At a time when most of the nation was asking "Who shot J.R.?," "Chariots of Fire" was number one at the box office, and IBM was releasing a brand new consumer appliance called the "P.C.," real estate developer Ray Engel was setting his sights on developing homes and communities that lived "side-by-side with nature — not at its expense." But when Engel's search for water and energy conserving fixtures turned up fruitless, he took the challenge on himself.

"I found that showers were especially wasteful users of water and water heating energy, and major contributors to the burden on community sewage systems," says Engel. This led to the launch of Energy Technology Laboratories (ETL), a multi-disciplinary water and energy conservation firm focused on the development, production, marketing and distribution of "people-pleasing conservation products."

Since 1981, the company has established an amazing legacy of award-winning products and services dedicated to the conservation of energy and natural resources. In 1995 ETL was the recipient of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Water Conservation & Education Mentor Award; in 1996 it was honored with a Certificate of Environmental Achievement by the Council for Environmental Sustainability; and in 1997, the company was awarded an EPA Award for Environmental Excellence.

ETL's primary lines of business are (1) the manufacture and distribution of innovative water and energy efficient products (including the Oxygenics SkinCare™ line of shower head products); and (2) Oxygenics shower heads are the primary shower head chosen to be used in Resource Action Programs kits that are offered to schools. These school-based programs incorporate interactive "real-world" practices at home and instill resource efficiency concepts at an early age.