This year, General Pipe Cleaners, a division of General Wire Spring Company, celebrates its 90th anniversary. Company beginnings date back to 1930 when Abe Silverman stepped away from one venture in order to found General Wire Spring Company. Originally in the business of manufacturing springs, Silverman expanded his customer base by making drain cleaning cables for local plumbers. Soon, the company’s first-ever patent was born; the Flexicore cable. Flexicore was made by wrapping spring wire tightly around a braided wire core – vastly boosting strength, kinking resistance and flexibility. This 1940s patent catapulted General into decades of new product innovations and expansions — all under family leadership.
“It’s always fun for me to follow the evolution of how one name became what it is today. The machine that was groundbreaking back in the 1940s is still around in the newer form today with a variable speed motor and an automatic feed on it; essentially it’s the most popular machine for clearing clogged sinks,” says Marty Silverman, vice president of marketing at General, and grandson to Abe Silverman.