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The Valve Stem 2016
Inside the Stem:
Front Page - Former employee/Iron Man Tradition
Page 2 Vehicle Driving Analogy
Page 3 New Employees/Foundry Breakroom
Page 4 Wedge Coat
Page 5 Environmental /Toe To Toe with The Champ
Page 6 All work and No Play
Page 7 Plant History
Page 8 Birthdays/Anniversaries
Newsletter Comments ?
Please send any pictures, Information, recipes , or anything you would like to share with the rest of the M&H employees.
Tommy Fielder Managing Editor
(256)-741-6242
Pam Fulmer Assistant Editor
(256) 741-6246
1st Quarter 2016
Former M&H employee Peter F McDonald registers for military duty, June 15th, 1917. “I was researching my grandfather's (Peter F. McDonald) military history when I came upon his WWI draft registration card of June 5th, 1917. On that he listed his employer as McNab & Harlin MFG. of 55 John Street, New York, NY. After a frustrating bit of searching for history on that company, I stumbled upon your web site. I found it remarkable that the company he worked for almost 100 years ago is still alive to-
day. I just had to give you a shout out…..COOL!” This email was received from Peter F. McDonald’s grandson. Regards, Pete MacMahon More on our plant history on page (7) Mohnton, PA
Iron Bowl 2015 still left the Iron Man sporting the winning team colors.
Alabama 65 Auburn 57
The University of Alabama is home to SIXTEEN national championships in football, the most of any school in the Southeastern Conference and among the most in the country. Alabama most recently won the na-tional title in 2015 under Coach Nick Saban.
The Other Five
In addition to the 14 “recognized” national championships owned by Alabama, the Offi-cial NCAA Football Records Book recognizes Alabama as producing national champions in 1945, 1962, 1966, 1975 and 1977. In 1945, the 10-0 Tide was recognized as champions with Army by the National Championship Foundation. The 1962 Crimson Tide, 10-1, was cho-sen by Billingsley and Sagarin, while the 1966 team, 11-0, was selected by Berryman. The 11-1 Tide team in 1975, along with Ohio State, was selected by Matthews. In 1977, Football Research picked Alabama, 11-1, and Notre Dame as co-national champions.
Page 2
Vehicle Driving Analogy
When I turned fifteen I went to the courthouse that very day to take my written drivers test, which I had studied
diligently for. I knew all the answers well, most of which pertain to safety, signs, signals, obeying seat belt laws and
other methods of traffic control and safety. I passed my exam with flying colors, (not like my normal school classes).
I was really sincere in this one………..
I went on to practice with other licensed drivers and soon developed the skills I needed to become a fully licensed motor vehicle operator. The day I turned sixteen I was at the courthouse once again, this time to test and show off my driving skills. I was very confident that I had become a well disciplined and safe vehicle operator. The state trooper soon was in the car beside me and I began to melt away a little, under the pressure of my passenger seat now being occupied by a professional officer that was to evaluate me. Somehow I managed to regain control of my run away emotions and started to regain my confidence, knowing I had all the proper trainings and had worked hard to accomplish my driving skills. As we continued on our course, he suddenly asked me to Parallel Park in the middle of downtown. I was about to go into my nervous “under the gun” reaction, then I remembered how I had trained for this very day. Needless to say I aced the driving test and received compliments from the state trooper that had been with me for my driving test. He said that my continued driving skills would be a credit to our safer highways. In less than a year I had two speeding tickets and a reckless driving ticket with my license on the verge of being revoked, not to mention the trouble I was having at home with my parents over increased insurance rates and fines that were mounting. What went wrong? I started out so eager to obey laws and do things right but my life was suddenly being shaken as never before. I was about to lose my right to drive that I had worked so hard for. Then suddenly I realized it was not the officer’s fault, whom I was blaming for my actions. I had changed; I realized I was not doing the things I had been trained to do. Corrective action: have troopers ride everyday with every licensed driver one on one? Not Really!! Food for thought, why do we neglect procedures that we are trained on and have demonstrated that we know how to do well, that are in place to protect our lives and the lives of others?
I asked myself, what is going wrong? We have adequate training, procedures to go by, and still I lose a friend or friends every year not to death, fortunately, but from the work place. Please, Please, Please, if not for me, for yourself, or your family…………………..
“When In Doubt Lock It Out” Tommy Fielder 2016
Page 3
Please welcome our new employees for end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016.
Foundry Breakroom Gets a New Paint Job From Foundry Employees Also the foundry bathroom has been undergoing extensive remodeling this past month! Pictured from left to right Barry Smith, Desmond Woodruff, and Mark Strickland enjoy beautifying their breakroom.
Thomas Strickland Foundry Maintenance Darren Turner Cleaning Room Utility
Darrel Moore outside sales: My new position is District Sales Manager to replace the retiring Rusty Dunbar in the Utah, Wyoming, and southern Idaho area. After working 32 years for water district in western Colorado I am looking forward to new challenges in sales. I enjoy the outdoors 4 wheeling, waterskiing, and snowmobil-ing. Darrel Moore
Kari McGhar Switchboard Operator
Casey Coppit Wedge Coat Utility Carlos Babbs Cleaning Room Utility Quintez Arnold Cleaning Room Utility
Page 4
Wedge Coat Newsletter March 2016 It seems like the 16” Wedge project has been in the works for a while, but our engineering people have been working with Des-ma personnel over the past several months and we have received the 14/16 inch mold. Samples were produced, sent to Clow for testing, and were approved for use. We are proceeding with a sample production run of 50 wedges for their evaluation and based off those results we will be supplying all of Clow’s needs for 14/16 inch Wedges. Slight modifications to our pre-heat ovens had to be made but we concluded that turning the shelf upside down and welding a stop on the drawer is basically all that was needed to accommodate the larger casting. Another modification is needed to the dip tank to give us additional clearance and we should have that completed over the next couple of weeks. Picture A below shows how it would inject and the amount of rubber required, Picture B shows Jason Guy and Brian Laupp from Desma cutting excess trim off, and Picture C shows the final product. All new lifting devices had to be designed and approved. Thanks go out to Charles Pierce for the design part of it. It’s a big casting, makes a big part, and you have to have the right equipment to handle it!
A B C Willa Foster once said, “Quality is never an accident. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives”. This past year has been a challenge but it was a productive year in Wedge Coat. All employees in Wedge Coat make choices every day that con-tribute to the success we have had. Each one of them has taken ownership in what we do day in and day out. The results is over 175,000 wedges were produced while maintaining less than .05% scrap. This would not have been possible without the operators that are assigned to this department making those right choices. I would personally like to thank Jason, Luis, Josh, Jose, Anthony, and Charles for all they have done this past year to make this department successful. I look forward to 2016 and everything that it will hold for us. I would like to welcome our latest member to Wedge Coat. Casey Coppit started at M&H in February as a 2nd Shift Wedge Coat Operator. He has experience in manufacturing and we look forward to what he can bring to our department. He will be working 1st shift until training is complete.
Our own security guard at dawn carrying on a national tradition.
Pictured on the left, our security guard at dawn continuing a tradition
that has shown support for our nation for many generations.
Captain Michael Grubbs with Dynamic Security, just as the sky starts to glow on the eastern horizon, raises Ole Glory with pride.
Michael has been working as a security guard here at M&H Valve,
and has worked up the ranks to his current position as captain.
Page 5
I went toe to toe with the Champ! By: Adam Epperson
Years ago (2006), while in college at the University of Alabama, I joined a local boxing gym on the outskirts of the Tuscaloosa city limits. Our team consisted of 6 fighters who competed every 3 months in tourna-ments across the southeast region. In early 2006, the Golden Gloves organization came to Birmingham, AL, where all 6 of us competed. This was my first fight ever as an amateur fighter, as well as another fight-er who would eventually become well known. Both of us won a Golden Gloves that night. Our gym was named Skyy Promotions. We swept pretty much every competition we traveled to, only losing a fight or two here and there. I had 3 fights total, winning them all as a light heavyweight. One night, while training in our gym, a tall, lanky guy came walking in decked out in a Pepsi uniform. He inquired about becoming a member of the gym so that he could stay busy and stay out of trouble. Jay Deas, our head trainer, was hesitant at first because he had no fighting experience, but finally agreed to take him in. The next day, the young man came to workouts, and he was immediately put in the ring to spar with some of us. 30 mins later, he had knocked ALL 6 OF US out cold! His name is Deontay Wilder, the current WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World. I gave up competitive fighting the following year to salvage what little brain cells I had left that Deontay’s right hand didn’t manage to destroy, and focused more on my engineering de-gree. Deontay stuck around and slowly entered in to more and more competitions, whipping every opponent in the first round. A few years later, Deontay turned pro, fighting in multiple fights per year, each one bigger than the last. Finally, in Janu-ary of 2015, Deontay won the WBC title beating Bermane Sti-verne in a 12 round unanimous decision. Since then, he has defended his title twice, both in his home state of Alabama. He is now 35 – 0, 34 KO’s, and scheduled to fight again in New York in the spring. While sparring with Deontay, I only was able to hit him with a solid punch one time, in the gut. It knocked his breath away and he had to take a break. He busted my nose in return. Adam Epperson
“Protecting The Environment For Generations To Come” We had our yearly McWane Compliance Audit on February 9th and 10th. It was a Type III with one McWane auditor who focused on the Air regulations. However, the auditor spent time in the plant and also looked at other areas such as water and waste regulation compliance. We had two minor findings and nine best management practices (BMPs). A finding is something that needs to be corrected to insure compliance with a regulation or law. A BMP is a recommendation that may help improve our environmental manage-ment system. One finding and four of the BMPs were related to plans for our melting and baghouse operations in the Foundry. The other finding related to having someone able to answer questions about a hazardous material shipment on off hours if there was an emergency, such as the truck being involved in a traffic accident. We are required to have a phone number that will be an-swered at all times. Two of the BMPs were related to stormwater and the other BMPs have already been corrected. We have ongoing efforts to reduce materials exposed to rain . My thanks to everyone for your efforts and the great job you do to help us continue to improve our environmental compliance every day. Thanks Danny Lewis
Page 6
Salary Employees At Work
I have captured some of these employees at picnics or banquets, this is the other side of them, at work.
Kandi Willis Inside Sales Pam Fulmer H.R. Generalist Georgia Vinson Inside Sales
Susan Johnson Accounting Olivier Marietta Plant Manager Bobbie Jo Hammonds Plant Nurse
Kenneth Vansciver IT Data Specialist Kelsey Taylor Inside Sales Kelsey McWilliams Engineering
Paige Shears Accounting
Terry Christjohn Sales Danny Lewis Environmental Mgr.
Terry Sledge Controller
Susan Roach Safety Technician
Ray McClay H.R. Mgr.
Page 7
Company History from 1854 to present M&H began as a partnership between Mr. McNab and Mr. Carr in 1854. The McNab-Carr Company, locat-
ed in New York City, began manufacturing products for the water and steam industries.
When Mr. Carr retired, a new partnership formed between Mr. James McNab and Mr. John Harlin in 1862.
During the next 60 years, the McNab and Harlin Company expanded to serve more industries, including
air, gas and oil. Water products were expanded to include valves, fire hydrants and iron fittings.
Over the next five years, the M&H Manufacturing Company, as it was then known, came into family and
financial difficulties, leading to the liquidation and sale of company assets in 1920.
Through the financial help of leading Anniston businessmen and the Anniston Chamber of Commerce, the
portion of the M&H Company that made cast iron fittings and valves was relocated to Anniston, Ala in
1925. This move was done to create more local industry and employment for the citizens of Anniston.
Iron production at M&H Valve & Fitting Company officially began in 1926 with the help of 60 new Anniston
employees.
M&H Model 29 Fire Hydrant was designed in 1929 .The hydrant was named after the year it first was
made. The Model 29 did not go into full production until 1932.
In 1934 with the American automobile becoming an increasing hazard to fire hydrants, M&H engineers de-
veloped the Traffic Model Fire Hydrant (or the Model 29T) later to be called the 129.
Investment in the latest foundry and machining technology led the way for M&H Valve to become a signifi-
cant manufacturer of valves and fire hydrants for water systems across the southeast from 1934 to 1955.
M&H Valve was purchased by the Walworth Valve Company in 1955.
Walworth Valve Company sold M&H to Dresser Industries in 1961. Dresser Industries brought M&H prod-
ucts to national and international markets.
In 1984 McWane, Inc. of Birmingham, Ala., purchased M&H Valve Co. from Dresser Industries.
Below is an insert from our corporate web site spotlighting our own Cedric Wright
Page 8
April
Sue Thornburg 2nd James Butterworth 3rd Jerry Summerlin 3rd
Zachary Pitts 5th Dennis Turner 7th Susan Johnson 7th Bryn Getto 10th
Donald Baldwin 14th Robert Edmondson 17th Kenneth Higgins 19th
Richard McKleroy 19th Harold Westbrooks 21st
Steve Griffith 22nd Willie Robinson 24th Shannon Payne 25th Gerome Mixon 27th Larry Joe Mays 30th
James Wade 30th
May
Echoles Bryant 3rd Josh Seals 18th
Beauford Millwood 19th Kenneth Vansciver 24th
Greg Davis 25th Barry Shears 27th
Charles Pierce 27th Olivier Marietta 31st Daniel McIntyre 31st
June
Jim Meroney 4th Angie Robertson 4th
Darryl Crump 6th Larry Bowers 7th Che George 8th
Leonard Thomason 13th Gary Estes 14th
Robert N Smith 16th Susan Roach 20th
Travanti Dates 27th James Hannah 30th Jack Williams 30th
April: Years of Service
Terry Sledge 1st 1 Year Leonard Thomason 2nd 4 years
Jeff Rasmussen 4th 5 years Mark Bozek 6th 1 Year
Stacey Vree 9th 15 years Christopher Berta 10th 10 years
James Garrett 13th 1 Year Anthony Farfan 15th 20 years Alkera Garrett 17th 10 years
Orvas Crow 20th 1 Year Charles Sanders 21st 12 years Susan Johnson 22nd 14 years
Cecil Payne 24th 21 years Jack Williams 25th 45 years Greg Hanners 27th 18 years
Frankie Hightower 27th 1 Year Virgil Hughes 27th 1 Year Ethan Russell 27th 1 Year Jose Rolon 28th 2 years
Cedric Wright 29th 17 years
May: Years of Service
David McKinney 1st 10 years Kelsey Taylor 1st 1 Year Terry O'Dell 2nd 5 years Gary Estes 15th 16 years
James Prewitt 19th 2 years Greg Davis 22nd 18 years James Wade 23rd 5 years
James Butterworth 24th 44 years Ray McClay 24th 12 years
Gary Ray 24th 17 years Christopher Morris 30th 16 years Harold Westbrooks 30th 43 years
Jeremy Felton 31st 11 years
June: Years of Service
Mike Humphries 1st 18 years Aaron Sheppard 1st 1 Year Steve Griffith 2nd 13 years
David Lambert 2nd 13 years Christy Mabry 2nd 2 years James Martin 3rd 14 years
Victor Martinez-Perez 4th 2 years Richard Knowlton 8th 1 Year Tony Orlowski 10th 20 years
Rocky Lanz 11th 15 years Olivier Marietta 11th 9 years Frank Musich 11th 15 years Kendall Rush 12th 10 years Phillip Smith 13th 11 years
Nicole Ferrebee 18th 17 years Alan Gaither 23rd 8 years Josey Smith 25th 2 years
Gerome Mixon Jr. 28th 6 years Danny Ray Smith 28th 6 years
Darrius Threatt 30th 2 years Paige Shears 30th 2 years
