The Origin of the Air-Operated Double-Diaphragm Pump (AODD)

   AN OFF-THE-CUFF REMARK WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE WILDEN® AIR-OPERATED DOUBLE-DIAPHRAGM PUMP,  WHICH TO THIS DAY REMAINS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR NUMEROUS APPLICATIONS

    None other than the ancient Greek philosopher Plato is  credited with coining the phrase, “Necessity is the mother  of invention,” meaning that “a need or problem encourages  creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem.” It’s  unknown whether that phrase was going through Jim  Wilden’s head as he watched water from a ruptured pipe  gush into a shop at a steel factory in San Bernardino  County, CA, some 60 years ago. Legend has it, however,  that a foreman who was trying to plug the leak and, using  Mr. Wilden’s nickname, yelled to him, “Hey, Slim, you  would make a million dollars if you could invent a pump to  get this stuff out of here.”

    From that simple tongue-in-cheek exclamation an entire  industry would blossom, as Wilden went to work doing just  that, and in 1955 he had the solution – the air-operated  double-diaphragm (AODD) pump, a technology that was  said to have been “conceived out of necessity, born in the  arms of innovation, and inspired by sheer will and  determination.” After several years of trial and error, Wilden  – who would call his nascent operation the Wilden Pump & Engineering Company – developed a pump that had theright air valve and diaphragms needed, and was tough and  versatile enough, to meet the stringent demands of the mining and heavy-construction industries, where the need  to pump water, slurry or any finely divided substance such  as cement is an ongoing requirement. As the company  continued to improve on the original design, Wilden  introduced numerous AODD pumps that are ideal in  applications for many additional industries such as food,  pharmaceutical, chemical, oil & gas, waste treatment, etc.,  and the most flattering tribute to his success can be found  in the fact that his eponymous company is celebrating its  60th anniversary this year.