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Victaulic Distribution Center Tour

Wednesday March 7,   2001 

The Victaulic Company of America is a major manufacturer of pipe couplings, fittings, flanges, valves and fire sprinkler heads and devices. Although   most manufacturing takes place in Pennsylvania, Victaulic has had a distribution center in Houston for approximately 50 years. The current 20,000 square ft. facility was built in 1980, and remodeled in 2000. The remodel last year included a change to narrow aisle racking to expand  warehouse locations by 50%, and the installation of a warehouse management system. Victaulic is a great example how even a small warehouse can take advantage of a WMS and locator system.

Randy Plost

Victaulic^® originated the grooved piping method in 1925 to provide fast, easy assembly for a wide range of applications. It is generally more economical than welding, threading or flanging, offering total installed cost savings of 10 to 30 percent compared with these alternatives.

The economics of the grooved method derive from simplified assembly which involves three basic concepts -- a pressure-responsive gasket that creates a leak-tight seal; couplings that hold the pipe together; and fasteners that secure the couplings. A groove is rolled or cut into the end of the pipe to engage the couplings, whereupon the gaskets seal on the outside diameter of the pipe. The sealing action is enhanced as the couplings are tightened and by line operating pressure or vacuum.

In addition to its standard product line, Victaulic offers grooved-end stainless steel fittings and valves for specialized industrial process applications. The grooved system is also used to join PVC, aluminum and other piping made of special materials, plus lined and coated pipe. Also available are products for copper tubing (CTS) and ductile iron (AWWA) for water supply, underground and waste treatment process piping. Many metric/ISO sizes are available in addition to products made to DIN, British Standard, Australian Standard and other worldwide specifications. Victaulic also offers products using unique joining methods. Utilizing a spline to join pipe, the Aquamine system is reusable, high-impact PVC pipe, couplings, and fittings for water systems. The Brico line of products allows mechanical joining of large diameter pipe regardless of the size or standard.

Victaulic products are now in use worldwide for a variety of industrial, commercial and institutional piping systems. Applications vary from heating, air conditioning and fire protection to process systems, mining, maritime, oil field, municipal treatment and original equipment piping.

 

Victaulic Worldwide Locations

Located in Easton, Pennsylvania, Victaulic world headquarters houses executive management and office staff of nearly three hundred people, including customer care, sales, marketing, financial, engineering, product development and general office services. Field sales forces, subsidiaries and international activities bring total Victaulic employment worldwide to over 2,500 people.

Also in Easton, the company operates a world-class ductile iron foundry (primary casting, machining, warehousing), and has manufacturing locations in Palmer Township, Pennsylvania (rubber gasket manufacturing and the Victaulic Tool Company), Allentown, Pennsylvania (Municipal Division, Construction Piping Services and Foundry Tech Center) and Alburtis, Pennsylvania (satellite casting facility). A galvanizing operation is located in New Village, New Jersey.

Europe is serviced from our headquarters in Nazareth, Belgium, and a distribution center in Spain. A Victaulic foundry in Drezdenko, Poland provides world-class ductile iron products worldwide, while our distribution center in Shanghai services customers throughout Asia and Australia.

Our Leland, North Carolina facility is dedicated to production of our Pressfit products (available in ANSI standard sizes worldwide), sprinkler heads, and rubber gasket production.

The largest non-ferrous foundry in Canada, Gamma Foundries Ltd., of Ontario, Canada, operates three manufacturing facilities, and is capable of producing bronze, brass, aluminum, nickel-copper, high conductivity copper, cupro-nickel, aluminum bronze, manganese bronze, and lead-free bronze sand castings, weighing from one ounce to four thousand pounds. Gamma provides castings to the electrical, plumbing, pump, valve, meter and U.S. defense industries, as well as others.

Aquamine, LLC, of Bristol, Tennessee, manufactures a complete line of high impact resistant, reusable PVC pipe, fittings, valves and specialty items using a mechanical joining system. With expanded industrial applications in construction, agriculture/irrigation and mining, Aquamine is available through a network of helpful, knowledgeable distributors worldwide.

Located in Yulee, Florida, Coastline Plastics manufactures the Victaulic line of CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) piping components for use in residential fire sprinkler systems, as well as other CPVC products for plumbing and heating systems.

Brico Industries, Inc., manufactures the Depend-O-Lok^® coupling system for new pipe joints, and a series of innovative repair products for extending the life of existing pipelines. This line of simple yet effective mechanical joints can be used on almost any size of pipe. Brico Industries is headquartered in Doraville, Georgia.

Victaulic has stocking and sales offices worldwide. The Victaulic family of companies includes Victaulic Company of America, Victaulic Company of Canada, Victaulic Tool Company, Victaulic Asia-Pacific, Victaulic America Latina, and Victaulic-Europe.

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