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American Concrete Pipe Association Turns 100
Concrete pipe producers and their industrial partners are celebrating the centenary of the American Concrete Pipe Association through 2007. The year-long commemoration of the men, women and technology that built the concrete pipe industry begins with an official kickoff at the annual conference of the ACPA on March 12 at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island in Florida.
The founders of the American Concrete Pipe Association held their first conference in 1907 as the Interstate Cement Tile Manufacturers Association. By establishing an association of concrete pipe producers, the early founders laid the keystone for a vibrant industry. Without the presence of a strong association of concrete pipe producers and the companies that develop the equipment and supplies needed to produce pipe and boxes, the quality of America’s buried infrastructure could be quite different than it is today.
The decisions taken by the cement tile manufacturers over a century ago, led to the growth of an industry that can be described as an astonishing success. Astonishing in the sense that no one could have imagined the dependence that American society would place on reinforced concrete pipe products. Success because the industry continues to contribute to the social fabric, economy and environment of many towns and cities after more than 100 years of growth. The concrete pipe industry delivers products that cannot be substituted easily on major works.
With 100 years of history now written, the American Concrete Pipe Association is looking forward to a bicentennial celebration that will once again acknowledge the performance of precast concrete pipe and boxes. It is hoped that the generations of the twenty-first century will recognize the value of its buried infrastructure and continue to invest in one of the Nation’s greatest assets.
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