The history of McWane traces its roots to the daring and ingenuity of a family that lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. James McWane entered the foundry business in 1871. His sons, Henry and James Ransom (J.R.) managed various parts of the family business.

In 1903, J. R. McWane settled in Birmingham, Alabama and began a modest foundry enterprise shifting to a coke and coal business when the foundry business faltered.

In 1904, Henry McWane set up a subsidiary, McWane Pipe Works, to make cast iron pipe and fittings.

In 1908, J. R. McWane joined the American Cast Iron Pipe Company, rising by 1915 to become president, and establishing innovations in the industry along with worker welfare initiatives.

In 1921, McWane left and began another new venture, the McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company. He expanded operations from Birmingham to include a second facility in Provo, Utah in 1926 called the Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company.

After his death in 1933, his son William (Bill) McWane became president. During his tenure, in 1962 McWane expanded through the acquisition of Empire Coke Company, a manufacturer of foundry coke and by-products for foundries and other industrial operations.

In the 1970s, William McWane’s son James (Jim) Ransom McWane assumed a leadership role, becoming president of McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company in 1971, then serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McWane, Inc. in 1975.

During that time, McWane purchased Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Company of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, preserving American jobs in the process. The company next diversified by acquiring the Union Foundry Company an Anniston, Alabama waterworks fittings business.

During the 1980s, McWane added M&H Valve Company and acquired Clow Water Systems Company and Clow Valve Company. Kennedy Valve Company of Elmira, NY was added in 1988. Subsequently, McWane strengthened its commitment to Elmira by establishing McWane International, which markets all McWane products internationally.

McWane entered the Canadian market in 1989 with the acquisition of Canada Pipe Company in Hamilton, Ontario. Following entry into Canada, McWane expanded its manufacturing further by establishing Clow Canada in 1990, consolidating manufacturing operations in St. Johns, New Brunswick.

In 1995 McWane acquired Tyler Pipe Company in Texas. The company also purchased a couplings operation in California, now known as ANACO. Also during the late 1990s, McWane acquired the Bibby Companies through Canada Pipe, Tennessee-based Manchester Tank & Equipment Company, Brunner Manufacturing, and added Amerex Corporation of Trussville, Alabama to the company. The company also owns Manchester Tank and Equipment in Australia.

Today McWane, Inc. is led by Chairman Phillip McWane. The company conducts business throughout North America and the world. Its major plants by industry include four pipe facilities, four valve and hydrant facilities, seven soil pipe and utility fittings facilities, seven tank manufacturing facilities and one fire extinguisher facility.

As a family-run company, McWane believes strongly in preserving and contributing to the communities in which its facilities operate. In addition to saving thousands of American jobs and contributing millions of tax dollars to the U.S. economy, McWane has invested significantly in meeting and improving its performance in safety and environmental excellence.

While looking forward to the future, McWane takes pride in its past, certain in the knowledge that an industry so important to our nation’s history remains a vital part of America’s future.

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