Utah County’s McWane Ductile factory celebrates a century of operation
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- McWane Ductile Chairman Phillip McWane, left, is pictured with an employee during a banquet celebrating McWane Ductile’s century celebration Friday, May 22, 2026, near Provo.
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- Utah County’s McWane Ductile factory is shown Friday, May 22, 2026, near Provo.
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- A banquet to celebrate Utah McWane Ductile’s century-mark is shown Friday, May 22, 2026, near Provo.
As McWane Ductile’s Utah County factory reached 100 years of operation, general manager Jared Ellison took to Google to research how many American companies reach the century mark.
He found that only one out of every 200 do.
“So this is a historic achievement for us,” Ellison said.
The milestone was celebrated Friday with a banquet attended by many of McWane’s 300-plus employees, local leaders and Phillip McWane, chairman of the family-owned ductile iron pipe manufacturer that first started in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Utah plant, which sits in unincorporated Utah County between Provo and Springville, is one of the company’s three operating plants in the nation, servicing everywhere west of the Mississippi River.
Phillip McWane told the Daily Herald his great-grandfather founded the location in 1926, and there have been tens of thousands of workers and families that have been a part of it since.
“We want to continue to invest in this location, not only the machinery, but in the employees and their families, and hopefully we’ll be around for another 100 years,” McWane said. “It’s a great plant, it’s a great legacy, and everyone here should be very, very proud.”
Ellison said the iron pipes they build are used to deliver clean drinking water. They also build iron ductile poles for infrastructure such as electricity.
As the only ductile iron pipe factory in the Intermountain West, the corporation said it has a $17.5 million payroll and has averaged a $113 million economic impact over the last five years.
Last year, McWane Ductile reported producing 76,000 tons of ductile iron pipe and ductile poles that go toward water systems and electrical infrastructure.
“It’s nice that you come to work and you produce something that people want and need,” Ellison said.
On Friday, the company was also recognized for the impact it has had in the community.
Wendy Osborne, founder and executive director of Tabitha’s Way, spoke at the banquet and highlighted the charitable efforts McWane Ductile has made.
“For more than 12 years, McWane and its employees have stood beside us in ways that have directly blessed thousands of families across Utah County,” she said.
Osborne said the company has made donations to help Tabitha’s Way purchase equipment and vehicles to service the community while also organizing supply drives. She said McWane employees have volunteered to serve in the food pantry, and that the company consistently reaches out to ask what they can do.
“That question says everything about who McWane is,” Osborne said. “It reflects the culture of generosity, the culture of responsibility and the culture of leadership that understands that through strong business we help create strong communities.”
Springville Mayor Matt Packard also spoke, highlighting the partnership the company has had with the city, most recently with a $1 million donation to rebuild Springville’s amphitheater.
Ellison said they’ve built good partnerships with the local communities, specifically in Springville.
“They support us; we support them. It’s a partnership. A lot of our employees live in those communities,” he said.
