OUR BUSINESS
How We Got Here
Ragner Technology Corporation (RTC) is the assignee of the creations and co-creations of our President & Co-Owner, Gary Ragner, in the fields of vacuum cleaners & accessories, expandable hoses & machinery, related expandable/retractable technologies, and smart device holders. Many of these technologies were co-invented and developed with the assistance of our Executive VP & Co-Owner, Robert de Rochemont, Jr. RTC has held and marketed many U.S. and international patents and pending applications.
​
With 800+ documented inventions and numerous additional sub-inventions in a wide variety of fields, Gary Ragner likely has one of the most diverse and extensive portfolio of inventions of any person alive today. Gary obtained his Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Oregon and his Master's in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida. He has about 70 issued U.S. and international patents to his credit, plus many pending U.S. and international patent applications.
​
Gary & Robert met in the early 1990's when Robert was seeking engineering assistance to take his vacuum cleaner accessory idea and turn it into a real product. Robert's vacuum industry knowledge combined with Gary's engineering expertise resulted in various vacuum and attachment technologies, which turned into products that were made and sold by well-known brands under licensing and other agreements. Those products included the Transformer 12-in-1 Vacuum Tool, variations of which are still sold by leading brands today:
Check out this early 2000 promo video of Robert for the Transformer 12-in-1:
Around this same time in early 2000, Gary realized that if the flow direction were reversed on a vacuum hose he and Robert invented (instead of sucking air in, water flowing out), their vacuum hose technology could be applied to garden hoses to create a much lighter, compact, and more user-friendly garden hose. The result, as described in more detail below, became expandable garden hoses which have sold more than $3 Billion worldwide.
​
On September 27, 2005, Gary and Robert were issued U.S. Patent # 6,948,527, "Pressure-Actuated Linearly Retractable and Extendible Hose," which traces its patent history back to a 2001 application. This patent was the genesis of a major shift after about 70 years of little to no change in the form and function of garden hoses.
Through a couple corporate entities which are now Ragner Technology Corporation (RTC), Gary, Robert, and their team sought to raise sufficient funding and started building an expandable hose manufacturing and distribution business. During that years-long and painstaking process, the technology was revealed to the wrong people and thereafter spread among certain DRTV companies and Asian manufacturers. By 2012, there were at least two unauthorized companies marketing expandable garden hoses and RTC was forced to license the technology or risk missing the market completely. Numerous lawsuits arose from this situation, which still continue on today.
Here is a 2008 video of Robert demonstrating our "Microhose" which, as pointed out during a 2019 hearing in federal court, appeared to be copied by an unauthorized direct marketer:
RTC's technology generated a paradigm shift in the garden hose market, as many manufacturers scrambled to improve their hoses by making them lighter in weight and easier to use to try to offer comparable benefits to expandable hoses. Innumerable knock-offs and poor quality have led many consumers to give up on expandable hoses, but their ease of use and utility are beyond dispute.
Based on some market research and modifications to our expansion technologies, RTC realized that we could dramatically improve bungee cords by making them stretch much further, while also greatly increasing their strength and durability.
Beginning in September, 2019, RTC began selling our patented SuperBungee Brand bungee cords, which are a radical improvement over ordinary bungee cords which haven't substantially improved in 70 years.
​
Click the logo to check out the website and learn more:
SuperBungee cords are now being sold in hardware, auto parts, and other stores across the United States! We have expanded the brand to include Marine & Fitness SuperBungees.
RTC continues to work on new advancements to improve our existing products and those yet to come... Stay Tuned!