U.S. Pipe Chattanooga plant to close, will transfer production to Mueller operations.

Walter Industries Inc., Tampa, Fla., will close the Chattanooga, Tenn., metalcasting facility of its subsidiary, U.S. Pipe and Foundry Co., within the next year. The announcement came in the wake of Waiter's acquisition of Mueller Water Products in October, in which U.S. Pipe and Mueller formed Waiter's Water Products business.

As a result, U.S. Pipe will transfer its valve and hydrant production to Mueller's Chattanooga and Albertville, Ala., plants by the end of the year, while the closure of the U.S. Pipe facility will occur in 2006.

All of U.S. Pipe's 345 employees are affected by the announcement. More than 100 employees are expected to remain with the company's large fittings production until alternative production capability for a portion of the business is finalized. Opportunities will be made available at Mueller's Chattanooga plant or other U.S. Pipe facilities for some of the remaining 240-plus employees

Walter officials said the move supports the company's goal of capturing substantial benefits by integrating Mueller and U.S. Pipe into the Water Products business. In October, Walter announced a plan to undertake an initial public stock offering and spin-off the Water Products business to unlock shareholder value by creating a "pure play" water infrastructure company.