Peter Graham Delany, vice president and chief operating officer of Delany Products, passed away in his adopted home town of Charlottesville, Va., on July 22, 2016. Delany was a pillar of the company and instrumental in the smooth and rapid transition from the direct manufacturing days of the old Coyne & Delany to the outsourcing model of today’s Delany Products.

Coyne & Delany was founded in 1879 by John J. Delany and Thomas Coyne. He was fourth generation from the founder. At its inception, the company made ball cocks and the copper lining for high tank toilets that functioned as the indoor plumbing of the 19th century. With the introduction of the Flushboy in 1927, the company started down the path of becoming one of the preeminent flush valve manufactures in the world.

After graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, he served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He joined what was then Coyne & Delany in 1972 and spent his career working with his father Graham learning every facet of production of the Delany valve, perfecting what is today referred to as the Delany Differences.

Starting in 2009, Delany rose to the challenge of the transitioning from the direct manufacturing days to the model of outsourcing parts while still assembling at the Charlottesville plant. He identified the best potential partners overseas, trained them to produce the valves to Delany’s demanding specifications and managed the myriad of production issues raised by offshore manufacturing.

Under his direction, Delany’s lead times to its customers shrank to averaging under eight days, an all-time low. He was also instrumental in the revamping and production of the entire product line. Recently he was key in the launch of several products such as the Saber valve, Flushboy Ultra and the just launched TrueSense, a low power in-wall flush valve. Together with his brothers A. Graham, Jr. “Biff” Delany vice president, customer service and b, president, Peter was helping to lead the resurgence of the new Delany Products.

The family suggests that in lieu of flowers please make a donation in Peter’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association.