Viega LLC is proud to announce that employee Daniel Rademacher has won the 2020 World Plumbing Council (WPC) Scholarship and will travel to Rwanda to help plumbers in that country.

“I was surprised and thrilled to win,” said Rademacher, who is the Viega Trades Education Network sales manager. “I’m looking forward to the trip and to working with and learning from plumbers in Rwanda.”

The WPC Education and Training Scholarship awards $10,000 to a single winner to travel to another country for the purpose of developing and contributing further plumbing industry knowledge.

Rademacher, who could have chosen nearly any country in the world, said he picked Rwanda in order to work with Jean Claude Twagirimana, a Rwandan plumbing instructor he met when Twagirimana traveled to the United States for instructor training with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Instructor Training Program in 2018. Rademacher said he stayed in touch with Twagirimana and plans to help him develop a training curriculum during his week-long stay this summer.

“It’s an exciting opportunity to learn how plumbing is taught in another country and to help Rwanda improve its plumbing codes and standards and instruction,” Rademacher said.

“We’re proud to have a WPC scholarship winner in our ranks and fully support Daniel’s work in Africa,” said Lino Santoro, Viega Trades Education Network manager. “His enthusiasm and altruism set a great example for the company and the entire industry.”

Rademacher has 29 years of experience in the industry and is an accomplished instructor with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters and other industry organizations. He serves as the Region 8 director of the American Society of Sanitary Engineers – International (ASSE) and serves on that group’s Product Standards and Professional Qualifications and Standards Committee. Rademacher is certified as a plumbing/mechanical inspector and plans examiner by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO). He was IAPMO’s Industry Person of the Year in 2014. Rademacher has extensive experience using, implementing and interpreting the Uniform Plumbing Code, the Uniform Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code, International Mechanical Code and International Fuel Gas Code.

Prior to joining Viega, he had his own plumbing and mechanical code consulting firm in Butte, Montana.