Tried & True

We want you to feel like a part of our family and get to know the whole Fratco community! That’s why we created Tried & True–a publication that talks about all things Fratco. We celebrate our employees, recognize our loyal customers and educate about water management solutions.

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Our Stories

Family photo in field

Family: The Foundation for Success

Contractor Spotlight, Feature

Although lawns do not require as much care in cooler months as they do in spring, summer and fall, winter weather doesn’t mean completely ignoring your yard. For grass that’s spring-time ready, here are a few steps you can take …

Lawn of suburban house

Lawn Prep Now, Green Grass Later

Feature, General Editorial

Although lawns do not require as much care in cooler months as they do in spring, summer and fall, winter weather doesn’t mean completely ignoring your yard. For grass that’s spring-time ready, here are a few steps you can take …

2 men surveying field

Next Gen Farming

Feature, General Editorial

For new farmers looking to invest in land, the task can feel daunting. Pressures abound, like finding the perfect plot, the purchase price, competing with those who have deeper pockets in a volatile market, creating a solid business plan to …

Close-up of soccer ball with kids playing in the background

Under the Turf

Feature, General Editorial

for participants and fans. Not every weekend in the stands is filled with sunshine. Rain delays happen, but canceled events due to water-logged fields don’t have to. From iconic stadiums to Little League baseball diamonds, having the right pipe in …

Vintage photo of pipe installation

Sharing a Commitment to Service & Quality

Contractor Spotlight, Feature

In the mid-1980s, two brothers invested $2,700 in a tile machine and a dream. By 1990, they officially incorporated Johnston Land Improvement, which over the past three decades has grown into a booming business in Victoria, Illinois. Specializing in drainage …

Meet Brandon Herron

Employee Spotlight, Feature

Coworkers that feel more like family than business associates are a common theme among Fratco employees. Brandon Herron echoes that sentiment, proudly serving as the Mount Pleasant location’s plant manager.

New Fratco Spaces & Places

Feature, General Editorial

When you work in manufacturing, adding extra sunshine into the day makes everything brighter. That was one of the ambitious goals Fratco brought to the design table when planning the new employee break room at its Francesville location. Wrapped in …

Meet Willie Parish

Employee Spotlight, Feature

Since 1987, Willie Parish has been part of the Fratco family. Recently promoted to Manufacturing Superintendent, Willie began where so many start their careers at the four-generation strong business. “What did I do previously?” he laughs, recalling all the stops …

Sentimental Journey

Contractor Spotlight, Feature

Pennsylvania civic leader Dr. Benjamin Rush was a physician, politician, humanitarian, educator and one of the historymakers who helped pen then added his signature to the Declaration of Independence. Born in 1746, Dr. Rush was the figurehead Rush County and …

Dry Spell

Feature, General Editorial

Farming seems like a pretty simple process, right? Till the soil, plant seeds, nurture plants and, finally, it’s harvest time. If farming were that easy, growers would be delighted, and their yields would thrive no matter the climate, weather or …

Farm & Family

Feature, General Editorial

For decades, Hollywood has shaped our view of agriculture through their storytelling lenses of what rural farm-living looks like. If you loved Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert’s 1965 sitcom Green Acres, then you witnessed a socialite uprooted from NYC when …

Greener Fairways & Good Deeds

Feature, General Editorial

When it comes to golf course planning, a developer’s focus is location, location, location. For landscape architects and contractors creating a scenically manicured 18 hole experience, their mantra is drainage, drainage, drainage.

Growing Hometown Roots with Eads & Son Bulldozing

Contractor Spotlight, Feature

The Wabash River snakes through a series of towns and cities that generations of Midwestern families have called home. Where it branches into the Salamonie River, you’ll find Lagro, Indiana. Founded in 1835, Lagro is a cozy community made up …

2021 Trends

Feature, General Editorial

Agriculture’s influence is global. Local and international growers and producers have a strong voice that sets the industry’s tone for the year. From career changes to choosing new crops to invest in, here are trends to keep an eye on …

New to Fratco – The UC 5XX

Feature, General Editorial

The UC 5XX is a marvel in corrugated pipe manufacturing. Compatible with the wide range of products Fratco offers our customers, this machine can pivot production quickly and easily, cutting turnaround time in half. It also gives Fratco total control …

Growing Beer

Feature, General Editorial

Within our global economy, proximity partnerships have always been an agribusiness mainstay. Remaining hyperlocal doesn’t apply just to restaurateurs seeking freshly-sourced ingredients for an authentic farm-to-table experience. The same benefits apply to brewers desiring the only best ingredients for their …

Opportunity Knocks

Contractor Spotlight, Feature

Ty Sparrow learned at a young age that when opportunity knocks to quickly open the door before the moment might pass him by. Ty, the owner of Dirt Works Drainage & Excavation LLC, was born with an entrepreneurial spirit. As …

Meet Chad Nicholson

Employee Spotlight, Feature

Chad Nicholson could be defined by many outstanding numbers. Nineteen years with Fratco. Three regions served. One unfailing passion for helping customers. But working at Fratco, Chad doesn’t feel like just a number— he feels like part of the family.

Managing Stress in the World of Farming

Feature, General Editorial

Farmers feed the world. From sunrise to sunset, they care for the land, tend to animals, and work hard to maintain what they steward. Pressures can mount when you consider what providing food for the planet means. From readying crops …

Conquering Wide-Open Spaces: Maxwell Farm Drainage

Contractor Spotlight, Feature

When you consider the storied history of Bart Maxwell’s family, the slogan for his hometown of Crawfordsville, Indiana says it all: “Small City…Big Possibilities.” Forty-nine miles west of the state capital and home to Wabash College, Crawfordsville was founded in …

Meet Jackie Sanchez

Employee Spotlight, Feature

If you ask Jackie Sanchez what she loves most about working at Fratco, there is no hesitation in her response: “Things are different around here every day. One day? Chaotic. The next? Quiet and calm. I like that,” Sanchez laughs.

Fratco Adds Second Unicor UC 1800 Corrugator

Feature, General Editorial

Fratco is pleased to announce our manufacturing capacity has reached new heights with the addition of a second Unicor UC 1800 corrugator to our production line. Unicor’s UC 1800 produces corrugated pipe with an inside diameter between 18” and 60”. …

It’s a Family Affair: Jim & Wendy Jett

Contractor Spotlight, Feature

Just south of Sandusky Bay’s shores along Lake Erie lies the city of Clyde. A cozy area in Northern Ohio that served as the inspiration for a collection of short stories penned in 1919 by Sherwood Anderson and whose tree-lined …

Meet Cheryl Owens

Employee Spotlight, Feature

After starting her career 28 years ago and now serving as the Francesville first-shift supervisor, few know Fratco as well as Cheryl Owens. Speaking of her time with the company, one word comes up over and over again: family.

Redefining Resiliency

Feature, General Editorial

Farmers feed the world. From sunrise to sunset, they care for the land, tend to animals, and work hard to maintain what they steward. Pressures can mount when you consider what providing food for the planet means. From readying crops …

ASTM F3390 Standard

Feature, General Editorial

Recently, ASTM International announced that F3390 is the new standard for 3 through 24-inch lined, flexible, corrugated pipe used for land drainage applications. This specification covers all requirements and test methods. The importance of our products exceeding expectations and regulations …

Grow More. Use Less.

Feature, General Editorial

We are the caretakers of our natural resources; they’re essential for survival. The two at the very top of the list are soil and water. Let’s talk about soil for a moment. It’s what we move to install pipe, enrich …

Better Together

Contractor Spotlight, Feature

It’s a known fact that Fratco would not be here without its loyal customers. This is a sentiment expressed by employees across every location. But sometimes, the inverse is true, and Fratco is able to make an equally profound impact …

Meet Stacie Baccam

Employee Spotlight, Feature

Creating an efficient and productive workflow is a team effort and at Fratco, one important member plays a key role. Stacie Baccam is an operations manager at Fratco’s Mt. Pleasant, Iowa location and has fulfilled this role since September of …

ADMC: Building a Brighter Future

Feature, General Editorial

In a world where the conservation of resources is becoming increasingly important, supporting the mission of experts is going to be the key to ecosystem productivity, wildlife survival, environmental biodiversity and, in the drainage realm, farming success. The Agricultural Drainage …

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