Blog Archives
McWane Ductile Ohio Lends a Helping Hand in Tuscarawas Township
McWane Ductile Ohio (MDO) volunteers helped clean up the streets of Tuscarawas Township last week as part of its Adopt-A-Road commitment that began in 2012. MDO employees are proud to volunteer their time every six months to help improve the local community.
MDO team members are always looking for opportunities to demonstrate their commitment and willingness to work to improve the quality of life in the local community.
Keith Mallett Promoted to Vice President General Manager for McWane Ductile New Jersey
We are pleased to announce that Keith Mallett has been promoted to Vice President/General Manager of our McWane Ductile facility located in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Keith started his career with McWane as a management trainee in Coshocton, Ohio where he oversaw the design, installation and ongoing production of McWane Poles. In 2016, Keith relocated to McWane Ductile New Jersey as the Assistant General Manager. During his time there, Keith and the Phillipsburg team have improved in many key areas while bringing much needed vision and stability.
Congratulations Keith on your new role!
McWane Ductile Ohio Sponsors $500 Scholarship for Minority Students in Muskingum County
On January 15, 2018, McWane Ductile Ohio (MDO) participated in the 24th Annual MLK Scholarship Awards Breakfast for Muskingum County High School seniors. MDO is an annual sponsor of a $500 scholarship for this event in support of higher education for minority students.
McWane Ductile-Ohio Mentors Other Companies Pursuing OSHA VPP Certification
The Columbus, Ohio, OSHA office recently recommended McWane Ductile-Ohio (MDO) as a mentor to another company seeking VPP certification. MDO was happy to meet with the safety team from Messer Construction Company to share the history of their VPP journey.
MDO team member Kent Arnold (pictured second from left) shared MDO’s VPP journey and fielded questions from Messer representatives. Kent’s strong commitment to safety and VPP and his willingness to share McWane’s success is a true testament to his dedication to McWane and the safety of our team members.
Since their recognition as an VPP Star Site in 2010, MDO has been asked by OSHA to mentor other companies pursuing VPP certification. In 2011, OSHA picked MDO as a VPP mentor for Republic Engineered Products because MDO and Republic have similar product types and they also share similar safety challenges and hazards.
In 2012, MDO mentored Chase Brass & Copper Company located in Montpelier, Ohio. MDO representatives visited Chase Brass four times to meet with hourly and management personnel to answer questions about VPP and tour the facilities to identify safety concerns and share best practices.
Kent is a third generation MDO team member and his commitment to safety is not only recognized by his fellow team members, but has been recognized by OSHA as well. He was awarded the OSHA Region V VPPPA Safety Champion Award in 2014 and he travels to other McWane facilities to assist them in reaching their goal of VPP certification.
Pat McNichols Receives McWane Ductile-Ohio’s ABCD Award for May
On the night of January 16, McWane Ductile-Ohio (MDO) team member Pat McNichols was shopping at the Dollar General store in West Lafayette, Ohio. There were only a couple of other shoppers in the store at the time, but Pat noticed a peculiar man at the register. The man was only buying a couple of items.
When the worker opened the register the man quickly reached across the counter and grabbed the money out of the register. The man ran for the exit door with the money but he wasn’t quick enough for Pat. Pat quickly jumped on the man’s back and they both went crashing through the door. Pat pinned the thief to the ground and grabbed a nearby shopping cart and put it on top of the thief while the Dollar General Assistant Manager called 911. Pat held the thief there until the police arrived.
When the MDO team heard about Pat’s heroic act, they knew he was the clear cut winner of the MDO Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (ABCD) award for May. Pat received a $100.00 gift card to Walmart from for his courageous efforts.
Great job, Pat!
McWane Ductile Ohio Sponsors Ice Carving Festival
McWane Ductile Ohio was proud to be a sponsor in the Ice Carving Festival held last week in Coshocton, Ohio. The event is coordinated by the non-profit organization Our Town Coshocton and is in its second year. In addition to the ice carving, there is also a chili cook-off, horse-drawn carriage rides, live music, and lots of good food. Other than the concessions, the event is free and all of the activities are within walking distance around the courthouse.
The ice sculpture themes are chosen by the local sponsoring businesses and is an event that the entire family can enjoy. But no event would be complete without prizes! This year the top two local ice carvers received prizes of $200 and $100. The top three winners in the chili cook-off received prices of $300, $200, and $100. Of course chili samples were free to visitors, but they could pay a dollar to cast a vote for their favorite cook.
As you can see from the picture, these are really talented ice carvers and we commend them on their incredible talent! We are proud to report that McWane Ductile Ohio has now been memorialized in ice, which is appropriate in view of the harsh winter we have been having in 2015.
McWane Ductile Iron Pipe Companies Join Together to Form McWane Ductile
Today marks an exciting and historic change for the McWane ductile iron pipe companies. Effective immediately, McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company, Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company, Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Company, and Clow Water Systems will operate unified under the new name McWane Ductile. This consolidation reflects a united company focused on providing excellent service and quality products to our customers, while making all of the divisions recognizable as part of the McWane family of companies.
In a letter to the team, McWane Ductile Sr. Vice President, Jeff Otterstedt said,
“We will make a public announcement later today; however, it’s important to us to first share it with our valued team members — the people who work so hard each and every day to make our company successful.”
This decision wasn’t made lightly. After lengthy consideration, it became clear that while we have many significant and rich traditions that are unique to each of our divisions, we become stronger collectively as one distinct brand. And, although our name has changed, our promise to our team members, customers, and partners remains the same as we build on our nearly 100-year history of creating iron-strong utilities.
There are many good reasons for this change. Not only does it provide our North American and international customers with a uniform business experience across our operations by standardizing purchase orders and acknowledgements, terms and conditions, invoicing, RMA procedures, quotations, submittals, and most other customer service processes, but it also aligns the best practices and cultures from all of our operations under one vision. We should note that Canada Pipe, also a member of the McWane ductile iron pipe companies, will retain its name, which best reflects its unique position as the leading ductile iron pipe provider in Canada.
With this unification, we are fully committed to maintaining and continually investing in our three plants, located in Phillipsburg, New Jersey; Coshocton, Ohio; and Provo, Utah. While we’re excited to forge ahead as McWane Ductile, we understand that it can be difficult to embrace change while saying goodbye to old traditions. We hope that you’ll consider this an opportunity to bring the very best parts of your current culture to this new brand that we can all be proud to call our own.
You’ll find more information on our new website at http://www.mcwaneductile.com.
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Visits Clow Water Systems
L to R: Billy Boyce, International USW Representatice; Senator Brown, and Jeff Otterstedt, McWane Senior VP for Pipe Group
AT CLOW WATER SYSTEMS, BROWN TO MEET WITH PLANT LEADERSHIP, EMPLOYEES TO HIGHLIGHT EFFORTS TO STREGTHEN “BUY AMERICA” PROVISIONS IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PURCHASING
In June, Brown’s Amendment to the Water Resources Reform and Development Act Would Benefit Ohio Manufacturers Was Signed into Law by President Obama
COSHOCTON, OH – On Wednesday, July 2, 2014, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown visited Clow Water Systems in Coschoton to highlight recent legislation signed into law by President Obama that benefits Ohio manufacturers. Brown introduced, and helped pass, an amendment to the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) that would ensure American-made iron and steel are used in federally-funded water infrastructure projects when available and competitively priced. The amendment benefits Ohio manufacturers like Clow Water Systems in Coshocton, and Nucor Steel in Marion.
“For our economy to continue adding jobs, we must ensure American taxpayer dollars are used to support manufacturers and workers at home, not overseas,” Brown said. “That is why I fought to include language in recent legislation that will strengthen our economy and infrastructure while benefitting Ohio manufacturers like Clow Water Systems.”
WRRDA connects businesses and communities throughout the country with critical resources for maintenance, inspections, and upgrades to water infrastructure projects. Brown’s amendment extended Buy America provisions, which ensure that federal taxpayer dollars spent on public infrastructure utilize American-made materials and labor, to water infrastructure projects. Before passage of WRRDA and Brown’s amendment, Buy America applied to federally funded roads, bridges, and rail projects but not water infrastructure.
Brown continues to champion the cause of domestic manufacturing and its workers. Described as “Congress’ leading proponent of American Manufacturing,” Brown is a member of the Senate Manufacturing Caucus, currently Vice-Chair of the Senate Auto Caucus, and was recently named incoming Chair of the Senate Steel Caucus.
McWane, Inc. 