The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) has announced its annual industry award winners, noting that there were a record number of projects submitted and winners which required the addition of four categories along with creating a new award for innovation. The awards will be presented at the association’s annual meeting being held May 18 – May 21 in Florida.

“This is the first time in the more than 10 years of the program that we’ve had multiple winners in several divisions," said David M. Fink, PPI president.  

PPI is the major North American trade association representing the plastic pipe industry. Each year the PPI membership reviews and votes on Project of the Year and a Member of the Year for each of the five PPI divisions.  The PPI Member of the Year Award is for an individual’s outstanding support and contributions to the association and the industry.  

“Each project shows that plastic pipe is safe, smart to use, resilient and sustainable, and helping to create a confident, long-life infrastructure, which has been proven during the past 75 years,” Fink said. 

Some of the winners include the following:

PPI Building & Construction Division Projects of the Year

  • The Gaylord Resort and Convention Center, San Diego, California
  • PPI Member Company:  GF Building Flow Solutions (formerly Uponor, Inc. in Apple Valley, MN, and Uponor Ltd. in Canada)   

Officially opened in May 2025, the $1.3 billion Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center in Chula Vista is the largest hospitality property in California.  It needed a piping solution for the chilled water and heating hot water risers that was durable, reliable, easy to install, and promoted jobsite safety along with labor savings while having a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional materials such as copper and steel.  This was provided by prefabricated PEX risers for connections to fan coils for the 1,600 guest rooms.  The 45,000 feet of Wirsbo hePEX pipe along with other components for the system were provided by PPI Project of the Year winner GF Building Flow Solutions/Uponor.

  • The Fitzgerald Residence, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • PPI Member Company: REHAU Water Technologies

The Fitzgerald Residence is a large single-family home with an advanced mechanical system engineered around a centralized hydronic plant.  An example of utilizing plastic pipe for efficient hydronic heating/cooling and radiant heating systems, it consists of 40 tons (480,000 Btuh) of ground-source heat pumps (GSHP) integrated with full boiler backup and a four-pipe hot water and chilled water distribution.  This configuration enables simultaneous heating and cooling for multiple end uses, including space conditioning, radiant floor heating, snow and ice melting, domestic hot water, hydronic towel warmers, humidification, river conditioning, and air handling unit (AHU) coils.  For the indoor radiant heating, PPI Project of the Year winner, REHAU, provided its RAUBOARD radiant heating panel system with 19,200 feet of RAUPEX pipe, while snow melting in the driveway and entries used 24,500 feet of ¾ inch PEX. The innovative river conditioning system used another 5,000 feet of ¾ in. RAUPEX pipe and  2-inch diameter pipe was used for supply and return piping.

PPI Innovation Award

  • Transcanyon Water Line (TCWL), Grand Canyon
  • PPI Member Companies: FlexSteel USA LLC, Houston; Dow Chemical, Midland, Michigan

The National Parks Service was able to revitalize the main potable water supply line at Bright Angel Creek by sliplining the deteriorating six-inch line with more than a mile of three-inch diameter composite pipe.  For the Tanscanyon Water Line project, NPS selected the FlexSteel reinforced pipe rated at 1500 psi because it would provide the toughness, pressure integrity and long-term durability essential for the steep canyon elevations and be able to handle the substantial hydrostatic pressure variations.  The pipe contains a corrosion resistant inner liner and outer layer made from an advanced grade of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) from Dow with a helically wrapped steel reinforcement in the middle.

PPI Building & Construction Division Member of the Year

  • Rick Stock, GF Uponor, Apple Valley, Minnesota

In addition to Stock’s voluntary service on six of the division’s committees, including the BCD Management Committee, he was also directly involved with eight BCD R&D projects that were completed within 2025 and chaired four of these successful projects himself, resulting in new or revised PPI publications that support the PEX industry. His professionalism and guidance help to direct project teams to focus on the mostimportant aspects of the work without getting sidetracked, allowing projects to reach timely completion.

More information and the complete list of winners can be found at www.plasticpipe.org, or by scanning the following: