Family owned and American built with pride for more than 60 years!

Better Engineering is a company that designs and manufactures industrial cleaning machines, also known as “part washer,” for various industrial, food, and pharmaceutical processing centers across the globe. The company was founded in 1960 by two WWII veterans, Bill Hiss and Earl Sprecher, who were looking for a way to clean and reuse automatic transmission parts. Their invention, the Torque Converter Flusher, led to the establishment of Bill and Earl’s Auto Shop in Rosedale, MD. They worked tirelessly in the basement of the auto mechanic shop, developing their patent for the Torque Converter Flusher, a machine that would revolutionize the automotive industry by cleaning used automatic transmission parts to be repaired or refurbished.

Once the patent was approved, Bill and Earl’s invention, the Torque Converter Flusher, hit the global market, creating the part washer industry.

Years later, Bill & Earl sold Bill & Earls Garage in Rosedale, moved their design and manufacturing operations to a business park in Bel Air, MD, and changed the business name to Better Engineering, using the first initial of each of their first names as a tribute to their legacy.

Bill Hiss

Our Founder, Bill Hiss, exemplified “the greatest generation.” Born in 1924, he joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Pacific during WWII. Bill went on to establish Better Engineering (BE) in 1960 with the invention of the patented “Torque Converter Flusher,” used by transmission shops to clean torque converters during the remanufacturing process.

Bill was the father of three, a community activist, and the patriarch of Better Engineering until his passing in 2000.

Family Owned & Operated

Over the years, Irma managed all aspects of the company with great pride until her passing in 2008.

Keith Hiss and Denise Hussar followed in their parent’s footsteps and are the second-generation owners of BE. Keith succeeded his father as president and general manager, taking Better Engineering to a new level by introducing the first part washer for the automotive industry. Under Keith’s leadership, Better Engineering was the first manufacturer of automated, aqueous-based parts cleaning systems that people are familiar with.

Today, Ryan Hiss and Lyndsey Hiss-Peters, two of Bill’s grandchildren, continue the family-owned and operated legacy of over 60 years.

Expansion and Innovation

Better Engineering has become a global leader in manufacturing industrial cleaning machines in the past four decades. Our products are used for automobile parts and in virtually every industrial industry, including precision cleaning for metal passivation and sanitization requirements in food and pharmaceutical processing. From our humble roots with Bill and Earl, our best-in-class engineering and production teams partner with our clients to innovate machines that solve some of the toughest cleaning challenges, delivering quality machines that exceed strict cleaning standards.

For more information about Better Engineering, watch our company profile video below.