About Us

AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe Company, LLC (ASWP), a wholly owned subsidiary of American Cast Iron Pipe Company, manufactures steel pipe in diameters up to 144 inches with thicknesses up to one inch. The plant, located in Columbia, S.C., was constructed in 1999 to serve utility owners’ growing demands for quality pipe in diameters larger than the 4- through 64-inch pipe offered by AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe.

Steel pipe, like ductile iron pipe, is a quality pipe product that has similar mechanical properties and is designed as a flexible conduit. Additionally, AMERICAN has a tremendous knowledge base through personnel experienced with the manufacture of steel pipe using the electric resistance welded (ERW) method. In fact, since 1963, ASWP’s sister company, AMERICAN Steel Pipe, has manufactured more than 36,000 miles of ERW pipe for the oil, gas, and energy industries.

AMERICAN’s location in the central piedmont region of South Carolina has an excellent interstate transportation infrastructure. Access to multiple truck transportation companies and direct site access to two national railroads minimizes transportation costs. This allows ASWP to cost-effectively serve customers in a large number of major population centers here in the United States.

The plant’s 290,000-square-foot facility encompasses all manufacturing operations under a single roof. Coiled steel is received, unrolled and flattened, then reformed on either of two spiral-weld-seam pipe mills constructed specifically for ASWP. These mills produce spiral-welded steel pipe according to each customer’s specifications.

Common to both AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe and AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe (ADIP) is the most respected sales force in the industry. AMERICAN sales professionals are the best trained and best prepared to provide answers to your application, design, and manufacturing questions concerning steel or ductile iron pipe. After the customer selects AMERICAN as the pipe producer, a project specialist with AMERICAN Customer Service works with the customer, owner, consultant, and sales engineer to assure an on-schedule and successful project. If the project includes ductile iron, the on-site presence of ductile iron experts adds further value to the team.

Prior to the start of pipe production, ASWP Customer Service prepares pipe designs to submit to the approving agency. Pipe-laying schedules are then prepared using Twister™, a customized computer-aided drafting and design program exclusive to AMERICAN. This sophisticated drawing software optimizes the efficiency of ASWP Customer Service personnel and maximizes cost-effectiveness for our customers. The customized software facilitates this functionality by allowing the designer to see the details of specific pipe, pipe specials, fittings, or connections as they are being developed, allowing real-time adjustments.

Production planning and, ultimately, the start of pipe production are subject to the following:

• Approval of the pipe design sheets defining the dimensional requirements for standard pipe, including dimensions and other design criteria as required by project specifications.
• Approval of the Twister-produced plan and profile sheets with pipe and fittings detail drawings.

Your ASWP Project Specialist has visibility of all major production processes as they are completed. This assists the project management team in being proactive in their communications with the customer by providing the production status of any critical piece or assembly through its completion.

Section One of the ASWP Pipe Manual provides a pictorial tour of the facility and describes the details of each one of the manufacturing processes.

AMERICAN is committed to having the best customer service in the industry. On-site, before the first shipment of pipe arrives, a factory-trained and experienced representative works with the customer’s field personnel to arrange for pre-construction training of safe and cost-effective installation techniques for spiral-welded steel pipe.

The ASWP Field Service Guide contains useful information about assembly of various joints available from AMERICAN, application procedures for exterior joint protection and interior joint grouting, and the proper care and field repair of internal linings and exterior coatings.

With more than 100 years of service, AMERICAN’s products, experience and knowledge base are unmatched in the industry.

Bigger Pipe
Even with pipe diameters up to 144", we continue to meet or exceed the requirements of AWWA C200 and ASTM A139 and A252.