U.S. Pipe history

In 1911, it bought another manufacturer, the Dimmick Pipe Company, in North Birmingham, Alabama.

In 1921, United States Pipe introduced a new way of making pipe, called centrifugal casting.

1923 United States Pipe pioneers centrifugal casting to revolutionize the cast iron pipe industry.

Centrifugal casting, shown in this 1925 image, revolutionized the iron pipe industry.

In 1929, the company changed its name from United States Cast Iron Pipe and Foundry to simply United States Pipe and Foundry.

The company posted a net loss of over $1 million for 1932.

By 1934, the company's prospects brightened with the addition of government-funded public works projects.

Special 72-inch Flanged Wye Branch for a war project in Detroit, Michigan, 1942.

The Jim Walter Corporation was founded in 1946 in Tampa, Florida, by an enterprising 23-year-old builder who discovered a new way to sell houses.

United States Pipe had over $12 million in long-term debt in 1951, taken on when it purchased Sloss-Sheffield and added to with subsequent expansion.

With the historic merger of United States Pipe and Sloss-Sheffield, the General Office moved to Birmingham and a new wing was added to what had been Sloss’s headquarters, 1953.

1956 TYTON JOINT revolutionizes the pipe industry.

12-inch TYTON JOINT® pipe just off the pipe run, marking the first 25,000,000 feet of TYTON JOINT pipe production, 1959.

These sold well, especially in the South, and by 1960 Jim Walter was a nationally known businessman.

In 1961, it increased its holdings in Alabama by acquiring the T.C. King Pipe and Fittings Company, of Anniston, Alabama.

Jim Walter Corp. began a rapid expansion in 1962, buying up a fiberboard manufacturer, Celotex Corp.

In 1966, United States Pipe made another significant acquisition, this time on the East Coast, when it bought an East Orange, New Jersey, manufacturer of valves, hydrants, and related parts called the A.P. Smith Manufacturing Company.

In 1967, United States Pipe made one more major purchase, buying the Irondale, Alabama, company Southern Precision, Inc.

Since 1969, the company has been wholly owned by Walter Industries, Inc., formerly known as the Jim Walters Corp.

Walter Corp. also moved into the aluminum industry in 1980.

Standing in front of what was at the time, United States Pipe’s largest single shipment of pipe, this man and his camel benefited from this water project in the Sahara Desert, Egypt, 1982.

Jim Walter Corp. fit the pattern, and in 1987 it was taken private by one of the best-known takeover groups, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). The deal, valued at $2.4 billion, was a small one for KKR. The year before, it had raised $8.7 billion to buy out Beatrice Foods.

In 1988, it made the record-breaking $25 billion buyout of RJR Nabisco, a deal so momentous it inspired not only a book but a movie, Barbarians at the Gate.

Company documents claim Jim Walter Corp. was still a profitable company, but in 1989 it filed for bankruptcy, brought down by a huge class action lawsuit relating to the company's former Celotex subsidiary.

Parent company Jim Walter Corp. changed its name to Walter Industries, Inc. in 1991.

He began as a Sales Representative in 1995 in Burlington, NJ and has served as Southeastern Regional Manager and most recently as Eastern Regional Sales Manager.

In 1997, Walter Industries became a public company again, traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bio Clean, a Forterra company, has been setting the industry standard since its inception in 1999.

HP LOK® is introduced in 2002.

Sales at the company's United States Castings division, which ran out of the company's Anniston plant, were so poor that United States Pipe was forced to close the plant completely in 2003.

V-Bio Enhanced Polyethylene Encasement introduced in 2013.

Prior to joining United States Pipe in April 2015, Mr.

United States Pipe is acquired by Forterra in 2016.

HDSS® Restrained joint with added deflection is unveiled in 2018.

Just released in 2019, United States Pipe M-FLEX™ restrained joint fitting is a ball joint fitting that provides up to 15° of deflection that is ideally suited for underwater installations where the high cost of equipment and manpower emphasizes the importance of ease and speed of assembly.