As seen in the Tried & True Summer 2025 issue
The town of Fort Payne might not have been on many people’s radar. It wasn’t on Fratco’s either—at first. “We were actually looking at somewhere adjacent to our current manufacturing footprint,” recalls Bill Champion, Fratco’s COO. “But the South had just blown up for us. People were paying freight just to get our pipe down there.”
And that’s when everything shifted.
The Pivot: Going South with Purpose
Fratco’s leadership had long been eyeing expansion. But the team, led by Chris Overmyer, Craig Douglass and Bill Champion, realized something about the Southeast: it wasn’t just growing—it was changing.
“For years, the concrete industry owned that market,” Bill explains. “You didn’t see a lot of plastic pipe in public works and transportation projects. But now, the cost factors and advancements in the plastic pipe industry have made it impossible to ignore.”
That realization led to a full pivot in search parameters—and ultimately, to a small but promising town with big potential.
Site Search: Data Meets Dirt Roads
Enter Jason Lingenfelter, Fratco’s Project Manager and logistics mastermind. His task: identify the best possible site for a brand-new facility. That meant digging into more than dirt. “We started with 21 sites across Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama,” Jason says. “Every site had two pages of data: tax rates, utilities, access to infrastructure and proximity to major cities. We looked at it all.”
He built detailed maps and dynamic spreadsheets, each link clickable and backed by real-world walk-throughs.
At one point, Chris and I were flying in and walking 30-acre sites on foot. He wanted to feel the ground himself.”
Eventually, Fort Payne checked every box—utilities, road access, workforce potential, an exceptional community and state-level incentives that were impossible to match.
Local Help for Local Success
The State of Alabama was ready, and the city of Fort Payne was very welcoming. “The people were great, but the process was new to all of us,” Bill says. “We were the first economic development project of a larger magnitude that fell under Alabama’s new economic development statute from 2021. We all had to learn how to navigate it.”
Jason adds, “There were about 32 people involved—city attorneys, councils, clerks, developers. Getting everyone on the same page took time.” The city of Fort Payne worked hard to make sure all the t’s were crossed and i’s were dotted. So, by mid-2025, Fratco will be pouring concrete.
With help from Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT), Fratco will have a fully-trained team ready before the first pipe rolls off the line. “They’re sending a film crew to Francesville to build custom training modules based on our real operations,” Jason says. “They’ll handle drug testing, interviews and even ongoing education. And it’s all at no cost to us.”
Built The Fratco Way
Unlike a few of Fratco’s other facilities that were retrofitted from existing buildings, the Fort Payne plant is being built from scratch—around the machinery itself. “We’ve learned from our other plants,” Jason explains. “This time, we’re designing for ideal flow, access and long-term scalability.”
The 42,000 square foot facility will house a mix of cutting-edge and proven equipment: a Unicor UC5XX and a refurbished Corma Corrugator with room to add a Unicor UC1800 at a later date. The facility will begin by producing pipe from 3 inches up to 18 inches: SingleCorr (3 to 15 inches), SmoothCorr (4 to 18 inches), ProCorr (12 to 18 inches) and FlexCorr (4 to 15 inches). After the UC1800 is added, it will include 24- to 48-inch SmoothCorr and ProCorr pipe in its Alabama-manufactured lineup.
They are not cutting any corners with this new plant. “Just the gravel bill to prep the yard is close to a million dollars,” Jason says. “And that’s before we wire the building—electrical estimates are also pushing seven figures.” The site contains 32 acres with room to grow—and outside storage already factored in, a major lesson learned from earlier facilities.
A New Team with Old Values
Fratco won’t just be bringing pipe to Fort Payne—it’s bringing along its quintessential culture, too. “This isn’t your standard corporation,” Jason says. “Fratco’s been around 100 years for a reason. It’s the way we treat employees and customers—like family.”
With the help of the AIDT, the plant is expected to start with around 50 to 60 employees, including drivers, office staff and production workers. Fratco is prepared to offer all the perks to these new employees, including tuition assistance and an above-average starting pay for the region.
Why This Helps Everyone
Fratco’s move into Alabama might raise a few eyebrows among long-time Midwest customers—but the truth is, this growth helps everyone.
“This gives us redundancy,” Bill says. “It’s security for our existing customers. If a machine goes down in Iowa, we don’t have to scramble. And it frees up our Midwest facilities to serve their own regions better.” Jason agrees,
We’re shipping huge volumes of pipe south right now. Getting this plant online relieves that pressure. It improves efficiency everywhere.”
This intentional redundancy allows Fratco to ensure that all of their customers have the supplies they need to make their businesses a success—the quintessential trademark of the water management industry, teamwork.
What Comes Next
If Fort Payne is any indication, Fratco’s future includes more strategic growth, not just in square footage, but in how the company expands. It’s about building smarter—not just bigger. As the foundation is poured in Fort Payne, one thing is clear: Fratco’s growth isn’t just measured in miles or machines—but with care and attention to ultimately push the limits of service and quality.
