History
In the 1970’s, Angelo Mazzei saw that farmers needed a way to safely and efficiently inject fertilizer into their irrigation water—a task made more challenging with the 1968 introduction of high-pressure water supplies through the California Aqueduct. In his home workshop, Angelo crafted a unique injector optimized for the job, and in 1978 received his first of many patents. That same year, he and his wife Mary started Mazzei Injector Company. As Mazzei Injector Company grew, Angelo began to focus on building a team of dedicated professionals stressing innovation, quality and customer service. Angelo still believes that you are only as good as the people around you. That team focus has led the company to where it is today.
Mazzei Injector Company Enters the Spa Market
Although the business continued to grow as farmers learned of the injector, Angelo realized he needed to appeal to a wider market. The customers were 100 percent agricultural, and that market was cyclical. New markets were needed for Mazzei’s technology. The injector was modified, and new models were introduced in 1983 for injecting ozone into spas. This was just at the time ozone was being introduced for disinfection. The Mazzei spa injector took over this market and helped level out the ups-and-downs of the agriculture market.
Mazzei Tackles Lagoon Aeration
Then Angelo turned his sights on a very personal problem… the smell of a vegetable processing plant’s wastewater lagoon upwind of his home. Working with his team, Angelo developed a process that would aerate the lagoon and minimize odors caused by anaerobic bacteria. A pump on-shore would send water through a Mazzei® injector and back into the lagoon. Within weeks of installation, the water in the lagoon lightened in color and odor, and nitrogen and biochemical oxygen demand dropped dramatically. This allowed the company to land apply the treated water.
Mazzei Develops AirJection® Irrigation
Next, Mazzei Injector Company took their growing experience in aerating water, to the root of a problem… the need for crops to have air around their roots to thrive, one of the driving forces behind tillage. Injectors were developed to draw air into irrigation water to aerate the root zone through drip irrigation—AirJection irrigation. This results in increased yields and healthier crops and soil.
More Innovations at Mazzei Injector Company
Further innovations at Mazzei—the patented Mass Transfer Multiplier™ (MTM) nozzles that shear gas bubbles more efficiently to enhance mixing and gas transfer, and the patented Pipeline Flash Reactor™ (PFR) that creates a compact, in-line mixing zone in just a few feet of pipe—have revolutionized mixing and contacting in water treatment. Enhanced mixing is especially important in the treatment of water with ozone, a highly effective sanitizer that can be difficult to dissolve and mix thoroughly in water.
Mazzei Helps Winemakers Too
Mazzei injectors can also aerate more than just water. In fact, they are popular among winemakers for aerating grape juice during the fermentation process.
Mazzei Injector Company Today
Angelo is a hands-on inventor, but he’s also a big supporter of cutting-edge science which is evident in the team he has built. Mazzei Injector Company’s Research & Development Department, directed by an on-staff engineering PhD, utilizes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling tools to analyze the performance of product designs, assess complex multi-phase systems, and optimize the sizing and placement of equipment in those systems. The company has come a long way from its garage workshop origins, though it has never lost its focus on the importance of innovative design and quality craftsmanship.
Angelo Mazzei continues to guide his team to develop new insights and unlock a wide range of solutions for their California neighbors and people all over the world. Building on 20 patents and a culture of innovation, the Mazzei in-house team of engineers, scientists and specialists, under Angelo’s leadership, are looking towards the future. Mazzei is developing and applying innovative, science-based technologies to make more efficient use of the world’s water resources.