Manufacturing Day 2026: AMERICAN Employees Helping Deliver Water and Energy

On Manufacturing Day, October 2, AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company spotlights employees working together to make products that deliver our nation's most valuable resources - water and energy - to communities.

Established by the Manufacturing Institute, Manufacturing Day is held annually on the first Friday in October and showcases the important role the industry plays in our daily lives. At AMERICAN, that work extends far beyond a single machine or department. It takes employees who make products, maintain equipment, coordinate shipments and solve new challenges every day.

Together, Kyle Andrews, LaWanda Moorer and Thaddeus Tubbs show how every role helps keep AMERICAN moving forward.

Kyle Andrews - DIP

Kyle Andrews first encountered AMERICAN in 2021 as a railroad contractor repairing tracks that support Ductile Iron Pipe operations. Each trip through the plant gave him a closer look at the machinery and skilled work behind pipe production. He admired the company and felt like working for AMERICAN would be a good fit for him. One year later, he joined the DIP team.

"I'm a hands-on worker," Andrews said. "I thought it was cool how they melted the iron and cast the pipe. Something pulled me in."

He started in Central Lining in 2022 and now operates a casting machine that spins molten iron around a mold to form ductile iron pipe. He takes pride in his work because he knows where the pipe is headed.

"Our pipe is delivering water to homes and schools," he said. "I try to make pipe of the highest quality to ensure it's perfect when it comes out of the casting machine."

Andrews brings a sense of fun to the workplace, too. "I take what I do seriously, but I like making people laugh," he said. "Show up and work hard. AMERICAN rewards good work by giving you good opportunities."

LaWanda Moorer - Steel Pipe Shipping

With more than 23 years at AMERICAN Steel Pipe, LaWanda Moorer has built a career grounded in quality. After serving in several Quality Assurance positions, she now works in Steel Pipe Shipping, coordinating with production and shipping vendors to help products reach customers on time.

Her AMERICAN story began well before her first day on the job. Her grandfather retired from the company, and she still remembers his hard hat, lunchbox and a special dress he bought her from the ACIPCO commissary for her 15th birthday.

Today, she sees the company as "a little city" powered by people who depend on one another. "It takes all of us to keep it running," she said.

That shared responsibility shapes how Moorer approaches quality. "I imagine the pipe is going to our neighborhood," she said. "Knowing the pipe is going to our communities makes me put my all into the job."

Thaddeus Tubbs - Plant Maintenance Electrical

For Thaddeus Tubbs, a supervisor in Plant Maintenance Electrical - AMERICAN Steel Pipe, manufacturing offers something different every day. Now in his eighth year at AMERICAN, he is helping lead employees who troubleshoot equipment, complete new installations and perform high-voltage work involving power lines and substations.

He began at AMERICAN in shop preparation in 2018, but his interest in electrical work goes back to third grade, when an electrician visited his school and demonstrated how a substation supplies power to a neighborhood. That early interest eventually led Tubbs to AMERICAN's electrical apprentice program, which he completed in 2022.

In Tubbs' role, each day can bring new challenges, but the work is important to keep production moving.

"We are supplying people and communities with pipe that deliver energy and drinking water," Tubbs said. "Expect challenges, but with challenges will come opportunity and knowledge. Don't let new experiences deter you from growing."