Plumbing Manufacturers International

Last updated
Plumbing Manufacturers International
25-6034257 [1]
CEO/Executive Director
Kerry Stackpole
Revenue (2015)
$1,593,364[ citation needed ]
Website www.safeplumbing.org

Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) is an industry association for manufacturers of plumbing products. [2] [3] Its members make 90% of the plumbing products sold in North America. [4] Its headquarters is in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. [5]

Contents

History

In existence since the 1960s when it was known as the Plumbing Brass Institute (PBI), [6] the organization’s scope was expanded in 1975 and the name changed to the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute (PMI). In 1998, it was reorganized around focus issues, product groups and standing committees and moved from a management company to a stand-alone organization with a dedicated staff. [7] In 2010, [8] it changed its name to Plumbing Manufacturers International [9] to reflect its expanded scope.

Purpose

The association aims to advocate for its members, with representatives in Washington, D.C. and in several US states to monitor legislation at the federal, state and local levels to ensure public health and safety, water efficiency and product performance. [10] It also aims to act as a source of industry and market information, and as a coordinating and decision-making body for dealing with industry issues, including the development and maintenance of codes and standards. [11]

To provide advocacy for its members and the industry in regulatory and legislative matters, [12] PMI staff are represented on National Association of Home Builders' Leading Suppliers Council [13] and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) group Water Sense Partners, [14] which aim to develop and maintain codes and standards. PMI members have access to the International Trade Administration of the United States Department of Commerce through ITAC/9, [15] which focuses on Fair Trade [16] issues. In addition to domestic alliances, PMI has formal agreements with the Bathroom Manufacturers Association in the UK, [17] the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating [18] and the Plumbing Products Industry Group in Australia. [19]

PMI hosts conferences and training workshops throughout the year. [20]

Advocacy

Opposition to military right-to-repair legislation

In July 2024, PMI signed a letter to members of both the House Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Armed Services opposing Section 828 of S. 4628, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, entitled "Requirement for Contractors to Provide Reasonable Access to Repair Materials," which would require contractors doing business with the US military to agree "to provide the Department of Defense fair and reasonable access to all the repair materials, including parts, tools, and information, used by the manufacturer or provider or their authorized partners to diagnose, maintain, or repair the good or service." [21]

Membership

Membership in PMI is open to global manufacturers of plumbing industry products including potable water supply system components, fixture fittings, waste fixture fittings, fixtures, flushing devices, sanitary drainage system components, and plumbing appliances, which are marketed and sold within the territorial limits of United States and Canada. [22] In 2012, PMI opened its membership to plumbing materials and components suppliers and certifier organizations through its Allied Membership program. [23]

SafePlumbing.org

PMI is the owner of an educational website which serves as a clearinghouse for information about plumbing fixtures and fittings, as well as information about clean water, water efficiency and bathroom safety. The site provides a glossary [24] of plumbing industry terms and a directory of North American plumbing product markings. [25] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plumbing</span> Systems for conveying fluids

Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delivery are among the most common uses for plumbing, but it is not limited to these applications. The word derives from the Latin for lead, plumbum, as the first effective pipes used in the Roman era were lead pipes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathroom</span> Room for personal hygiene activities, such as showering

A bathroom is a room in which people wash their bodies or parts thereof. It can contain one or more of the following plumbing fixtures: a shower, a bathtub, a bidet, and a sink. The inclusion of a toilet is common. There are also specific toilet rooms, only containing a toilet, which in North American English tend to be called "bathrooms", "powder rooms" or "washrooms", as euphemisms to conceal their actual purpose, while they in British and Irish English are known as just "toilets" or possibly "cloakrooms" - but also as "lavatories" when they are public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piping</span> System of pipes used to transport fluids

Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drain-waste-vent system</span> Plumbing fixture

A drain-waste-vent system is the combination of pipes and plumbing fittings that captures sewage and greywater within a structure and routes it toward a water treatment system. It includes venting to the exterior environment to prevent a vacuum from forming and impeding fixtures such as sinks, showers, and toilets from draining freely, and employs water-filled traps to block dangerous sewer gasses from entering a plumbed structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardware store</span> Store that sells household hardware for home improvement

Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for use at home or for business. Many hardware stores have specialty departments unique to its region or its owner's interests. These departments include hunting and fishing supplies, plants and nursery products, marine and boating supplies, pet food and supplies, farm and ranch supplies including animal feed, swimming pool chemicals, homebrewing supplies and canning supplies. The five largest hardware retailers in the world are The Home Depot, Lowe's, Kingfisher of the United Kingdom, Obi of Germany, and Leroy Merlin of France.

The Project Management Institute is a U.S.-based not-for-profit professional organization for project management.

Cross-linked polyethylene, commonly abbreviated PEX, XPE or XLPE, is a form of polyethylene with cross-links. It is used predominantly in building services pipework systems, hydronic radiant heating and cooling systems, domestic water piping, insulation for high tension electrical cables, and baby play mats. It is also used for natural gas and offshore oil applications, chemical transportation, and transportation of sewage and slurries. PEX is an alternative to polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) or copper tubing for use as residential water pipes.

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) -- originally the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce (1922-1945), then Aircraft Industries Association (1945-1960) -- is an American trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, space systems, aircraft engines, missiles, material, and related components, equipment, services, and information technology in the United States. It also co-sponsors, with the National Association of Rocketry, the America Rocketry Challenge (TARC), an annual competition for high school students. Member companies also give awards and scholarships to top placing teams at the TARC national finals each year, and it is funded through sponsoring companies. AIA also develops the manufacturing standards called National Aerospace Standards, which are available to aerospace manufacturers that conform to United States Military Standards for equipment manufacturing and provide standards for other various components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crane Co.</span> American industrial manufacturer

Crane Co. is an American industrial products company based in Stamford, Connecticut. Founded by Richard Teller Crane in 1855, it became one of the leading manufacturers of bathroom fixtures in the United States, until 1990, when that division was sold off. In 1960 it began the process of becoming a holding company with a diverse portfolio. Its business segments are Aerospace & Electronics, Engineered Materials, Fluid Handling, and Controls. Industries served by these segments include chemical industries, commercial construction, food and beverage, general and commercial aviation, and power generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass Packaging Institute</span>

The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) is the North American trade association for the glass container industry, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Through GPI, glass container manufacturers advocate job preservation and industry standards, and promote sound energy, environmental, and recycling policies.

Hansgrohe SE is a German plumbing materials and sanitary fittings manufacturer. It was founded by Hans Grohe in 1901, in Schiltach, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany. Hansgrohe is one of the world's largest shower head, hand shower and tap suppliers, next to competitors such as Grohe and Kohler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piping and plumbing fitting</span> Connecting pieces in pipe systems

A fitting or adapter is used in pipe systems to connect sections of pipe or tube, adapt to different sizes or shapes, and for other purposes such as regulating fluid flow. These fittings are used in plumbing to manipulate the conveyance of fluids such as water for potatory, irrigational, sanitary, and refrigerative purposes, gas, petroleum, liquid waste, or any other liquid or gaseous substances required in domestic or commercial environments, within a system of pipes or tubes, connected by various methods, as dictated by the material of which these are made, the material being conveyed, and the particular environmental context in which they will be used, such as soldering, mortaring, caulking, plastic welding, welding, friction fittings, threaded fittings, and compression fittings.

Builders' hardware or just builders hardware is a group of metal hardware specifically used for protection, decoration, and convenience in buildings. Building products do not make any part of a building, rather they support them and make them work. It usually supports fixtures like windows, doors, and cabinets. Common examples include door handles, door hinges, deadbolts, latches, numerals, letter plates, switch plates, and door knockers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viega</span>

Viega is a family owned international manufacturer of Plumbing and HVAC solutions. Viega sells PEX for Radiant heating and plumbing systems along with copper, stainless, and metal alloy pipe along with mechanical pressure fitting products.

The Construction Products Association (CPA) is a UK construction industry trade association. It represents and champions manufacturers and suppliers of construction products. As well as representing some of the largest construction product manufacturers in the UK, the CPA also acts as the 'umbrella' trade organisation for dozens of sector and product-specific trade associations, which themselves represent thousands of companies, mostly SMEs and family-run businesses.

IAPMO R&T was started in 1936 as a third-party listing agency specializing in plumbing and mechanical products. IAPMO R&T is accredited to certify products that meet the criteria of the Uniform Plumbing Code, Uniform Mechanical Code, Uniform Solar Energy Code, Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code and other nationally recognized codes and standards in North America.

The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies is a trade association representing more than 900 North American manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, components and materials as well as providers of related equipment and services to the packaging and processing industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Bus Association</span> American trade association

The American Bus Association (ABA) serves as a trade association for motorcoach operators and tour companies operating in the United States and Canada. With its headquarters situated in Washington, D.C., the association has a membership comprising approximately 1,000 companies engaged in bus operations or bus-based tours, alongside around 2,800 organizations representing the broader travel and tourism industry. Additionally, several hundred suppliers of buses and related products and services are affiliated with the ABA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper tubing</span> Type of metal tubing

Copper tubing is available in two basic types of tube—plumbing tube and air conditioning/refrigeration (ACR) tube, and in both drawn (hard) and annealed (soft) tempers. Because of its high level of corrosion resistance, it is used for water distribution systems, oil fuel transfer lines, non-flammable medical-gas systems, and as a refrigerant line in HVAC systems. Copper tubing is joined using flare connection, compression connection, pressed connection, or solder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lixil Group</span> Japanese building materials and housing equipment manufacturer

Lixil Group is a Japanese group of companies that manufactures building materials, plumbing fixtures and housing equipment, headquartered in Tokyo.

References

  1. ↑ "Plumbing Manufacturers International Form 990 2015". ProPublica. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  2. ↑ "Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) - Welcome". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  3. ↑ "Join Us". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  4. ↑ "Our Members". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  5. ↑ "Contact Us". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  6. ↑ Beschloss, Morris. "IPD flourishes as ASA centerpiece". Aim, the parent, was merged into the Plumbing Brass Institute, which became the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute. The Wholesaler. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  7. ↑ "History". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  8. ↑ "The History of Plumbing - Timeline Infographic by SafePlumbing". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  9. ↑ "PMI's New Name reflects global vision". ThomasNet.com. 8 March 2011.
  10. ↑ "2016 Year In Review". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  11. ↑ "Vision & Mission Statements". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  12. ↑ "PMI presents Legislator of the Year Award to 3 officials". Thomasnet. 3 June 2011.
  13. ↑ Members of the NAHB Leading Suppliers Council
  14. ↑ Water Sense Partners
  15. ↑ ITAC/9
  16. ↑ "Charter of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Building Materials, Construction, and Nonferrous Metals" (PDF).
  17. ↑ Bathroom Manufacturers Association
  18. ↑ Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating
  19. ↑ Plumbing Products Industry Group
  20. ↑ "PMI Alliances". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  21. ↑ Koebler, Jason (2024-08-28). "Appliance and Tractor Companies Lobby Against Giving the Military the Right to Repair". 404 Media . Archived from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  22. ↑ "Membership Application". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  23. ↑ "ICC-ES: News". www.icc-es.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  24. ↑ "Plumbing Terms, Terminology, Glossary from SafePlumbing". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  25. ↑ "Index of Industry Acronyms". www.safeplumbing.org. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  26. ↑ "Los Angeles Plumber". Saturday, June 27, 2020
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