Acquisition enhances Oatey’s product offering and capabilities Cleveland — Oatey Co., a leader in the plumbing industry since 1916, announced the acquisition of certain assets of The Keeney Manufacturing Company based in Newington, Connecticut. The transaction includes Keeney’s plastic injection molding operation in Winchester, New Hampshire; its distribution facilities in Buford, Georgia and Sparks, Nevada Read more
Industry News
Acquisition enhances Oatey’s product offering and capabilities
Cleveland — Oatey Co., a leader in the plumbing industry since 1916, announced the acquisition of certain assets of The Keeney Manufacturing Company based in Newington, Connecticut. The transaction includes Keeney’s plastic injection molding operation in Winchester, New Hampshire; its distribution facilities in Buford, Georgia and Sparks, Nevada; and the stock of Keeney’s two international subsidiaries, Tubular Industries of Canada Ltd. and KMC (Jiangmen) Co. Ltd. Substantially all of Keeney’s employees, including those located in Newington, Connecticut, will be joining the Oatey family of companies as part of the transaction.
For more than 96 years, Keeney has been a leading manufacturer and distributor of plastic and brass tubular products, sink repair parts, strainers, toilet repair parts, faucets and other plumbing products. Its products are sold under the Keeney®, Plumb Pak® and Belanger® brand names through retail and wholesale channels.
According to Neal Restivo, CEO of Oatey, “The acquisition of Keeney enables us to provide our customers with an even greater breadth of products and adds the highly recognized and trusted Keeney®, Plumb Pak® and Belanger® brand names to our product offerings. This transaction also significantly enhances our plastic and brass manufacturing capabilities and provides us with additional plastic injection molding capacity in the U.S.”
Keeney will continue to operate as a stand-alone business. The longer-term plan is to integrate the Keeney business in a manner that will leverage both companies’ capabilities. For more information, visit www.oatey.com or www.keeneymfg.com.
Owatonna, Minnesota—The 14th annual Safety First! Contractor of the Year Award was presented to Dan Bonetti of Castro Valley, CA. Federated Insurance presented the award on October 4 at the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling-Contractors–National Association’s PHCCCONNECT2019 national convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana. The annual Safety First! Award recognizes a PHCC contractor who utilizes Federated’s resources to effectively implement Read more
Owatonna, Minnesota—The 14th annual Safety First! Contractor of the Year Award was presented to Dan Bonetti of Castro Valley, CA. Federated Insurance presented the award on October 4 at the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling-Contractors–National Association’s PHCCCONNECT2019 national convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The annual Safety First! Award recognizes a PHCC contractor who utilizes Federated’s resources to effectively implement sound risk management practices. Hundreds of clients are eligible each year to receive this prestigious honor, but Frank Bonetti Plumbing’s vigilant approach to employee safety distinguished them from their peers.

Image courtesy of Federated Insurance
Central to Frank Bonetti Plumbing’s many safety-related best practices is a written safety manual that outlines both employer and employee responsibilities, policies and procedures. This culture is reinforced during employee safety meetings and are consistent with their commitment to risk management practices that include driver motor vehicle record screening and monitoring, and promoting a drug-free environment. Jobsite safety inspections are also priority.
A PHCC member for almost 50 years, company vice-president and Dan Bonetti is quick to acknowledge the role Federated Insurance plays in his company’s success, “Federated’s resources help us achieve our goal of providing a safe working environment for all our employees.”
Congratulations to Frank Bonetti Plumbing for earning the 2019 Contractor of the Year award through their diligent attention to Safety First!

Thursday, Nov. 21 12 noon – 1:00 p.m. CST Ready or not, here comes the snow and ice season. Is your hydronic snow and ice melting (SIM) system ready-to-go? Do you have a design in mind, but need assistance with the final details? Returning to the webinar series, Max Rohr will dig into hydronic SIM systems Read more
Thursday, Nov. 21
12 noon – 1:00 p.m. CST
Ready or not, here comes the snow and ice season. Is your hydronic snow and ice melting (SIM) system ready-to-go? Do you have a design in mind, but need assistance with the final details? Returning to the webinar series, Max Rohr will dig into hydronic SIM systems, chip away at important design considerations and challenge you with questions to ask yourself when selecting controls.
You’ll learn:
→ How do I size a SIM system? What resources are available?
→ What is the SIM project objective: safety or convenience?
→ Should you use insulation under a SIM slab?
→ How do I keep my SIM system in top-notch shape?
Max is a graduate of the University of Utah. He currently serves as the REHAU Academy Manager (Leesburg, Va.). Max is a self-described hydronics and thermostat nerd. He has worked in the hydronics and solar industries for 20 years (or however many years Hot Rod is willing to admit to the Division of Child Labor) in the installation, sales and manufacturing sectors.

Coffee with Caleffi technical training webinars are free and intended for contractors, designers and wholesalers. By submitting your webinar registration, you are consenting to email communications to keep you up-to-date on industry news. A Certificate of Attendance is emailed to attendees following the webinar.
If you have questions on webinar content, please direct them to bob.rohr@caleffi.com.
Zurn Industries, LLC recognizes Dave Texter as the first-ever Specifier of the Year recipient. The annual contest, sponsored by inSpec, powered by Zurn, ran from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30. Nearly 20 American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) members submitted how they use a digital technology to automate and enhance the plumbing specification process Read more
Zurn Industries, LLC recognizes Dave Texter as the first-ever Specifier of the Year recipient. The annual contest, sponsored by inSpec, powered by Zurn, ran from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30.
Nearly 20 American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) members submitted how they use a digital technology to automate and enhance the plumbing specification process. From there, the contest panel selected the recipient based on the members’ written entries.
“The only way to enrich and streamline the specification process is to understand the challenges professionals face each day, recognize what capabilities help the most and apply that insight to develop digital solutions that help simplify the process,” said David Krohn, Zurn’s Director of eCommerce and Digital Specifications. “Dave Texter secured the first annual Specifier of the Year for his wealth of insight. Dave’s essay not only demonstrated process simplification through digital tools, it took it a step further by explaining how it relates to a designer or engineer’s job. On behalf of the inSpec panel, congratulations, Dave, and a special thank you to all the plumbing engineers who entered the contest.”
Dave Texter received the honor Oct. 24, in Pittsburgh, PA at the ASPE Tech Symposium. The inSpec contest will be held again in 2020.
Irvine, Calif. — Navien’s new premium non-condensing (NPN) tankless water heaters are being installed almost as quickly as they are shipped. Currently available in a universal indoor/outdoor model (NPN-Universal) in sizes 180,000 BTU/H and 199,900 BTU/H or an exterior, outdoor only model (NPN-Exterior) in sizes 180,000 BTU/H and 199,900 BTU/H. The NPN is available for order Read more
Irvine, Calif. — Navien’s new premium non-condensing (NPN) tankless water heaters are being installed almost as quickly as they are shipped. Currently available in a universal indoor/outdoor model (NPN-Universal) in sizes 180,000 BTU/H and 199,900 BTU/H or an exterior, outdoor only model (NPN-Exterior) in sizes 180,000 BTU/H and 199,900 BTU/H. The NPN is available for order now.

To learn more about NPN series non-condensing tankless water heaters, visit Navieninc.com.