Pipes carry drinking water, sewage, natural gas, oil, and electrical wiring to almost every home, road, and factory in America. A small group of manufacturers makes a large share of the plastic, iron, steel, and copper pipe used across the country.

Nine of the companies below are headquartered in the United States, and many have been family-owned or employee-owned for generations. One, Tenaris, is based in Luxembourg but runs major pipe mills in the US.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top 10 pipe manufacturers in the United States, based on their history, ownership, and the kind of pipe they make.

Quick Comparison

Rank	Company	Founded	Owner / Founders	Headquarters	Core Focus
1	JM Eagle	1982	Formed as J-M Manufacturing by Formosa Plastics; privately held, owned by Walter Wang since 2005	Los Angeles, California	PVC & HDPE Plastic Pipe
2	Charlotte Pipe and Foundry	1901	Founded by W. Frank Dowd; fifth-generation family-owned, led by CEO Hooper Hardison	Charlotte, North Carolina	Cast Iron & Plastic Plumbing Pipe
3	Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS)	1966	Founded by Ron Martin & Marty Sixt; publicly listed (NYSE: WMS), led by CEO Scott Barbour	Hilliard, Ohio	HDPE Drainage & Stormwater Pipe
4	Westlake Pipe & Fittings	1986 (Westlake Corp.)	Owned by Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK)	Houston, Texas	PVC Water & Sewer Pipe
5	American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO)	1905	Founded by John J. Eagan & Charlotte Blair; employee-owned since 1924, led by CEO Michael O’Brien	Birmingham, Alabama	Ductile Iron & Steel Water Pipe
6	McWane	1921	Founded by James Ransom McWane; family-owned, chaired by Phillip McWane	Birmingham, Alabama	Ductile Iron Pipe, Valves & Hydrants
7	Zekelman Industries	1877 (roots)	Privately held, led by CEO Barry Zekelman	Chicago, Illinois	Steel Pipe, Tube & Electrical Conduit
8	Mueller Industries	1917	Publicly listed (NYSE: MLI), led by Chairman & CEO Gregory Christopher	Collierville, Tennessee	Copper Tube & Fittings
9	NWPX Infrastructure (Northwest Pipe Company)	1966	Publicly listed (Nasdaq: NWPX), led by CEO Scott Montross	Vancouver, Washington	Large Steel Water Pipe
10	Tenaris	2001	Publicly listed (NYSE: TS); Paolo Rocca is chairman, Gabriel Podskubka is CEO	Luxembourg (North America HQ: Houston, Texas)	Seamless & Welded Oil and Gas Pipe

1. JM Eagle – The World’s Largest Plastic Pipe Maker

• Founded: 1982 
• Owner: Formed as J-M Manufacturing by Formosa Plastics; privately held, owned by Walter Wang since 2005 
• Headquarters: Los Angeles, California

JM Eagle began in 1982, when Formosa Plastics bought the eight plastic-pipe plants of Johns Manville and formed J-M Manufacturing in New Jersey. In 2005, Walter Wang bought the company from Formosa. In 2007, it merged with PW Eagle, then the second-largest plastic pipe maker, and the combined company became JM Eagle. It moved its headquarters to Los Angeles in 2008.

JM Eagle describes itself as the world’s largest manufacturer of plastic pipe. It makes PVC and HDPE pipe at plants across North America for drinking water, sewer, irrigation, natural gas, and electrical conduit.

What JM Eagle does: Makes plastic pipe for water, sewer, gas, and electrical systems.

Services: PVC pipe, HDPE pipe, electrical conduit, gas pipe, and irrigation pipe.

2. Charlotte Pipe and Foundry – A Family Company for Five Generations

• Founded: 1901 
• Owner: Founded by W. Frank Dowd; fifth-generation family-owned, led by CEO Hooper Hardison 
• Headquarters: Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte Pipe was started in 1901 by W. Frank Dowd, who opened a small foundry in Charlotte to make cast iron soil pipe and fittings. The company moved into plastics in 1967, and it bought Neenah Enterprises, a maker of municipal castings, in 2022. It is still owned by the Dowd family.

In 2023, Charlotte Pipe opened a new $460 million foundry in Oakboro, North Carolina, one of the most modern cast iron foundries in the world. The company celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2026 and says its products are American-made.

What Charlotte Pipe does: Makes cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings for plumbing in homes and buildings.

Services: Cast iron drain pipe, PVC and CPVC pipe and fittings, ABS pipe, and municipal castings.

3. Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) – The Leader in Corrugated Drainage Pipe

• Founded: 1966 
• Owner: Founded by Ron Martin & Marty Sixt; publicly listed (NYSE: WMS), led by CEO Scott Barbour 
• Headquarters: Hilliard, Ohio

ADS was started in 1966 by two engineers, Ron Martin and Marty Sixt, and moved to central Ohio in the early 1970s. It pioneered corrugated plastic pipe for managing stormwater and is known as the largest maker of HDPE pipe in the United States.

Scott Barbour became CEO in 2017 after Joe Chlapaty retired. Today ADS also owns Infiltrator Water Technologies and sells products such as N-12 pipe and StormTech chambers for farms, roads, and housing developments.

What ADS does: Makes pipe and products that move and treat rain and wastewater.

Services: Corrugated HDPE pipe, stormwater chambers, septic products, and water filters.

4. Westlake Pipe & Fittings – A Houston Giant in PVC Pipe

• Founded: 1986 (Westlake Corporation) 
• Owner: Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) 
• Headquarters: Houston, Texas

Westlake Pipe & Fittings is part of Westlake Corporation, a Houston chemical and building products company started in 1986. Its pipe business entered PVC more than 30 years ago as North American Pipe Corp, when it bought its first pipe plant in Wichita Falls, Texas.

After adding Royal Pipe & Fittings and LASCO Fittings, the companies came together under the Westlake Pipe & Fittings name in 2022. The company calls itself the second-largest PVC pipe and fittings maker in North America, and in 2024 it announced a new plant in Wichita Falls for PVCO, a stronger kind of PVC pipe.

What Westlake Pipe & Fittings does: Makes PVC pipe and fittings for water, sewer, electrical, and industrial use.

Services: Certa-Lok pipe, PVCO pipe, PVC fittings, and trenchless pipe products.

5. American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) – Owned by Its Workers

• Founded: 1905 
• Owner: Founded by John J. Eagan & Charlotte Blair; employee-owned since 1924, led by CEO Michael O’Brien 
• Headquarters: Birmingham, Alabama

ACIPCO started in Birmingham in 1905, when John Eagan and pipe-industry veteran Charlotte Blair helped create a new pipe plant. When Eagan died in 1924, he left his stock in a trust for the benefit of the employees, and the company has been employee-owned ever since.

ACIPCO shipped its first large order of ductile iron pipe in 1955, and it later added spiral-welded steel pipe, fire hydrants, and valves. In 2026, it was working on a $285 million program to modernize its Birmingham plant, including four new electric furnaces.

What ACIPCO does: Makes iron and steel pipe, hydrants, and valves for city water systems.

Services: Ductile iron pipe, spiral-welded steel pipe, fire hydrants, and valves.

6. McWane – A Birmingham Family Business Built on Water Pipe

• Founded: 1921 
• Owner: Founded by James Ransom McWane; family-owned, chaired by Phillip McWane 
• Headquarters: Birmingham, Alabama

James Ransom McWane left his job as president of ACIPCO and started the McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company in Birmingham in 1921. In 1926, he opened a second plant in Provo, Utah, and the company kept growing by buying plants in New Jersey and Ohio, and Canada Pipe Company in Ontario.

McWane is one of the largest privately owned companies in the country and is still run by the McWane family. It employs about 6,000 people and makes ductile iron pipe, cast iron soil pipe, valves, fire hydrants, and even ductile iron utility poles.

What McWane does: Makes pipe and water products for cities and builders.

Services: Ductile iron pipe, soil pipe, couplings, valves, hydrants, and utility poles.

7. Zekelman Industries – North America’s Largest Independent Steel Pipe and Tube Maker

• Founded: 1877 (roots) 
• Owner: Privately held, led by CEO Barry Zekelman 
• Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois

Zekelman Industries traces its roots to 1877. The modern company grew from Atlas Tube, which Barry Zekelman and his brothers took over in 1986 after their father died. Atlas merged with John Maneely Company in 2006, the Zekelman family bought out private-equity firm Carlyle’s stake in 2011, and the company took the Zekelman name in 2016.

Zekelman calls itself North America’s largest independent steel pipe and tube manufacturer. Its brands include Atlas Tube, Wheatland Tube, Western Tube, Sharon Tube, and Picoma, and it has about 23 manufacturing locations and more than 3,000 employees.

What Zekelman does: Makes steel pipe, structural tube, and electrical conduit for building and industry.

Services: Standard steel pipe, hollow structural sections, electrical conduit, sprinkler pipe, and modular construction.

8. Mueller Industries – The Copper Tube Specialist

• Founded: 1917 
• Owner: Publicly listed (NYSE: MLI), led by Chairman & CEO Gregory Christopher 
• Headquarters: Collierville, Tennessee

Mueller Industries was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Collierville, near Memphis, Tennessee. Gregory Christopher has been CEO since 2008 and chairman since 2016.

Its Piping Systems business makes copper tube, fittings, line sets, and plastic pipe, and it also sells PEX plumbing and radiant heating products. The same company makes brass rod, valves, and other metal parts for air-conditioning, plumbing, and industrial customers.

What Mueller does: Makes copper tube and plumbing parts for homes, buildings, and cooling systems.

Services: Copper tube, fittings, line sets, PEX plumbing, valves, and brass products.

9. NWPX Infrastructure (Northwest Pipe Company) – Big Steel Pipe for Water Systems

• Founded: 1966 
• Owner: Publicly listed (Nasdaq: NWPX), led by CEO Scott Montross 
• Headquarters: Vancouver, Washington

Northwest Pipe Company was founded in 1966 and is based in Vancouver, Washington. In June 2025, the parent company changed its name to NWPX Infrastructure, while the Northwest Pipe Company name stays on its steel pipe business.

The company calls itself the largest maker of engineered water transmission systems in North America. It builds large steel pipelines for drinking water and hydropower, and it also makes precast concrete products for sewer and stormwater systems through its NWPX Geneva and NWPX Park brands.

What NWPX does: Makes large steel pipe and concrete products for water and sewer projects.

Services: Steel water pipe, steel casing pipe, bar-wrapped concrete cylinder pipe, precast concrete, and lift stations.

10. Tenaris – A Global Pipe Maker With Big American Mills

• Founded: 2001 
• Owner: Publicly listed (NYSE: TS); Paolo Rocca is chairman and Gabriel Podskubka is CEO 
• Headquarters: Luxembourg (North America headquarters: Houston, Texas)

Tenaris is a global maker of steel pipe for the oil and gas industry, with roots in the Italian and Argentine Techint group. It is based in Luxembourg, but it has built a large manufacturing base in the United States.

In 2017, Tenaris opened a $1.8 billion seamless pipe mill in Bay City, Texas. In 2020, it bought IPSCO Tubulars, adding a second seamless mill in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. Longtime CEO Paolo Rocca has stepped down as CEO, and Gabriel Podskubka has taken over, while Rocca remains chairman.

What Tenaris does: Makes steel pipe for oil and gas wells and pipelines.

Services: Seamless pipe, welded pipe, line pipe, premium connections, and Rig Direct delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which is the largest plastic pipe maker in the USA?

JM Eagle calls itself the world’s largest plastic pipe manufacturer, with PVC and HDPE pipe made at plants across North America.

2. Which pipe company is employee-owned?

ACIPCO has been employee-owned since 1924, after its co-founder John Eagan left his stock in a trust for the workers.

3. Which of these companies is the oldest?

Zekelman Industries traces its roots to 1877, while Charlotte Pipe started in 1901 and ACIPCO in 1905.

4. Which pipe companies are family-owned?

Charlotte Pipe and McWane are family-owned, and Zekelman Industries is a family-driven private company.

5. Which company is best known for copper tube?

Mueller Industries makes copper tube, fittings, and line sets for plumbing and cooling systems.

6. Which company leads in drainage and stormwater pipe?

Advanced Drainage Systems is known as the largest maker of HDPE pipe in the United States and focuses on stormwater and drainage.

7. Which companies build large pipe for city water systems?

NWPX Infrastructure, through its Northwest Pipe Company brand, makes large steel pipe for water transmission, while ACIPCO and McWane make ductile iron pipe for city water lines.

8. Are pipe products regulated in the USA?

Yes. Pipe used for drinking water, gas, and building plumbing must meet safety standards from groups such as ASTM, AWWA, and NSF, and imported steel pipe is also affected by trade rules.

9. Which company recently changed its CEO?

Tenaris named Gabriel Podskubka as CEO to succeed Paolo Rocca, who remains chairman of the company.

10. Why do these ten companies matter to everyday people?

These companies make the pipes that bring clean water to homes, carry away waste and rain, and deliver gas and electricity across the country.

Conclusion

America’s pipe industry is formed by traditional family-owned foundries, employee-owned and publicly traded companies, and international steel groups. JM Eagle, Charlotte Pipe, ADS, Westlake, ACIPCO, McWane, Zekelman, Mueller, and NWPX are the major American manufacturers of pipes. They were complemented by Tenaris, which represented a worldwide business with extensive operations in the American market.

Overall, the ten companies mentioned above can provide the American market with all kinds of pipes, from copper ones used in a kitchen sink to large steel ones carrying water beneath a city. For this reason, these manufacturers will continue to play a crucial role in the development of America’s infrastructure, including the replacement of America’s aging water system and the construction of new buildings.