To continue meeting customers' diverse needs in the marketplace, AMERICAN will soon offer larger diameter, spiral-welded pipe that will be produced at a new, state-of-the-art facility currently under construction in Columbia, South Carolina. AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe Company, LLC — scheduled to begin production in July — will manufacture premium quality spiral-welded steel pipe through 12 feet in diameter. "This new 280,000-square foot facility will help us meet the growing demand for larger diameter pipe in a variety of markets," said AMERICAN President and Chief Executive Officer Van Richey. As the population growth of the United States trends upward, so goes a corresponding trend for increased demand on utility infrastructure. The direct result of these trends translates into larger and larger pipelines to serve the water, wastewater, hydroelectric, and power generation industries. Spiral-welded steel pipes manufactured by AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe (ASWP) will augment the product lines of both AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe and AMERICAN Steel Pipe. Our spiral-welded steel pipe will be installed by AMERICAN customers to serve as water transmission and distribution lines; outfall lines for wastewater; penstocks for hydroelectric facilities; and cooling water lines for power generation facilities. In addition, structural pipe piling and casing pipe for the construction industry will be products of ASWP. The facility in Columbia will employ state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques to produce spiral-welded steel pipe that will reflect the same superior quality standards established by AMERICAN's other pipe products divisions. "We're combining AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe's 95 years' experience in the water and wastewater industry with the vast experience of AMERICAN Steel Pipe in the oil and gas industry to produce a uniquely superior product," said Don Gray, vice president of operations for ASWP. When determining site selection for the new facility, ASWP Team members focused on finding the best strategic location for servicing our customers. After a comprehensive site search, Columbia, South Carolina, emerged as the location of choice. Gray said that beyond the obvious advantage of being near the port city of Charleston, which has the busiest port on the East Coast, the Columbia location held other economic and strategic benefits. The South Carolina state and local governments also played a key role in convincing AMERICAN's management that Columbia was the right choice for the new plant. "Richland County and the South Carolina Department of Commerce were very accommodating and certainly had a positive influence on our decision to locate here," Gray said. Jordan, Jones, and Goulding, Atlanta, Georgia, is the engineer for the ASWP facility, having supplied site location assistance and a site evaluation. They are presently providing all engineering services related to facility construction. Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC, Birmingham, Alabama, is the general contractor for construction of the new facility. Brasfield & Gorrie asked Hobby Construction, Newberry, South Carolina, to provide site clearing and grading as well as water and sewer utilities. Pacific Roller Dye (PRD) of Hayward, California, designed the facility layout and is providing all production and material handling equipment. The PRD equipment and components are a potpourri of international flavor. The primary components of the two spiral-weld mills were produced in Korea, and other production equipment including the hydrotester, expander, beveler, coating machine, and all material handling equipment were fabricated in Turkey. ASWP is laid out in an arrangement of three primary buildings, all contiguous, so that the pipe will be under roof from start to finish. Gray explained that, unlike some other pipe producers, where pipe manufacturing operations are located in discontiguous structures exposing the pipe to weather, ASWP will produce all pipe within the protected confines of the Columbia facility. "The pipe, from coil to coating, won't leave this 280,000-square foot facility until it is completed and awaiting shipment," Gray said. Foundations for the PRD equipment in Building No. 1 were constructed at an unprecedented rate despite their size and complexity. Building No. 2 is an "L"-shaped structure that includes a lining area, a curing area, and a coating area. This building houses the liner and the cement batching facilities and the coating plant that will apply a multi-layer polyethylene coating. The final building is a 30,000-square foot fabrication shop. In it, ASWP will fabricate pipe specials, which is simply defined as any fabrication done to a pipe. Also large diameter fittings, such as tees and wyes, will be fabricated out of flat steel plate in this building. "We're very pleased that the ASWP facility will give our customers access to premium quality, large diameter spiral-welded steel pipe manufactured by AMERICAN," Gray said. "The ASWP facility in Columbia is a great example of how we're constantly striving to meet our customers' needs through producing high-quality and more diversified products." This world-class facility will be commissioned this summer. At that time, the plant will be a beehive of activity as future employees, with the competitive advantage of the newest and best technology, will begin producing the premium, large diameter spiral-welded steel pipe that will be the trademark of ASWP. For additional details on ASWP, contact George Ruchti, ASWP Sales Manager, or your ADIP Sales Engineer as shown in the directory. The Best is Getting Bigger!

The 280,000-square foot AMERICAN SpiralWeld facility is the only one of its kind in the U.S. where all production takes place under one roof. RENDERING BY O'NEAL, INC., ATLANTA, GA ASWP is located in the epicenter of the Southeastern growth corridor.