toll-free: 1-800-4RIDGID.

Family is life. Robert Broccolo Jr. (@prodrains), owner/operator of Professional Drain Services of Southern New England, LLC, Westerly, R.I., has much to be thankful for. He’ll be the first to tell you that he has the most amazing fiancée, Tiffani, whom he can’t wait to marry, and he gushes over his beautiful five-year-old daughter Isabella. Oh, and he is expecting a baby boy—Robert Broccolo III—this May.

But that’s what it’s about, right? Hard work and long days to pay the bills to carve more time with family, and to leave them in a better place financially. It’s that work/leisure balance that is so important. “It’s hard to do so but it all depends on your personal goals. My goal is to leave my kids’ grandkids an empire, but that requires tons of hard work and time each day,” says Broccolo. “I try to balance the work day so I’m home by the end of the day before the kids go to bed, spend time on weekends, and plan vacations throughout the year. As much as I’d love to be home more, I want to build for my family and future.”

Getting Started

Broccolo recalls his journey into the industry when he applied for a job with a local plumbing contractor who was hiring workers for a big project. “Also, I had an interest in plumbing as my father is a real estate investor and always had a very good understanding of plumbing and heating. It was one of the skills he mastered over the years so I wanted to learn and make him proud, build some value to myself, and be able to help my him in his real estate ventures. I got the job and shortly thereafter, became an apprentice plumber for that company, learning lot of different aspects of the trade,” says Broccolo.

Growing Exponentially

Broccolo started off with a basic pickup truck and enclosed trailer; he acquired the basics needed to attempt a drain cleaning company. Subsequently, hard work and dedication to customer service has allowed Broccolo to grow his business by utilizing his social and networking skills he believes he gained from the many years— since the age of 10—working as a caddy at a few private golf courses. “It helped me spread the word of who I was and what I offered. I believe networking can be a very valuable tool if used properly.”

Broccolo has been in the plumbing industry for a little more than 10 years now, as he worked as a plumber for a local plumbing and mechanical contractor for years. It was around this time working with other contractors that Broccolo was given an opportunity to show what he could offer. He decided to move forward with starting his company in 2017. Specializing in sewers and septic, underground rehab, excavations and cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) lining, Broccolo’s certifications include CT P7 Plumber, RI Underground Utility Contractor, CT Septic Installer, RI Septic Installer, RI and CT Septic Pumper, and RI Registered Septic Inspector. “From there, the growth hasn’t stopped. We now have the ability to do anything when it comes to sewer and septic,” says Broccolo.

Going into year six with great success, Broccolo continues to expand the underground rehab side of the company. “My love for plumbing has been primarily focused on sewers since the start of my company. I’m constantly learning, going to trainings, trade shows, expos, etc., to gather as much info to continue to grow the company and services we offer,” says Broccolo. “

Looking Up

Broccolo has had a few mentors in his plumbing journey, with his father being his hero and No. 1 mentor. “He’s always guided me in the right direction and given solid advice,” says Broccolo.

There are others, too. “My old boss Mike Loffler and Steve Antoch, and an amazing man I would caddy for each weekend at the golf course,” says Broccolo.

Each person in some way helped guide Broccolo and mentor him in different ways, sometimes not even knowing they were doing so. “So, paying it forward, I try to be my best self to help others in the industry; I believe if we all work together, we can all grow learn and do better, and that in turns makes the industry better,” says Broccolo.

Promote the Trades

According to Broccolo, the trades have been given a negative image for a long time, and that there are great jobs pay and opportunity in all aspects of the trades. His message to those kids thinking of entering the trades would be—give it a chance! “Don’t be fooled with the have-to-go-to-college mentality. I was caught in that mentality when in high school; you were considered a failure if you didn’t go to college. In fact, I went to college and it just wasn’t for me. I wish I had the ability to get my hands in the trades sooner,” says Broccolo.

What message should we be sending then? “The industry could do better by working alongside the schools,” says Broccolo. “Same as a college fair or a military recruit booth, it would be amazing if there was a ‘Trade Day’ where different trades had the ability to be at each school once a year—featuring one-on-one time, the ability to answer and ask questions, and see the reality of the jobs vs. the perception of it,” says Broccolo.

Broccolo says that a local company could sign students for jobs the same as a college signs a student. Companies could then work apprenticeships with students and implement classes to help students see if the trades are for them vs. college. “Just like most things in life, you need to experience it in some way to know if it’s for you,” says Brocoolo.

Listen, some of the most challenging jobs for Broccolo are the underground rehab projects and CIPP installs, but working on pipes without digging and solving problems is very rewarding. “Nothing is more satisfying than getting the job done that most can’t and knowing you did it without being invasive to the property,” says Broccolo.