The Piping Connection, an industrial-PVF buying and marketing cooperative formed in mid-1997, has joined forces with C.L. Watt, its counterpart for plumbing, heating and air conditioning distributors. Of The Piping Connection's 17 members, 14 have joined 12 existing Watt members to form its new industrial-PVF division. The other three The Piping Connection members were already associated with similar organizations, said Ed Murphy, vice president and general manager of C.L. Watt.
The appeal of the merger to The Piping Connection members was C.L. Watt's history of successful vendor relationships and marketing strategies, said Kip Miller, president of The Piping Connection and of Eastern Industrial Supply, Greenville, S.C. Discussions of the merger began in February 1999.