“Today, Victaulic offers complete, start-to-finish piping solutions that can be found at work the world over - safely moving large volumes of wet and dry mediums in commercial, plumbing and HVAC systems; industrial applications; fire protection systems; oilfield and mining operations; and at municipal water and wastewater treatment plants,” he noted.

The concept of joining pipe with a mechanical bolted coupling that would engage into grooves and feature a gasket seal originated during World War I for rapid deployment of fuel and water to Allied forces. The company that worked closely with the War Department of England to develop piping systems for hydraulics was named the Victory Pipe Joint Co. after the coupling it had engineered - known as the “victory joint” from early military uses. Several years later, in 1925, the Victaulic Co. - named by combining the words “victory” and “hydraulic” - was formed to market the concept of mechanical joining to the commercial piping industry.

Throughout the 20th century, Victaulic perfected the grooved-end pipe joining method, expanded its market reach and grew to its current global status as a worldwide leader in mechanical pipe joining systems. During this time, Victaulic has pioneered a host of innovative technologies that are now considered industry standards:

• In 1925, Victaulic introduced the grooved-end piping system for above-ground waterworks, oil production and mining applications, offering a fast, safe, flexible and reliable pipe joining solution that has spread across the globe and today serves the special needs of dozens of industries.

• Victaulic introduced the first Vic Groover tools in 1946. Light, portable and patterned after conventional threading machines, Vic Groovers took grooving from the big Landis shop tools and lathes into the field, allowing cutting and grooving on-site.

• The 1940s also saw the introduction of the Victaulic Roust-A-Bout coupling for plain-end pipe. This innovation required no pipe-end preparation, and improved speed and ease by requiring nothing more than a wrench for assembly. The design used a broader-than-standard housing and a wide gasket that could accommodate movement of the pipe, as specific torque pressure forced the coupling to clamp onto the outside diameter of the pipe creating the joint.

• Victaulic was the first grooved pipe manufacturer to enter the fire protection market. In 1952, Victaulic received UL approval for its grooved system of couplings and fittings that has now replaced threading as the standard for fire protection pipe joining.

• In the early 1950s, Victaulic developed Vic-Easy roll grooving tools, which brought the efficiencies of grooved couplings out of the realm of heavier wall pipe such as Schedule 40 and into the lighter wall pipe used in vital applications such as fire protection.

• In 2004, Victaulic formed NVent, LLC , a new joint venture with NIBCO Inc., to offer PermaLynx, the industry's first push-to-connect, no-flame, permanent joining system for 1/2-inch through 2-inch copper tube.