OK Pipe & Fittings , a fabricator of AWWA large-diameter mitered fittings and a member of the PVF Roundtable, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The company has fabricated tens of thousands of carbon steel laterals, tees, crosses, wyes, and elbows for various water, wastewater, nuclear and power projects.

In anticipation of providing master distributors with carbon steel fittings, David and Susan Hatfield purchased OK Pipe in 1998 while he was CEO of Canadoil Forge. Though the company was small, CEO David Hatfield created a business plan that would exceed the expectations of most projects he had seen in his 20-plus years in the fittings-specific industry, something he had been dreaming about since his days at ITT Grinnell.

"When we bought it in 1998, the company was making grooved fittings and we just didn’t seem to be getting anywhere,” said Hatfield. “Since some of those grooved fittings were laterals, we were able to transition to buttweld for Dodson Global, whom we had known for a long time. Laterals weren’t enough alone, so I asked a good friend, Steve Letko, what else we could fabricate; he suggested mitered elbows. Finding this niche, fabricated fittings, and our move to Houston in 2001, set the foundation for our future.”

Over the last two decades, OK Pipe has fabricated fittings for major projects nationwide such as 66-inch OD pipe for the Entegra Plant in El Dorado, 60-inch pipe for a medical center in Houston, 90-inch pipe for Newton Creek WTP in New York, 78-inch pipe for a fertilizer plant in Iowa and 96-inch pipe for a wastewater treatment plant in Mexico.

All these projects require an in-depth knowledge of American Water Works Association recommendations and the unique ability to merge client requirements with creative solutions through fabrication. Together, David Hatfield and his son Gabe, president of OK Pipe, arranged efficient processes for the development of high-quality fittings developed specifically to satisfy project needs.

“Not only have we purchased the machinery to start rolling pipe and reducers, but we’re in the process of installing equipment to offer on-site ultrasonic testing, an added value that our customers need,” said Gabe Hatfield. “We’ll be able to test anything with a diameter of over 6 inches without the expense of hiring an outside company, as well as cutting the lead time.”

Now located in Moscow, Texas in a shop four times bigger than when it began, the company’s daily operations are overseen by Plant Manager John Flanigan, who has celebrated 17 years with the company, along with Quality Assurance Manager Matthew Donley, a Level 2 UT technician.