ACIPCO: A Century Of Service

ACIPCO: A Century Of Service With A Vision For The Future

by Debbie McClung
Contributing Editor
Underground Construction

It was 1905, a year when the anesthetic novocain was introduced, Albert Einstein was working on the theory of relativity and Ty Cobb made his professional baseball debut with the Detroit Tigers.

It would also be the year that John J. Eagan founded the American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) in Birmingham, AL. A service-minded investor at a very early age, it was clear to Eagan that an opportunity existed to develop cast iron pipe to supply the country's rapidly growing infrastructure.

Today, as ACIPCO and its approximately 3,100 employees kick off its 100th anniversary year, it has become a leading manufacturer of ductile iron pipe and fittings. The company's Birmingham headquarters has grown into the largest individual iron pipe casting plant in the world.

The company seemed destined to make a significant impact on the development of utilities in the United States and several international markets. According to Cynthia Lovoy, supervisor of external communications, within one year of opening its doors, ACIPCO shipped its first pipe to the city of Atlanta, and in 1907 exported pipe to South America. Several other industry breakthroughs would follow such as producing the first 16-foot length pipe in the world, being the first to provide cement lining of water pipe and pioneering the development of ductile iron pipe.

In the decade of the 90s, ACIPCO introduced the first 60- and 64-inch diameter ductile iron pipe in the U.S. Its 48-inch Lok-Ring Joint ductile iron pipe led the industry toward sliplining existing water mains, and its Flex-Ring, a flexible restrained joint ductile iron pipe, used for horizontal directional drilling. ACIPCO would also become the first ductile iron pipe manufacturing plant in North America to receive ISO 9000 Certification.

ACIPCO's first century is marked by numerous other product innovations and trendsetting programs for its workforce, and comes into focus this year through one man's enduring vision.

Golden Rule

John Eagan, who was known as a humanitarian, industrialist, innovator and a man of true religious convictions, lived his life by the Golden Rule. Eagan's vision was to also apply this biblical precept to the operation of a business. He was not the type of greedy capitalist that frequently emerged from his generation. Instead, Eagan was a Southern pioneer for racial justice, civic reform and labor relations who nurtured ACIPCO into a thriving company built on a foundation of theocracy.

He once said, "God has given us the brain, the muscle, the iron ore and the power in electricity and coal. We use them all to bring to the greatest number at the smallest cost the pipe which people must have."

This philosophy materialized into an environment with employee benefits that was unheard of in the early 20th century. ACIPCO employees had a voice in company matters through profit sharing, an employee suggestion system and on-site medical services decades before these programs became the norm within the industry.

So dedicated was he to his workforce and the stewardship of company resources, that before his death in 1924, Eagan placed the common stock of ACIPCO – all 1,085 shares – in a trust with employees as beneficiaries. The implementation of this trust transferred the company's ownership and forms the basis that carries forward Eagan's vision, which continues to guide the company's current operations.

"Our father did not have any feeling that he was part of any movement. He was just acting on what he knew was the right way to treat people," said his daughter, Ann Eagan Goodhue, in comments taken from a commemorative anniversary publication.

John Eagan is more than a distant figure in the history of the company. According to ACIPCO President Van Richey, Eagan's commitment to product and people has been the driving force in reaching the 100-year milestone. "We continue to diversify our product lines to meet customer demand and treat both customer and employee with dignity and respect. Our product line has expanded from iron pipe to include four more product lines serving the water and wastewater, energy and capital goods markets," says Richey.

In the last two decades, ACIPCO has implemented several more initiatives to carry forward his vision to two key groups – employees and customers. These include an employee-at-large position which was added to represent employees to management and a continuous improvement program made up of current and retired employees. A few years ago, ACIPCO established Eagan College, an expanded employee training program and the Eagan Center for Wellness with an employee participation rate that exceeds 80 percent.

Fortune magazine has recognized ACIPCO as one of "The 100 Best Companies to Work For" the past eight consecutive years.

Worldwide operations

ACIPCO is located on a 2,100 acre site in Birmingham that runs the length of 52 football fields and has nearly 60 acres under roof. In addition to its Birmingham plant, ACIPCO has seven other production facilities in Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota and Brazil.

ACIPCO is probably best known to underground customers for its Ductile Iron Pipe Division that forms the core of the company. While the product was originally known as cast iron pipe, often referred to as gray cast iron pipe, the early 1950s brought about profound changes in the chemistry and mechanical properties of iron and the product became known as ductile iron pipe.

ACIPCO was a pioneer in the development and marketing of this stronger, more flexible ductile iron pipe and now manufactures it in standard 20-foot lengths in a full spectrum of 4 to 64-inch diameters. The product line also features a wide range of joints in a variety of conditions as well as standard and special linings and coatings.

Throughout the 90s, ACIPCO worked to remain on the cutting edge of technology and processes by launching major facility improvements to the steel and ductile iron pipe plants. These included a new spiral-welded steel pipe plant in South Carolina, construction of the world's largest furnace of its kind for melting foundry iron in Birmingham, and installation of a full-scale scrap metal recycling plant for supplying raw materials and contributing to environmental stewardship.

Marketing Specialist Ralph Carpenter describes the trait that sets ACIPCO's ductile iron pipe apart from its competitors. "It's the service we provide to customers, which includes partnering to make each pipe project a success by providing technical expertise if necessary and delivering the pipe to the jobsite on time."

ACIPCO's evolution with its core product lines and recent acquisitions of American Castings LLC in Pryor, OK, and Intercast SA, a Brazilian foundry, has allowed it to manufacture products for the water works, energy and capital goods markets. The company's other divisions include:

• American Flow Control Division – Valves, fire hydrants, tapping sleeves, indicator posts, trench adapters and retrofit valve box inserts;
• American Steel Pipe Division – Electric resistance welded steel pipe;
• American Centrifugal Division – Centrifugally cast tubing; and
• American SpiralWeld Pipe – Spiral-welded steel pipe, pipe piling and slurry pipe.

Anniversary activities

According to Lovoy, ACIPCO established a centennial team in September 2000 to begin making plans for the various events and activities that would roll out this year. The year-long celebration will be highlighted by a company-wide Open House and the establishment of an Eagan Scholarship Foundation. The company has published commemorative publications including a full-color centennial calendar and history. Future plans also call for the construction of the Eagan Customer and Heritage Center, an 8,800 square-foot combination history center and meeting/reception hall.

As the company celebrates this historical milestone and prepares to go forward in its next century of operation, Carpenter says keeping Eagan's philosophy alive and focusing on product are big goals. "We want to continue finding ways to produce the highest quality products available, while assuring maximum production efficiency."

ACIPCO has provided 100 years of service to its customers and the industry – living proof that producing the right product in the framework of the Golden Rule still works.