Code Bodies Drop Copyright, Trademark Lawsuits
The International Code Council and the National Fire Protection Association announced in August that the two groups have settled several disputes relating...
Faucet, fitting companies battle California lead ban
BY ROBERT P. MADER OF CONTRACTOR'S STAFF SCHAUMBURG, ILL. The Plumbing Manufacturers Institute is battling proposed California legislation that would...
Design service remedies hospital job
By Robert P. Mader Of Contractor's Staff ROGERS, ARK. Construction is booming here, with companies such as Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods and Hunt Trucking expanding...
Private Equity Should Stay Out of Water Systems: Exec
Private equity funds looking to buy water utilities in order to quickly resell them at a profit should stay out of the business, a water industry executive...
Chinese stainless steel fittings flood market: U.S. firms
WASHINGTON U.S. producers of stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings in mid-February pointed to increasing volumes of low-priced imports from China as...
EPA data lacking about lead in water: GAO report
SPECIAL TO CONTRACTOR WASHINGTON The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can't properly protect children from lead in drinking water in schools because...
Use a water jetter to clear clogged drains
BY MARTY SILVERMAN SPECIAL TO CONTRACTOR RUTH COLEMAN, a schoolteacher in Somerset, Pa., came home to find her basement flooded. The whole house was tied...
Chinese stainless fittings flood market
U.S. producers of stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings in mid-February pointed to increasing volumes of low-priced imports from China as a serious...
Viega to acquire Vanguard, Midtec
BEDFORD, MASS. Viega signed an agreement in late September for the acquisition of the piping systems businesses of Vanguard Piping Systems and Midtec...
Pipe donations help out at H.O.M.E.
ORLAND, MAINE Every night, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than a half-million men, women and children across the...
Home Depot buys PVF wholesaler
ATLANTA The Home Depot announced in mid-July that it has entered into an agreement to acquire National Waterworks Holdings, a leading distributor of products...
Kinetics Systems names Beittenmiller CEO
BY ROBERT P. MADER OF CONTRACTOR'S STAFF UNION CITY, CALIF. Mechanical piping Giant Kinetics Systems has named J. Gordon Beittenmiller its chief executive...
Contractor uses customer's products to do the job
BY WILLIAM ATKINSON SPECIAL TO CONTRACTOR ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. It's not often that a contractor gets to use products made by its customer during a...
UA, Calif. PHCC Clash on Open Shop Apprentice Program
BY ROBERT P. MADER of CONTRACTORs staff SACRAMENTO, CALIF. The California Pipe Trades Council and the California Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors...
EPA to Strengthen Lead in Drinking Water Rules
WASHINGTON The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is initiating the Drinking Water Lead Reduction Plan to strengthen, update and clarify existing requirements...
Wilson Supply Reports Growth
HOUSTON Wilson Supply reported strong growth in 2004 from a geographic and product standpoint. Revenues grew in all the companys major product lines pipe,...
Cities, Water Agencies Plead With Congress for Sewer Money
BY ROBERT P. MADER of CONTRACTORs staff WASHINGTON Municipalities and water authorities are lobbying Congress for billions of dollars that they need to...
MSI Occupies Training Center
ORLANDO, FLA. General contractor McCree Inc. handled interior renovations for Orlando-based Mechanical Services Inc.s newly occupied manufacturing and...
Schedule Compression Can Hurt Productivity on Job
BY ROBERT P. MADER of CONTRACTORs staff WAILEA, HAWAII Schedule delays, changes and acceleration are facts of life for new construction contractors, who...
Steam System Chugs Through Too Many Vents
By Patrick Linhardt, Steam Heating Authority THE PHONE CALL: The service manager called me at the supply house during the holidays sounding nervous and...
Rising Above the Pack
Relationships, with customers and inside the company, make the difference for Great Lakes Plumbing & Heating. BY ROBERT P. MADER of CONTRACTORs staff...
Charlotte Pipe Buys Thompson Plastics
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Co. in December 2004 acquired Thompson Plastics, a privately owned manufacturer of CPVC-CTS pipe and fittings....
ABS Adopts Linc Identity
HOUSTON On the heels of celebrating its 25th anniversary, Houston-based Affiliated Building Services LLC, (ABS) a provider of outsourced facility management...
Palmolive Building Rehab Anything But Mild
BY ROBERT P. MADER of CONTRACTORs staff CHICAGO The rehab of the Palmolive Building here into luxury condominiums is a material handling nightmare, said...
Maddaloni Resigns As UA President
BY ROBERT P. MADER of CONTRACTORs staff WASHINGTON Martin Maddaloni has resigned as president of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters along...








