Once in a prime uptown spot, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry opens $460M plant in Stanly County

Chase Jordan
·2 min read
Charlotte Pipe and Foundry property near the intersection of S. Clarkson Street and W. Morehead St. near Bank of America Stadium. The company was offered $35 million by local governments in Stanly County to move its plant there from uptown Charlotte.

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company, one of the city’s oldest businesses, celebrated the grand opening of a $460 million facility Thursday in Oakboro.

The business operated a cast iron foundry in uptown for more than 100 years. Its new, state-of-the-art foundry is 35 miles away on 700 acres in Stanly County. Charlotte Pipe makes cast iron, plastic pipe and fittings for plumbing applications.

The company’s former 55-acre plant at South Clarkson Street and West Summit Avenue is near Bank of America Stadium. It has long been considered a potential site for a new stadium for the Carolina Panthers.

Bradford Muller, a Charlotte Pipe spokesman, said the company does not have any immediate plans for the property, which is almost vacant of employees. CBRE is helping the company put the site on the market for a potential buyer.

Charlotte Pipe’s board of directors decided in April 2019 to relocate, and the move to Oakboro was announced in 2020.

Roddey Dowd Jr., vice chairman for the company’s board of directors, said the new location is one of the most technologically advanced foundries in the world.

“While our uptown Charlotte location has provided stakeholders with a solid platform to deliver outstanding results, our new Oakboro Foundry will allow a more efficient layout of our plant and equipment and give us the flexibility to expand to meet future needs,” Dowd said in a news release.

CEO Hooper Hardison said the move was a strategic one to improve production so the company can continue service for the next 100 years. He also said it will open a new window of economic growth for Stanly County.

“Even better, the region is already home to many of the Company’s associates who will benefit from reduced commute times and increased amenities within their work environment,” Hardison added.

The Oakboro plant started operations in early September, with more than 530 employees. Another 500 construction workers were in Oakboro for three years prior, working to open the site.

Charlotte Pipe invested $58 million in the plant’s environmental system and controls, which includes a 70,000-megawatt substation — enough to power 70,000 houses. A rail spur was added to connect to a short railway in central North Carolina.

Founded in 1901, the Charlotte-based company has seven plants across the U.S. Its subsidiary Neenah Enterprises, Inc. is based in Wisconsin and operates three municipal casting plants in the country.