
Based in Manchester, New Jersey, CDT Companies provides restoration services through its two subsidiaries, Commercial Drying Technologies, Inc., and Industrial Drying Equipment, LLC. CDT Companies is owned by Spencer Hess, who launched his career in the commercial flood-recovery industry in 1979 while training under Lloyd Weaver.
Hailing from the Black Hills of South Dakota, Lloyd Weaver is best known for inventing the first air mover, a device dubbed "Lloyd's Porta Dryer." Weaver invented the device while helping his hometown recover from catastrophic flooding in the 1970s. Moving from location to location, he needed a portable device that would dry water-soaked carpet, and he fashioned it out of a centrifugal furnace blower. The Porta Dryer blew air beneath a carpet for several days until dry, providing homeowners with a basic method of drying carpet without a high price tag.
While Weaver is best known for the Porta Dryer, he contributed to the restoration industry in many other ways, such as being the first to use a dehumidifier with an air mover for on-location drying and the first to apply moisture sensors to monitor the carpet-drying process. Moreover, Weaver offered seminars on his invention and on water restoration, influencing individuals such as Claude Blackburn, who would later make significant contributions to the restoration industry.