About

In the late 1960’s, Ralph Atwood began selling rainwear directed to the logging industry in the Pacific Northwest. The rugged requirements of the forestry trade necessitated the performance of a rugged and functional garment. After experiencing many years of marginal results selling rainwear for “other factory’s”, Ralph decided it was time to ‘do it right’ and design his own. In 1984, with almost two decades of experience as a guideline, the Atwood Family combined forces with Roy Hyden and his retail marketing expertise, to have the right rainwear made to Ralph’s strict specifications that would perform under these strenuous conditions. Thus, WaterShed was born.  

As the WaterShed name became known for its unparalleled quality throughout the marketplace, the dream was to have the product made in their own production facility. With this in mind, Bruce Thede came on board in 1990 and brought with him his background in high tech outerwear manufacturing and design. Under Bruce’s guidance, the first ‘home grown’ garments rolled off the production line in 1991. Over the next several years, WaterShed solidified their position within the industrial world and then expanded into the Law Enforcement market.

From the very beginning, WaterShed’s goal has been to provide the finest value for the American worker, while maintaining a ‘worker friendly’ design to minimize fatigue and maximize comfort. This necessitated making available custom sizing and other features as a standard offering to their customers. The decision to put the customer first was further enhanced when WaterShed invested in state of the art design, cutting and manufacturing equipment. This allowed, and continues to allow, WaterShed to provide custom garments in a timely and cost effective manner.  

A contract division was added as a result of the proficiency realized from working with such state of the art manufacturing equipment. This expertise created a demand from other manufacturers and customers for WaterShed to assist in design and technical cutting for production of their products. Thus, an industrially diverse contract Base is benefiting from WaterShed's technically advanced operating standards.