Ipswich, Massachusetts-based United Pipe & Steel and Houston, Texas-based Merfish Pipe & Supply announced they are combining under Merfish Pipe Holdings, an entity that is majority owned by One Equity Partners.

Both companies are recent recipients of the Supply House Times PVF Ring of Honor award.

Merfish, founded in 1920, is a master distributor of carbon steel welded and seamless pipe as well as carbon steel fittings and flanges, serving distributors across the United States through its five locations in Houston, New Jersey, Florida, Southern California and northern California.

Founded in 1980, United Pipe & Steel is a master distributor of carbon steel standard pipe, copper tube, PVC pipe, electrical conduit and related products. It distributes this diverse set of products from 12 locations strategically located throughout the United States in Ipswich; Easton, Pennsylvania; Elyria, Ohio; Franklin, Indiana; Loves Park, Illinois; Burlington, North Carolina; Corsicana, Texas; Topeka, Kansas; Birmingham, Alabama; Apopka, Florida; Rialto, California and Stockton, California.

United Pipe & Steel CEO Greg Leidner will assume the role of CEO of Merfish Pipe Holdings. Current Merfish CEO Gerald Merfish has been named chairman of Merfish Pipe Holdings. Gerlad Merfish remains an investor in Merfish Pipe Holdings and Leidner also has invested in Merfish Pipe Holdings with One Equity Partners.

"Our new partnership with United Pipe and Steel is synergistic and will create the largest master distributor of standard pipe products in the United States,” Merfish said.

Leidner added: “We are pleased to join with Merfish Pipe & Supply.Together, we will continue to develop ways to enhance the supply chain for our suppliers and customers, while providing employees with meaningful and rewarding opportunities to develop professionally. This is a new and exciting chapter for Merfish Pipe & Supply/United Pipe & Steel, our employees, our customers and our vendors.”

Leidner continued by saying that customers of both United and Merfish will continue to receive “uninterrupted, industry-best service,” including:

• More than 270 weekly dedicated regular milk-run deliveries on its 65-vehicle fleet of trucks, the most of any master distributor in the United States, he noted.

• Access to a unique assortment of products, which when combined, allows a customer to easily achieve full freight-allowed minimum weight requirements.

• Scheduled deliveries to jobsites or supply houses to wherever the distributor desires from our combined 17 distribution centers strategically located throughout the U.S.

• An offering that includes a deep and wide range of pipe products, including domestic and imported carbon steel pipe, plastic pipe, copper tube, electrical conduit and related products, ”so wholesale distributors can buy what they need, when they need it,” Leidner said.

Customers can get more information by calling their sales representative at each respective company or at unitedpipe.com/FAQ and merfish.com/FAQ.