About Mueller Industries

Mueller Industries, Inc. operates as a manufacturer of copper, brass, aluminum, and plastic products. The range of products the company manufactures is broad: copper tube and fittings; line sets; PEX plastic tube and fittings; steel nipples; brass rod, bar, and shapes; aluminum and brass forgings; aluminum impact extrusions; compressed gas valves; refrigeration valves and fittings; pressure vessels; coaxial heat exchangers; and insulated flexible duct systems. The company also resells brass and plastic plumbing valves, plastic fittings, malleable iron fittings, faucets, and plumbing specialty products. Its operations are located throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, South Korea, the Middle East, and China. New housing starts and commercial construction are important determinants of the company’s sales to the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and plumbing markets because the principal end use of a significant portion of the company’s products is in the construction of single and multi-family housing and commercial buildings. Repairs and remodeling projects are also important drivers of underlying demand for these products. In addition, the company’s products are used in various transportation, automotive, and industrial applications. Segments The company operates through Piping Systems, Industrial Metals, and Climate segments. Piping Systems The Piping Systems segment is composed of Domestic Piping Systems Group, Great Lakes Copper (Great Lakes), Heatlink Group, European Operations, Trading Group, Jungwoo Metal Ind. Co., LTD (Jungwoo-Mueller), and Mueller Middle East BSC (Mueller Middle East). The Domestic Piping Systems Group manufactures and distributes copper tube, fittings, line sets, and pipe nipples, and resells steel pipe, brass and plastic plumbing valves, malleable iron fittings and faucets, and plumbing specialties. These products are manufactured in the U.S., sold in the U.S., and exported to markets worldwide. The company’s copper tube ranges in size from 1/8 inch to 8 1/8 inch diameter and is sold in various straight lengths and coils. The company is a market leader in the plumbing, air-conditioning and refrigeration service tube markets. The company also supplies a variety of water tube in straight lengths and coils used for plumbing applications in virtually every type of construction project. The company’s copper fittings, line sets, and related components are produced for the plumbing and heating industry to be used in water distribution systems, heating systems, air-conditioning, and refrigeration applications, and drainage, waste, and vent systems. Great Lakes manufactures copper tube and line sets in Canada and sells the products primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Heatlink Group manufactures a complete line of products for PEX plumbing and radiant systems in Canada and sells these products in Canada and the U.S. European Operations manufactures copper tube in the United Kingdom, which is sold throughout Europe. The Trading Group manufactures steel pipe nipples and resells brass and plastic plumbing valves, malleable iron fittings, faucets, and plumbing specialty products to plumbing wholesalers, distributors to the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries, and building materials retailers in North America. Jungwoo-Mueller, the company’s South Korean joint venture, manufactures copper-based joining products that are sold worldwide. Mueller Middle East, the company’s Bahraini joint venture, manufactures copper tube and serves markets in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The segment sells products to wholesalers in the plumbing and refrigeration markets, distributors to the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries, building material retailers, and air-conditioning original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It markets primarily through its own sales and distribution organization, which maintains sales offices and distribution centers throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, South Korea, and the Middle East. Additionally, products are sold and marketed through a complement of agents, which, when combined with the company’s sales organization, provide the company broad geographic market representation. The company competes with various companies, depending on the product line. In the U.S. copper tube business, domestic competition includes Cerro Flow Products LLC and Cambridge-Lee Industries LLC (a subsidiary of Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V.). In the copper fittings market, the company’s domestic competitors include Elkhart Products Company (a subsidiary of Aalberts Industries N.V.) and NIBCO, Inc. Industrial Metals The Industrial Metals segment is composed of Brass Rod, Impacts & Micro Gauge, Brass Value-Added Products, and Precision Tube. Brass Rod manufactures a broad range of brass rod and shapes in a variety of standard and lead-free alloys sold primarily to OEMs in the industrial, HVAC, plumbing, and refrigeration industries. The company extrudes brass, bronze, and copper alloy rod in sizes ranging from 3/8 inches to 4 inches in diameter. These alloys are used in applications that require a high degree of machinability, wear and corrosion resistance, as well as electrical conductivity. Impacts & Micro Gauge manufactures cold-form aluminum and copper products for automotive, industrial, and recreational components, as well as high-volume machining of aluminum, steel, brass, and cast iron impacts and castings for automotive applications. It sells its products primarily to OEMs in the U.S., serving the automotive, military ordnance, aerospace, and general manufacturing industries. Typical applications for impacts are high strength ordnance, high-conductivity electrical components, builders’ hardware, hydraulic systems, automotive parts, and other uses where toughness must be combined with varying complexities of design and finish. Brass Value-Added Products manufactures brass and aluminum forgings; brass, aluminum, and stainless steel valves; fluid control solutions; and gas train assembles. The company’s forgings are used in a wide variety of products, including automotive components, brass fittings, industrial machinery, valve bodies, gear blanks, and computer hardware. The company’s valves, fluid control systems, and gas train assemblies are used in the compressed gas, pharmaceutical, construction, and gas appliance markets. Precision Tube manufactures specialty copper, copper alloy, and aluminum tube. The segment sells its products primarily to domestic OEMs in the industrial, construction, HVAC, plumbing, and refrigeration markets. Competitors, primarily in the brass rod market, include Wieland Chase, LLC, a subsidiary of Wieland-Werke AG, and several foreign manufacturers. Climate The Climate segment is composed of Refrigeration Products, Westermeyer Industries, Inc. (Westermeyer), Turbotec Products, Inc. (Turbotec), Flex Duct, and Linesets, Inc. Refrigeration Products designs and manufactures valves, protection devices, and brass fittings for various OEMs in the commercial HVAC and refrigeration markets. Westermeyer designs, manufactures, and distributes high-pressure components and accessories for the air-conditioning and refrigeration markets. Turbotec manufactures coaxial heat exchangers and twisted tubes for the HVAC, geothermal, refrigeration, swimming pool heat pump, marine, ice machine, commercial boiler, and heat reclamation markets. Flex Duct, which consists of ATCO Rubber Products, Inc. (ATCO) and H&C Flex, manufactures and distributes insulated HVAC flexible duct systems. The segment sells predominantly to wholesalers and OEMs in the HVAC and refrigeration markets in the U.S. Seasonality The company’s net sales typically moderate in the fourth quarter (year ended December 2022) as a result of the seasonal construction markets and customer shutdowns for holidays, year-end plant maintenance, and physical inventory counts. Also, the company’s working capital typically increases in the first quarter in preparation for the construction season. History Mueller Industries, Inc. was founded in 1917. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1990.