NEWS

Obituary: Matco-Norca cofounder Dov Matz

Matco-Norca announced the death of its cofounder Dov Matz, who passed away on Nov. 8, after a two-year battle with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Matz was 76 years old and is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and daughters, Nora, and Melissa. He is proceeded in death by his son, Michael, who worked alongside him for 20 years at Matco-Norca.

Matz cofounded Matco-Norca in 1952 and spent most of his career leading the company as it grew to the trusted and respected brand it is today. He was treasured by his employees, customers, sales reps and suppliers throughout the industry. He retired from Matco-Norca in 2018, but would often stop by to catch up and see how the business was doing.

“The toughest thing to do with Dov was to attend an industry function,” remembered Jack McDonald, president and CEO of Matco-Norca. “Dov was so well known and respected that attending a trade show was like walking the floor with a celebrity — everyone knew him.”

Matz was an active member of the Mount Kisco Hebrew Congregation and served as president for many years.

“He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him,” the company said.     

Liberty Pumps hosts groundbreaking celebration for new Materials Center

Liberty Pumps hosted a groundbreaking celebration at the site of its upcoming Materials Center. State and local partners as well as Liberty employees attended the event. The 107,000-square-foot expansion will provide additional warehousing and added manufacturing space, the company noted. It is anticipated to support 30 additional jobs at the family- and employee-owned manufacturer.

“Our growth continues to be very strong and we are simply running out of space once again,” said Randall Waldron, Liberty Pumps’ vice president of sales and marketing. “This expansion will provide more efficient material storage, as well as provide additional manufacturing space to accommodate our continued strong growth. The added capacity to our facilities will put us in a position to better support our customers.”

Since opening in 1965, Liberty Pumps has become a manufacturer of sump, effluent and sewage pumps and systems for residential, commercial, municipal and industrial applications.

The project breaking ground will be the third expansion by Liberty Pumps since 2000. Upon completion, Liberty Pumps will have about 350,000 square feet of facilities at its corporate campus in Bergen, New York.

Oatey Co. hosts career education workshop

Oatey Co., a manufacturer in the plumbing industry since 1916, hosted a career education workshop for Northeast Ohio Girl Scouts at its Oatey University training facility in Cleveland, welcoming nearly 30 Girl Scouts to learn about careers in manufacturing and STEM.

The program was organized by Oatey’s Women’s Resource Network, an associate resource group dedicated to the professional, personal and leadership development of women. Oatey developed the event as part of the Girl Scouts’ BADGE BOSS program, which connects local professionals with Girl Scouts to share their expertise, advice and passion, while enabling the Scouts to earn a relevant Girl Scout badge.

Attendees at Oatey’s workshop, which took place in late October, gained hands-on exposure to careers across manufacturing, while also exploring their own interests and passions, Oatey explained. Key components of the two-hour workshop included:

• A personal-reflection exercise to help Scouts identify how their interests connect to real-world careers;
• A panel discussion in which Oatey associates explained their role in the development and delivery of Oatey products;
• A tour of the Oatey University training facility with hands-on demonstrations of Oatey products; and
• An interactive tower-building team competition, using Oatey Plumber’s Putty and spaghetti.

All Girl Scouts who completed the workshop qualified for their STEM Career Exploration Girl Scout badge.

“It was a privilege for Oatey to host this group of energetic Girl Scouts and share more with them about the many career paths available in STEM and manufacturing,” said Amber Deighton, co-chair of Oatey’s Women’s Resource Network and manager of Oatey University. “Our Women’s Resource Network is passionate about supporting girls and women in our communities, and we are thrilled to establish this partnership with the Girl Scouts.”

Oatey plans to host another BADGE BOSS workshop in 2022 and expand the program to other cities in which it operates, it said. For more information about Oatey University or opportunities to partner with Oatey, visit www.oatey.com or email hello@oatey.com.

PMI applauds infrastructure bill

Plumbing Manufacturers International said in a release it commends Congress for coming together to pass the historic, bipartisan infrastructure package, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden Nov. 15.

PMI CEO and Executive Director Kerry Stackpole said PMI welcomes the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), H.R. 3684, the largest investment in the nation’s infrastructure in decades.

“The act sets in motion critical steps to modernize our nation’s aging infrastructure and includes significant investments in our drinking and wastewater systems,” Stackpole said. “Investing in and modernizing our nation’s infrastructure is critical to the long-term economic growth of the country and will vastly improve access to clean drinking water and improved sanitation.”

The IIJA makes generational investments of more than $550 billion in new spending for priorities such as water infrastructure, roads, highways, bridges, ports, airports, rail, transit, pollution mitigation, as well as for upgrading the energy grid, broadband, cybersecurity and more.

The water infrastructure portion of the package includes more than $50 billion in funding for rural towns and cities, as well as for Native American and underserved communities. PMI advocated for the act's water efficiency, conservation and water reuse funding, as well for significant improvements for water and wastewater systems to be covered by the law, including:

• $48.4 billion over five years for drinking water and wastewater spending;
• $15 billion to support lead service line replacement;
• $200 million in funding to address lead testing and remediation in school and childcare center drinking water systems;
• $48 million for national water reuse programs and $1 billion in funding for western water recycling programs. It also creates a Water Reuse Interagency Working Group;
• $400 million for water efficiency for western states through the Water Smart grant program under the Bureau of Reclamation;
• $10 billion to help drinking water and wastewater systems address emerging contaminants like PFAS and to allow the purchase of certified point-of-entry or point-of-use filters and filtration that will help to remove harmful drinking water contaminants; and
• $3.5 billion for construction of new sanitation facilities for Native American communities, including water, wastewater and solid waste systems.

PMI noted it thanks every lawmaker of the House and Senate who cast a vote for this sweeping infrastructure package.

“We look forward to the implementation of the IIJA, which will support key public works projects for water systems in most need and provide jobs and economic growth at a critical time,” Stackpole said. “We congratulate President Biden on his efforts to make Build Back Better and infrastructure renewal the centerpiece of his Administration’s first year in office.”

RWC acquires EZ-FLO

Reliance Worldwide Corp. entered into an unconditional agreement to acquire all the issued shares of EZ-FLO International for $325 million. The business is being acquired from interests associated with EZ-FLO’s founder Saleem Lahlouh.

EZ-FLO is a manufacturer and distributor of plumbing supplies, including plumbing specialty products, appliance supply lines, flexible water connectors, gas connectors and other accessories. Established in 1980, EZ-FLO has grown rapidly by continuously expanding its product range, RWC noted. In 2000, EZ-FLO acquired the EASTMAN brand, a leading brand in large appliance connectors in the U.S. The EASTMAN brand will immediately position RWC as a leader in supporting all those who service major appliance installations, including plumbed appliances, gas, hot water and dryer venting, RWC added.

RWC explained that about half of EZ-FLO’s revenues are generated from products manufactured at its plant located within the Ningbo Free Trade Zone in China, with a further 20% sourced from exclusive third-party manufacturers in China. In the U.S., EZ-FLO has a network of seven distribution centers from which its extensive product range is distributed through 5,000 channel partner outlets.

EZ-FLO’s executive management team will remain with the business following completion.

RWC Group CEO Heath Sharp said the acquisition of EZ-FLO aligns with RWC’s growth strategy, and will enhance the company’s market position.

“The acquisition of EZ-FLO is strongly aligned with RWC’s strategy of adding complementary products that broaden the depth of solutions offered to end users and expand our market presence in aligned sectors," he said. "Together, we manufacture some of the most trusted brands in the industry, including SharkBite, HoldRite, John Guest, Speedfit, and Cash Acme. With EZ-FLO and EASTMAN, the No. 1 brand in the U.S. appliance connector market, we will be positioned as a leader in supporting all those who service major appliance installations.

“The combination of EZ-FLO’s product portfolio, manufacturing and sourcing capabilities, distribution footprint, customer service, performance track record and future growth prospects makes it an important and attractive addition to RWC,” Sharp continued. “We will be seeking to leverage our extensive channel partner network in North America to expand the distribution footprint for EZ-FLO, while at the same time benefiting from EZ-FLO’s strong relationships with retail merchants and OEM customers.

“Customers will benefit from more top-quality products and trusted brands, enhanced fulfillment capabilities and improved service, thanks to a more extensive national warehouse footprint,” Sharp added. “Our combined supply chain capabilities will help ensure products are available where and when our customers need them, strengthening customer service across every channel. Our ‘first-time-right’ performance commitment provides end users with products they can count on, protecting customers’ hard-won reputations.”

Completion, subject to customary conditions, is expected to occur this month.

HydroSketch 2.0 now available

The latest version of HydroSketch — a simple, intuitive cloud-based software for making piping and electrical schematics is now available at www.hydrosketch.com.

Version 2.0 includes several enhancements including:

• A much larger drawing canvas to reduce the need for scrolling;
• Vector-based graphics that allows component symbols to be scaled over wide ranges while maintaining “crisp” appearance;
• New component symbols; and
• Additional resources such as YouTube tutorials.

A free 30-day trial version of HydroSketch 2.0 is available at www.hydrosketch.com. A single-user license, valid for three years from the date of purchase remains at $99.

Existing users will automatically work with version 2.0 when logging in. The original version of HydroSketch will remain supported through the end of 2021.

PRIER Products earns sustainability award

PRIER Products was honored with a sustainability award for its efforts to reduce unnecessary waste and implement ways to protect the planet via this yearly Kansas City Industrial Council program that recognizes local businesses.

PRIER was among seven organizations receiving an award, including Bayer CropScience, Kansas City Testing & Engineering, Metropolitan Community College, The RMR Group, J. Reiger & Co., and Kansas City Water.

“We work hard to reduce waste and take necessary steps to create a cleaner and more sustainable company,” PRIER Vice President of Manufacturing Brady Poskin said. “Our team and partners identified ways we could make a significant impact. We began implementing changes and quickly realized the results from our efforts.”

Efforts that led to the award include:

• PRIER installed solar panels on each of its buildings, allowing the company to significantly cut its carbon footprint. Motion-detected LED lighting is used throughout the warehouse and offices to further reduce energy costs. PRIER saves more than 330,000 kilowatt-hours per year; enough to power 30 houses for more than a year;
• In the past year, PRIER recycled more than 150 tons of brass, 6 tons of copper and other metals, and 25,000 cubic feet of cardboard. PRIER’s products are manufactured in the heartland of the United States, reducing the transportation costs and minimizing environmental factors associated with shipping, especially from manufactures based outside the U.S.; and
• All of PRIER's products are designed to the highest standards developed by the American Society for Sanitary Engineers (ASSE). Through engineering and design modifications, PRIER reduced the number of SKUs stocked by customers by more than 50%.

“We’re on a mission to help people, protect the planet and make a profit,” CEO Joe Poskin said. “We’ve dedicated resources to ensure we hit our goals each year, which include utilizing renewable energy, recycling and sustainable design and manufacturing techniques. It’s wonderful to be recognized for the difference we’re making, not only in the Kansas City area but across all of North America for our various customers and distribution channels.”

Uponor announces national distribution agreement with Winsupply

Uponor North America announced a national distribution agreement with Winsupply to stock Uponor PP-RCT piping, fittings and accessories at select Winsupply local companies and two distribution centers across the U.S.

“We are excited to announce this new partnership with Winsupply, as they are committed to broadening polymer piping offerings into their channels with strategic partners like Uponor,” said Chris Budion, vice president of sales at Uponor North America. “We are confident this agreement will create growth opportunities for both companies, as we work together to provide customers with the convenience and efficiency of a complete polymer piping solution from one trusted source.”

“Winsupply is eager to help Uponor pioneer this product line,” added Bruce Pilbeam, product manager, rough-in plumbing, Winsupply. “PP-RCT has shown enormous growth potential in the commercial sector. Winsupply and our local companies are excited to support bringing Uponor PP-RCT to market.”

In addition to stocking Uponor’s PP-RCT piping system, Winsupply is already leveraging Uponor’s commercial training team with hands-on instruction, as well as virtual learning, through Uponor Academy Online. “We are setting Winsupply up for success by ensuring they have the knowledge and skills to confidently sell the benefits of PP-RCT, and safely instruct their customers on proper installation,” Budion said.

Available in sizes from 1/2-inch to 12 inches, the Uponor PP-RCT piping system is ideal for use in hydronic heating hot water, chilled water and industrial applications, including condenser water, geothermal, compressed air and vacuum and direct-burial applications.

Uponor offers a 10-year limited warranty on all PP-RCT products. For hybrid Uponor PP-RCT and PEX-a systems, the company offers a 10-year limited warranty on PP-RCT to complement the 25-year transferable limited warranty on all its PEX-a pipe and ProPEX fittings.