It is pretty rare to see a private, family-owned company reach fourth-generation leadership, much less fifth.
For more than a century — 120 years to be exact — the Dowd family has led Charlotte, North Carolina-based pipe and fitting manufacturer Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. Built by W. Frank Dowd in 1901, the original foundry in Charlotte employed 25 men and produced cast iron soil pipe and fittings. Since that time, the manufacturer has grown through four generations of Dowd family executives and has expanded its product lines to include plastic pipe and fittings, commercial castings and more; the company is the only manufacturer of both cast iron and plastic plumbing systems.