Blog Archives

Meet McWane: Recent Retirees

We have had several of our team member retiree from various divisions over the past month and would like to highlight them for their service!

Glen Cox, Pacific States: 45 Years

Pacific States Team members bid a fond farewell to Glen Cox at his retirement party at the beginning of the month. Glen joined the Pac States team over 45 years ago in 1968. His most recent job was in the Melding Department as the Iron Yard Crane Operator, a job he had held since 2008.

Jack Terill, Tyler Pipe & Coupling: 43 Years

On January 9, team members at Tyler Pipe & Coupling, retirees, family, and friends came together to bid a fond farewell to Jack Terrill who was retiring after 43 years of service. Jack joined the Tyler team on December 20, 1971, and worked as a Warehouse Worker “B” in the Coupling Department at the time of his retirement.
Everyone enjoyed taking a walk down memory lane with Jack. To show Jack their appreciation, Plant Manager Bill Hoffman gave Jack a watch and a Tyler Pipe & Coupling hat.

Nelson Greenleaf, Atlantic States: 47

Atlantic States will be bidding a fond farewell to veteran team member Nelson Greenleaf in February. Nelson is retiring after almost 48 years of service! During his tenure with the company, Nelson has seen a lot of changes. In fact, the company has changed names 3 times since his arrival!
Since he started in 1968, Nelson has worked throughout the entire plant and currently holds the position of Scale House Technician. Nelson is known for saying thanks for coming in today, and the entire team will miss hearing that.
An amazing thing about Nelson is that he hasn’t been absent or late since 1995 which gives him perfect attendance for the past 20 years. Wow! He is an exceptional and dedicated employee who will truly be missed. Nelson has helped build Atlantic States to what it is today and we are thankful for all his years of service.
Nelson is looking forward to retirement so he can spend time with his family at their vacation home at the beach in Delaware. The team presented Nelson with an aerial view picture of Atlantic States signed by the entire team on the back along with $1,500 in gift cards.

Sam Wester, Amerex: 31 Years

The Amerex team bids a fond farewell to HR Manager Sam Wester who retired last week after 31 years of service. You would be hard-pressed to find somone at Amerex whomSam didn’t help or hire over the years. The team held a retirement party for Sam on Friday, January 23, at Flemings.
Everyone enjoyed the night and had lots of laughs taking a walk down memory lane with Sam.

Team AB&I recently bid a fond farewell to Virgel Esteban after 30 years of service as an Electrician. His send off included a luncheon with a wide variety of Chinese food, including roasted duck and chow mein.

In gratitude for his service to AB&I, Virgel was presented with a trip for two to Chicago, Illinois. He also received a gift from the Sales Team and a retirement plaque.

Thank you, Virgel. for being a dedicated member of the AB&I Team for the last 30 years. We will surely miss you and hope you enjoy your retirement as well as your time in the windy city.

We are honored to have such committed team members to dedicate life-long service to the McWane Family of Companies. We appreciate all that each of you have done and wish you all a very happy retirement. Thank you for you service!

Posted on January 26, 2015 | Image

Tyler Pipe Collects 1,988 Pounds of Food for Path

Every year the Tyler Pipe team collects non-perishable food items for PATH (People Attempting to Help) and they try to increase the amount collected each year. We are proud to report that they increased the amount of food collected in 2014 by 474 pounds! The effort put forth by the entire team was extraordinary. The outside sales team donated Walmart gift cards to buy food for the drive, and local hourly and salaried team members brought in cases and cases of canned good daily to fill the crates. It was truly a group effort.

Tyler Pipe HR Manager Faye Pettigrew said, “I’ve been fortunate enough in my life that I never had to endure hunger; however, I’m not oblivious to the fact that hunger exists in East Texas. I can sleep well at night knowing that the Tyler Pipe team took it upon themselves to do something about hunger during the holidays and did it in a big way.”

As an added bonus, Tyler Pipe General Manager Greg Simmons wrote a check for $1.00 for every pound of food collected to PATH. They hope PATH can fill their food pantry with the necessary items to assist families in East Texas long after the holidays.

Way to go, Tyler Pipe!

Posted on January 21, 2015 | Image

Pac States is “All In!”

L – R: John Julander, Kelly Evans, & Layne Draper

Pacific States Plant Manager Scott Jarvis wanted to share with the rest of the team what “all in” looks like to him.

Atlantic States produces 4” TR Flex pipe and then sends it to Pacific States because they don’t have the ability to weld the rings on the spigot. Upon receipt, the Pac States team welds the rings on the spigots, but before they can do this, each bundle has to be broken down and every other pipe turned so that all of the bells face the same direction. The normal process for this was for a large forklift operator to pick up each piece of pipe and then drive around the layer and put it on the other end so the bells all lined up. It was tedious and time consuming.

Pac States team member Kelly Evans thought, “there has got to be a better way” so he came up with an idea which he shared with fellow team members Layne Draper and John Julander. Together they built a pipe separator that holds a full layer of pipe with every other pipe dropping down into grooves while the other pipe stays at a higher level. The forklift can then pick up the entire upper level of pipe in one pick followed by the entire lower level of pipe, again in one pick, to turn all of the bells in the same direction.

This one brilliant idea helped them achieve a cost per ton below $980 by significantly reducing the amount of time and fuel needed for this job! This is another example of why we need to work together to evaluate the jobs we are performing every day to insure that they are being done in the safest most efficient way.

Congratulations to the Pac States team for thinking outside the box together to come up with a better way to perform this task!

Posted on January 16, 2015 | Image

Tyler Pipe & Coupling Team Works Together to Reduce Injuries and Set Goals for 2015

Pictured clockwise starting at bottom left: Bill Hoffman (Plant Manager), James Christian (Press Operator), Brian Hopper (Gasket Machine Operator), Mike Emhoff (Maintenance Manager), Danny Minor (Plant Engineer), Tim Graham (EHS Tech), Brian Lowe (Gasket Manager), Kelly Cheek (Coupling Manager), Nick Labiak (Screw Machine Operator), and Alicia Hardacre (Safety Manager)

At Tyler Pipe & Coupling, planning and team involvement are key to their success. In 2014, the Safety Department asked both management staff and hourly team members from each department to work together to identify action items for both the Injury Reduction Plan and goals and objectives for 2015. They came together as a group and analyzed trend data and developed a plan for 2015 over a plate of BBQ.

It’s exciting to see teams at all job levels working together to make our workplaces safer and more efficient.

Posted on December 16, 2014 | Image

Manchester Tank Quincy Donates Equipment for Confined Space Rescues to Local Fire Department

The number one priority at Manchester Tank & Equipment in Quincy, Illinois (MTQ), is the safety of all of its team members. So when the Tri Township Fire Department asked MTQ to help purchase equipment for use during confined space rescues, they were more than happy to help out. MTQ has 75 confined space locations on their property. The self-contained breathing apparatus system that the fire department purchased will provide oxygen for two firemen for around an hour during a confined space rescue.

On December 3, MTQ EHS Manager Rick Nesbit presented a check for $1,750 to Tri Township Fire Chief Rick Zaerr.

This is just one of the ways that McWane is paying it forward in the communities where our team members live and work.

Posted on December 10, 2014 | Image

Meet McWane: Silver Anniversary Awardees, Tyler Pipe & Coupling

On Saturday, November 8, Tyler Pipe held its annual Silver Anniversary Celebration where active team members with 25 years of service were honored with an evening of dining and entertainment at one of the nicest venues in Tyler, Texas.

One of the honorees this year was Greg Simmons, Assistant General Manager of Tyler Pipe. Greg and 10 other team members were recognized for their 25 years of continuous service and making the world’s best cast iron pipe and fittings. Greg began his service at our sister plant AB&I in California and continues to provide excellent leadership in Texas.

Tyler Pipe has a tenured work force that boasts an extraordinary 55% of team members with 25 or more years of service. John Springer, Tyler Pipe Controller, did the honors and awarded Greg with a custom engraved watch showing that he is now a tenured member of the Silver Anniversary Club. John is a member of the club and went through his own induction ten years ago.

Congratulations to all of the new Silver Anniversary Club members! We appreciate your years of service and look forward to many more.

Posted on December 8, 2014 | Image

Manchester Tank Quincy Celebrates Ergo Cup Win and Team Service!

Fred Simpson from McWane Corporate Safety Department presents Ergo Cup trophy to Orville Jones, one of the team members who worked on MTQ’s project.

On November 7, 2014, Manchester Tank & Equipment located in Quincy, Illinois, (MTQ) celebrated their first place finish in the Ergo Cup contest by providing lunch to all of its team members. Team members were treated to a fantastic lunch featuring ribeye steak sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, green beans, and cookies.

The celebration wasn’t just about the Ergo Cup win. MTQ General Manager Jason Eads also presented service awards to 22 team members that have a combined total of 370 years of service at Manchester Tank Quincy. WOW!

Congratulations to the Ergo Cup winners and the 22 dedicated team members for their years of service. We appreciate your service!

Posted on November 19, 2014 | Image

Happy Veteran’s Day!

Today we would like to take time out to recognize our veterans. We honor you, we thank you, and we appreciate you. Thank you for serving our country and protecting our freedoms!

Posted on November 11, 2014 | Image

Meet McWane: Victor Carrasco, MTE Chile

We are pleased to announce that Victor Carrasco has joined the Manchester Tank & Equipment Chile team as the new EHS Manager. Victor spent the last 9 years in safety and security for Gerdau, a multinational steel company. Prior to that, he worked as an EHS advisor in the construction and copper industries. He is experienced in certification processes for ISO 9001 and 14001; OHSAS 18001.

Victor is married with one son.

Welcome to the team, Victor!

Posted on November 10, 2014 | Image

McWane Sponsors 50 Birmingham City School Students to Attend the Symphony

McWane has a longstanding commitment to Birmingham City Schools and were excited recently when we received a request from the Birmingham Education Foundation for 50 tickets to the Alabama Symphony. The students are part of the Carver High School symphony program and rarely get a chance to attend concerts.

McWane President Ruffner Page said, “This would be a good opportunity for us to do something special for the Birmingham City Schools.”

Over the past several years McWane has sponsored math competitions at Kirby Middle School, reading initiatives at Norwood Elementary, and also sponsored a visit from several Alabama Symphony members to Norwood Middle School.

We are glad we can play a small part in enriching the lives of children that might not otherwise have an opportunity to experience the symphony.

Posted on November 6, 2014 | Image

McWane, Inc.

The official blog for McWane, Inc., a family business based in Birmingham, Alabama, with iron foundries across the United States and the world.