Small Biz Profile: Rain Tube

Rain Tube offers builders a recycled alternative for stormwater management.

Bill Savage and Steve Spratt are trying to revolutionize an old design in an industry known for its slow adopters. Co-founders of GLI Systems Inc., Savage and Spratt introduced Rain Tube, a rain gutter filter made of 100 percent recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) to the construction industry in 2007. Rain Tube rests inside rain gutters, acting as a barrier for leaves, sticks and other debris. The tubes let water though, enabling the gutters to collect the same volume of water as they would without the filter, Spratt says.

“We set out to build a better mousetrap, if you will, in the product category we’re in,” Spratt says. Not exactly glamorous, rain gutter technology has remained unchanged for decades. A critical stormwater management tool, rain gutters help prevent rain and debris from damaging siding, windows and foundations. They are essential components of any rainwater harvesting system, which are becoming more popular and mandatory in some cities, as the green building industry grows.

Savage, retired president and CEO of Public Storage Inc. (NYSE: PSA), the world’s largest self- storage facilities company, and Spratt purchased the patent for Rain Tube in 2004. “We were able to design the product around recycled materials and do the manufacturing in a way that it fit into the green context.”

The average Rain Tube system displaces about 225 milk jugs from the landfill, according to Spratt. Many factors, including materials and manufacturing costs as well as the simplicity of the design, allow GLI to sell Rain Tube at half the price of other rain gutter filters, he says. “Once the plant is set up, we can manufacture millions and millions of feet at very high efficiency.”

At its manufacturing facility just outside of Portland, GLI plans to ship 1 million feet of Rain Tube filters in 2008, up from about 200,000 feet in 2007. The company is currently targeting large roofing contractors, and provides installation and maintenance training in-house. For green builders trying to minimize the clearing of existing trees within new developments, Rain Tube poses a great deal of promise. “All the other products out there are made of PVC, which can be expensive, and none are made of recycled content,” says John Miller, developer of Woodscape Green, a Salem, Ore., community in which all homes meet Energy Star and Earth Advantage standards.

GLI Systems won multiple design awards in 2007, including a Sustainable Product Award from Green Building Pages, an online information source for designers and consumers. Rain Tube was one of three recipients of the End of Product Life Award.