Articles by Natalie Forster

It is pretty rare to see a private, family-owned company reach fourth-generation leadership, much less fifth. For more than a century — 120 years to be exact — the Dowd family has led Charlotte, North Carolina-based pipe and fitting manufacturer Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. Built by W. Frank Dowd in 1901, the original foundry in Charlotte employed 25 men and produced cast iron soil pipe and fittings.

After enduring a unique set of challenges through 2020 and 2021, industry experts are excited to move forward into another high-demand year. The excitement is coupled with caution, as supply chain constraints, material pricing and labor shortages are not expected to resolve themselves in the near future.

As I’ve been back out attending in person events this Fall, I’ve noticed the conversation surrounding what we’re doing as an industry to bridge the labor gap and recruit more talent has a common theme.

Although lack of available product and labor are ongoing factors within the residential plumbing sector, there is certainly no lack of opportunity. According to the 2021 North American Plumbing Fixtures Market Report, compiled by Grand View Research, the plumbing fixture market ended 2020 with a $22.4 billion value and it is expected to grow at a rate of 7.5 percent from 2021 to 2028. 

The word “essential” has taken on a bit of a new meaning since the onset of 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic. When talking about how business behaved throughout the ups and downs of the past 20 months, many mention how thankful they were to be an essential business, and how this title allowed doors to remain open and business to continue.

Steve Rossi, director of government affairs at ASA, along with more than 1,800 engaged ASA members, are largely to thank for that.

The days of manufacturers’ reps hitting the pavement making sales call after sales call are long gone. Today, reps are often taking on reporting, marketing, training, data analytics and through times of disruption, damage control.

Heading into his year as ASA President, CEO of New England PHCP distribution giant The Granite Group, Bill Condron, plans to continue the upward trajectory that both ASA and his company are on.

Condron began his career in the industry stocking shelves in the warehouse of the family business. While he never intended to join the industry, his plans changed as he worked his way up through the company over the past 20 years.

How many people reach a point to celebrate five complete decades working in the same industry? Better yet, who remembers the exact date they began their career? Bonomi Valves’ Rick Wentzell does. On Oct. 1, 1971, Wentzell began his career in the PVF industry and since that time has grown passionate about creating product, figuring out how best to sell it, and now, training the folks coming up.

Over the past 18 months, I have been in the unique position to hear first-hand how the booming remodel market, supply chain disruptions and material costs are affecting plumbing distributors and showrooms while simultaneously being the end-user customer who’s remodeling her kitchen.

There’s no better way for distributors, manufacturers and reps to strengthen relationships than to gather together and discuss the most hard-hitting topics facing the PHCP-PVF supply chain today. In August, ASA’s Emerging Leaders’ division annual conference, EMERGE, did just that, providing both scheduled and free-time networking opportunities for the under-40 crowd.