Charles H. Sanderson started off as a salesman, selling chemicals used for scale and corrosion prevention. But he felt there had to be a better way. If there was an alternative product, he knew it would be a lot safer for people and cheaper for businesses, and it could require only a one-time installation instead of monthly chemical purchases. So he went to the library and did some research. He found a lot of literature on magnets being used to control the damaging effects of hard water, and he saw the opportunity. In 1964, he invented a unique multiple-pole, multiple-field magnetic water treatment product: the Superior Water Conditioner. The Superior Water Conditioner works by subjecting the minerals in hard water to a series of alternating reversing-polarity permanent magnetic fields, which temporarily alters their ionic charge. Instead of attracting each other and building up in pipes, they repel one another and form a precipitate that can easily flow on through or be purged from the system. This precipitate, called aragonite, also forms a microscopic film that protects plumbing and equipment against corrosion. This groundbreaking product made Superior Manufacturing Corporation a global leader in chemical-free water treatment to control scale and corrosion, with over half a million successful installations in over 400 applications worldwide. Over 50 years later, the company is still family-owned – currently operated by Charles Sanderson’s son Scott and daughter Terri Parker – and produces American-made products from their home base in Fort Wayne, IN.