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William "Billy" Barrett
The first time I met Billy Barrett, he and his wife Louise were parked at one of their favorite camping spots near McAllen, Texas. I had flown there to discuss a deal for acquisition of the BillyDump patent rights.
One thing became clear right away, Billy and his wife are some of nicest people you'll ever meet. They oozed Southern Mississippi charm and hospitality. I felt welcome from the first minute.
Having been active in RVing since the '60s, Billy had owned a number of different RVs including a Volkswagon "pop-top" and a slide-in pickup camper. Through the years, he progressively traded up to bigger and better RVs. The one thing that remained constant, though, was the flexible hose that everyone, including himself, was using to drain the holding tanks.
One day, while draining with a flexible-hose, he spilled some waste on his shoes, for the very last time. There had to be something better and he was determined to build it!
Over the next few years, nearing retirement, Billy kept working as a telephone systems technician and managed to quietly keep the BillyDump under wraps until the patent process was complete.
Billy began manufacturing BillyDumps in a small shop near his home and toted them to RV rallies all over the county. Since every other method of draining the holding tank involved a flexible hose, the BillyDump was a success. So much so that he couldn't make enough of them. However, Billy was retired and didn't want to spend all of his free time making BillyDumps. That's where we came in.
Palomino Mfg. bought the patent rights in May of 2000 and moved manufacturing from Mississippi to McPherson, Kansas.