OUR STORY
Fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership since 1979
Who We Are
StoneAge Holdings was created in 2022 as the holding company for StoneAge Tools, Warthog Nozzles, Breadware, and future spinoffs and acquisitions. As the footprint of StoneAge Holdings continues to grow through strategic expansions and acquisitions, so will the impact of our work and the career opportunities we provide around the world.
By operating as a 100% employee-owned organization through our ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), all team members embody the OWN IT mindset and receive lucrative profit sharing and retirement benefits. Employees of StoneAge Holdings never say “that’s not my job”— owning our actions and graciously succeeding and failing as a team allows us to do BIG THINGS, together.
Our History
1979
Our founding company, StoneAge Tools emerged in 1979 when co-founders John Wolgamott and Jerry Zink (former classmates at the Colorado School of Mines) developed a new self-rotary waterjet nozzle in their Durango, Colorado garage. Originally intended for the mining industry “to cut holes in rocks,” the newly created nozzles eventually changed the way heat exchangers were cleaned. The founders’ passion for research and development bred a culture of product innovation that has transformed the waterblasting industry over the past four decades.
This passion for product leadership and commitment to designing new equipment brought StoneAge Tools to the forefront of the movement towards hands-free and automated waterblast equipment. New state-of-the-art, in-house testing facilities allow a dedicated engineering team to continue pushing the boundaries of design and technology. By partnering with industrial cleaning contractors, StoneAge Tools engineers gain unique insight to guide their design of automated systems that advance safety and productivity for a wide variety of waterblasting applications.
1989
Stemming from that very ingenuity, Warthog Nozzles emerged in 1989 as a spinoff to bring controlled rotation technology to the sewer and drain cleaning industry. Differing from StoneAge Tools through a lower pressure design, Warthog Nozzles provide a wide range of premier sewer and drain cleaning tools to customers around the globe.
2020
To bolster development of robotic and automated solutions, StoneAge Holdings acquired IoT product development firm, Breadware, in spring of 2020. Based in Reno, Nevada, Breadware specializes in helping industrial OEMs build and launch smart products and connected solutions.
2022
Breadware acquired software provider, Medium One, in spring of 2022 to solidify its position as a true, end-to-end development partner. Now an integral piece of Breadware’s brand and service offerings, this software is known as the Rise software platform.
2023
StoneAge Tools formalized the acquisition of long-time competitor, Terydon. Uniting personnel and resources together as one business, customers throughout the department of defense and industrial cleaning can now benefit from intentional combination of leading technologies and equipment systems.
Our Vision For the Future
At StoneAge Holdings, we envision a world in which industrial workers have the tools and technology systems they need to operate effectively and most importantly, to return safely to their families each and everyday.
The Board of Directors
The Board of Directors for StoneAge Holdings brings over 100 collective years of experience and insight to the table within their respective fields. With their combined knowledge and acumen, they can provide vital guidance to ensure the continued and future success of the company.
Stoneage board of directors plays a crucial role in building over site and providing advice. Meeting quarterly, the Board of Directors asks provocative questions and raises concerns and questions to benefit the company. This ensures that the companies are well-positioned for success with sound management practices in place and strategic objectives set for the future.
Kerry Siggins
CEO & Chairman
Kerry’s passion lies in strategy, as well as organizational and leadership development. She enjoys helping employees grow both personally and professionally. Under her leadership, StoneAge Tools has changed its product development strategy, go-to-market business model, and European operations expansion. Additionally, Kerry helped to lead the transition into becoming an employee-owned, ESOP company in 2015, and most recently the acquisition of Breadware, an IoT engineering services company. She is proud that StoneAge Holdings shares a significant amount of its success with its employees. She continues to lead through transparency, communicating the strategy and goals necessary to continue to be market leaders on a global scale.
John Wolgamott
Board Member | Co-FOunder
John has served on the Board of Directors since the Board’s inception in 1998 and is still active in helping guide company strategy and succession planning. John was also a co-founder of the WJTA and served on its Board of Directors in several capacities. He and fellow co-founder Jerry Zink have promoted employee ownership for many years, culminating in the 2015 launch of our ESOP. John’s community involvement includes helping to start a business accelerator program and mentoring startup companies. His love of this community has been a driving force throughout his career, through the creation of great jobs and support of viable economic development programs.
Richard Cortese
Independent board member
Richard joined the StoneAge Board of Directors in 2013. Carrying a breadth of knowledge and experience, Richard has extensive involvement in growing and managing multi-national technology companies. This experience was largely gained during his work with companies ranging from $20 million to over $500 million. Richard served as the Chief Executive Officer for Alpha Micro Systems, Sweda, Racoteck, and NextNet, and currently owns his own consulting firm. Leveraging his diverse background and skillset, Richard also serves on the StoneAge Organizational Development Compensation Committee. As a board member, Richard’s strategic insights and hands-on experience have played a pivotal role StoneAge’s growth.
Gary Masner
Independent board member
Gary joined the StoneAge Board of Directors in 2010. His diverse background includes cofounding and serving as CEO for a space propulsion testing business, helping four companies’ founders sell to their management teams, serving on four Boards, and helping start a business accelerator. Gary’s experience during his career includes executive positions in companies such as McKinsey, Ampex Corp. and Freightliner Corp., where he helped successfully grow and expand sales both domestically and internationally. He spent ten years as a partner in venture capital firms, and started and sold two companies. This financial background makes him an excellent fit as our Chairman of the Finance Committee, which he has been heading since 2015.
Fritz Kin
Independent board member
Fritz has over 35 years of experience as a safety, process safety, security, and emergency preparedness leader. In his current role at Marathon Petroleum Company, Fritz is responsible for the budget for his corporate organization and for the review of Health, Environment, Safety & Security budgets for 13 refineries and two renewable diesel plants. He also sets the safety vision for the refining organization and has established the management systems and programs for each of the disciplines under his responsibility. Fritz is a Certified Safety Professionals (CSP), Certified Environmental, Health, & Safety Instructional Trainer (CIT), and a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM).
The Executive Team
StoneAge Holdings, Inc., has tremendous pride for fostering a diverse, experienced, and well-rounded team of senior leaders who drive strategy, direction, and culture.
The Executive Team is made up of talented individuals from a wide range of backgrounds to ensure that a myriad of unique perspectives is brought to the table. Bringing years of know-how within their respective fields, the team uses this variety of knowledge to build stronger companies that are ready to tackle any challenge. The team sets a clear and attainable strategy for achieving goals and empowers the overall organization to succeed.
Kerry Siggins
CEO
Kerry’s passion lies in strategy, as well as organizational and leadership development. She enjoys helping employees grow both personally and professionally. Under her leadership, StoneAge Tools has changed its product development strategy, go-to-market business model, and European operations expansion. Additionally, Kerry helped to lead the transition into becoming an employee-owned, ESOP company in 2015, and most recently the acquisition of Breadware, an IoT engineering services company. She is proud that StoneAge Holdings shares a significant amount of its success with its employees. She continues to lead through transparency, communicating the strategy and goals necessary to continue to be market leaders on a global scale.
Matt Pagano
VP of Finance & Accounting
A seasoned finance and business executive for close to two decades, Matt has held strategic roles ranging from Director of Financial Planning and Analysis to his current role as the VP of Finance. As the VP of Finance, he provides essential financial metrics for executive decision making and manages all fiscal and IT related functions for StoneAge Holdings, Inc.. Before joining StoneAge, Matt worked in gaming and hospitality, giving him a strong background in financial reporting and analysis, compliance, information systems, banking and insurance, and strategic growth. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree from Ft. Lewis College in Business Administration, a certificate in accounting from Metropolitan State University of Denver, and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Rudy Alexander
President of Breadware
With over 30 years of experience in the computer software industry, Rudy Alexander is a visionary with proven ability to bring technology to market and develop successful companies. In his current role as President of Breadware, his knowledge of IoT and what the future of tech looks like offers a unique perspective. Rudy was the founder of 11Giraffes, which developed and provided software to assist retailers in using their digital media more effectively. He has authored several white papers in the software industry and was featured on World Business Review. Rudy was honored with the Charlotte Chamber’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award and is a founding member of Charlotte’s Business Innovation and Growth Council.
Shanna Jansen
VP of People & Culture
Shanna has over 20 years of Human Resources experience. As a strategic business partner, Shanna leads the advancement and execution of our strategic people plan focused on culture, talent, organizational development, compensation, and benefits. She focuses on finding efficiencies and on attracting, retaining, and rewarding talent while creating scalable programs and policies. Shanna has much of her career in mid to small sized companies focused on growth, but also spent time as a human resources leader at Honeywell and Sandia National Labs. Shanna holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of New Mexico, master’s degree in human resources management from University of Phoenix, and an MBA from Louisiana State University – Shreveport.
Employee Testimonial
“We are creating a sustainable, forward-thinking company committed to improving the lives of its employees. We are proud that all our employees share in the success of StoneAge and find deeper meaning in their work”
— Rudy Alexander