trades

RIDGID® introduces its most powerful drum machine, the K-4310 FXP™ Drum Machine with a new cable counter that provides real-time, in-pipe cable distance for faster locating and diagnostics. Ideal for residential and commercial plumbing and drain cleaning projects, its powerful Brushless DCMotor spins at 230 RPM and provides long-lasting runtime, with less required maintenance.Clearing3″to 10″lines, the K-4310FXPis powered by RIDGID’s new FXP Technology Platform that lets users switch between battery and power adapter (in development) for maximum versatility.

The CableCounter feature helps professionals know where the cable is in the line as they are clearing blockages. The cable distance tracking feature allows professionals to always know where their equipment is located within the line, simplifying cleaning. The unit’s enclosed quick-change drum is easily removed, allowing for easier setup and transport, while the rotating inner drum efficiently dispenses cable and reduces the chance of cable flip over. Integrated AUTOFEED® Technology advances and retrieves cable up to 28 feet per minute with zero tools required for setup.

To purchase or learn more about theK-4310 and the entire line of drain cleaning solutions, visit RIDGID.com

Pfister® Faucets, a trusted leader in the plumbing industry since 1910, is kicking off Season 4 of American Plumber Stories, a popular docuseries that features the lives of plumbers throughout the U.S. A new generation is seeing the plumbing trades with new eyes. Now, in its fourth season, the wildly successful American Plumber Stories docuseries will highlight stories of building the workforce, told by young plumbers whose lives are being changed in phenomenal ways by the plumbing trade.

‘Young Guns,’ featuring Fulmer Plumbing out of South Carolina, premiers September 5.

American Plumber Stories aims to promote the plumbing trade to the next generation of professionals. The show highlights the stories of plumbers around the nation including how they got started in the plumbing trade and the passion they have for their profession. These stories show how they built a career that allows them to lead financially rewarding and fulfilling lives.

Over the past year, the docuseries built up a large following in the plumbing industry who passionately supports the mission that Pfister® Faucets, the creator of the docuseries, is pursuing. From plumbing businesses, plumbing product manufacturers to industry associations, many were inspired to join forces to turn American Plumber Stories into the movement it has become today.

‘Plumb Market,’ featuring Petri Plumbing out of New York, premiers September 25.

RIDGID, who has been instrumental as a partner since Season 2, will be joined by four new partners in Season 4, manufacturing leaders Oatey, Cintas, A. O. Smith, and State Water Heaters. These partnerships provide a tremendous footprint to distribute American Plumber Stories episodes on their high-reach social media platforms and to promote the docuseries at their trade show booths across the country.

“RIDGID is celebrating our 100-year anniversary this year, and we’ve had a lot of fun sharing stories with plumbers from the past, present and future. American Plumber Stories, and the work Pfister® Faucets is doing with this program, have helped a wider audience hear stories like these, and get to know and appreciate the hard work that goes into this profession. We’re excited to continue to support this show and its mission,” says Becky Brotherton, Director of Brand & Engagement Marketing, RIDGID.

Mechanical Hub, the largest independent plumbing-focused online resource platform, is collaborating with Pfister®Faucets to distribute American Plumber Stories episodes through its media platforms to nearly 1M social and digital media followers. Plumbers who are featured in the episodes will also appear on the Appetite for Construction podcasts that go into more depth about each of the inspiring stories in Season 4.

“After hearing the feedback from our listeners, as well as from our digital and social media audiences, we highly anticipate another year of partnering with Pfister® in supporting the American Plumber Stories docuseries on YouTube. We’ve seen in recent years just how important and essential the men and women that make up our plumbing family are to the health of the country,” says John Mesenbrink, President, Mechanical Hub.

“We feel that the American Plumber Stories series highlights and shines a bright light on the plumbers and organizations who help build the backbone of our nation, while encouraging the next generation of workers to join the trades,” says Mesenbrink.

The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association (PHCC), the premier trade organization for plumbing and HVAC professionals, has teamed up with American Plumber Stories and supports its message on a national level to its members, as well as in state and local chapters throughout the country.

One of the most visible faces of American Plumber Stories is its host, Craig Morgan. The country music icon is a TV personality (Beyond the Edge on CBS and others), celebrated outdoorsman, member of the Grand Ole Opry and Army veteran. Morgan has charted more than 25 songs on Billboard Top 100.

While Season 1 entertained with a look into the lives of ordinary plumbers with sometimes extraordinary lifestyles, Season 2 emphasized education in the trade and the opportunity this rewarding profession has to offer. Season 3 highlighted some of the most inspiring stories, told by plumbers whose lives were changed forever by the trade and Season 4 will share the stories of job creation, workforce development and solutions for those getting into the trade.

Season 4 Episode Release Week, Title and Participants

• September 5^th, Young Guns, Fulmer Heating, Plumbing & Cooling (South Carolina)
• September 25^th, Plumb Market, Petri Plumbing (New York)
• October 16^th, Roping the Future, Big Sky Plumbing (Utah)
• November 6^th, Royal Flush, Universal Plumbing (Nevada)
• November 27^th, Influence-HER, Deluxe Plumbing (Pennsylvania)
• December 18^th, Plumbing to Perform, Louisville Plumbing Company (Kentucky)

New episodes of American Plumber Stories can now be watched on www.AmericanPlumberStories.com.

Interested plumbers who would like to share their own story can do so here: https://www.americanplumberstories.com/pages/i-am-an-american-plumber

Mary-Anne Bowcott (@the_ladyplumber) is a testament to perseverance and hard work. In a male-dominant industry, now a successful business owner, she is blazing the trail for women to look at trades in a different light.

Mary-Anne Bowcott has come a long way from the days of living on a farm— which housed a few hundred birds, larger livestock, but mostly poultry—to the 4H program where she would show her chickens and ducks.

Born and raised on southern Vancouver Island, Mary-Anne Bowcott was a near straight-A student, who, by her own admission, was kinda awkward, a bit weird, and wasn’t one of the pretty girls in school, and she was bullied pretty hard. As a result, she dropped out in grade 11. Around the same time, her parents were mid-divorce and, “I decided that in my infinite wisdom at almost 16 years old, I would get a job at Wendy’s and move out on my own. I partied, got into a lot of trouble, struggled with addiction, and going for a doctoral degree went out the window at that point,” says Bowcott.

After a couple of years, Bowcott decided to smarten up. She went back to school and got her grade-12 equivalency—the youngest student in an adult class; they almost didn’t let her in because she was too young. “I slayed that with flying colors but still didn’t know what I wanted to do,” says Bowcott.

Bowcott recalls going on a date with a guy who owned a construction company and she mentioned how sweet it would be to get into construction, but at that time, it was an unrealistic option for women. “His response was, ‘Why don’t you?’ That got the wheels turning and I started handing out résumés at that time.”

It was a struggle to find employment at the time as being petite female teenager, says Bowcott, as employers didn’t exactly take her very seriously. She had no call backs on her résumés, and, in fact, she almost took her first name off of the resume so she would have a chance. Finally, Bowcott asked her friend’s uncle who owned a roofing and renovation company to hire her, and he did. She landed her first job in the industry as a roofing laborer. She worked that job, and a couple different companies for a few years, quickly working her way up to her boss’s lead hand on commercial and residential jobs. “I got bored of it after starting commercial, as we were stuck on the same jobs for months at a time. The spotty work during the winter months were hard too on the bank account so I started looking for other options at this point.”

Bowcott eventually, through more pestering, landed a plumbing apprenticeship and never looked back after that. “Honestly though, it was hard making the transition, as again, no one took you seriously even though you were in the construction industry. Yes, I had made a name for myself, but only in the roofing community, so switching out was like starting all over again.”

Now a 19-years veteran of the construction industry, a shingle roofer, Red Seal journeyman Plumber, Class B gas fitter and successful, award winning plumbing and gas business owner, “I hope that I can help pave the way for young women seeking a career in the building trades, showing first hand that you can do whatever you set your mind to with a little persistence, motivation, determination and a whole lot of pestering.”

It shouldn’t go without noting that Bowcott often times censors her career path story, leaving out the dropping out of high school and getting into trouble. She is not ashamed or shy about how she got into construction. “I just don’t want high school students to drop out because they see someone who did, and then become successful. On the other side, I’ve also done public speaking on the fact that one can hit rock bottom, be mixed up in addiction and bad situations and still come out on top,” says Bowcott.

Fast-forward to 2023 and for the past eight years, Bowcott has been the proud owner of Westcom Plumbing and Gas Ltd, as well as Westcom Roofing and Sheetmetal, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The plumbing company specializes in plumbing repairs, service, drain cleaning, renovations, gas service, repairs, retrofit and light commercial.

She finds the work particularly rewarding. “I really enjoy working with my hands and feeling like I’ve achieved something, helped someone, or made some sort of difference,” says Bowcott.

She always has been crafty, and coming from an artistic family, creating things has been something she’s done since she was a child. With plumbing and gas though—roofing as well—we are out there helping people, and she loves that. “Yes, the money is good, but it was never about that for me. It’s always been about helping and creating.”

Starting A Business

She knew she was ready to start her own company when she injured her back and almost went back to school to do hair. “But I couldn’t fathom going from my journeyman wage to minimum wage, especially with a mortgage,” says Bowcott.

“My husband and group of women I knew suggested why not start my own company? That way I could pick and choose the jobs I could do with the injury. I was at that time a new construction plumber and it wasn’t uncommon to do a full 7-10 days of straight groundworks. So, I quit my job and opened up my own company, and it was the best decision I have ever made.”

Nevertheless, as a woman-owned company in a male-dominated industry, Bowcott did have some anxious times, worried about work coming in. “I actually didn’t even put my name on my business card in fear that people wouldn’t hire me because I was a woman. I was wrong of course.

“There are people that don’t hire us because we are women, but we wouldn’t work for them anyway with that attitude. I kept the name of the business neutral as well to hide the woman factor. But honestly, I’m from a small town where everyone already knew me from growing up there, and as soon as I opened the company, like I mean day 1, I’ve been slammed busy. I didn’t advertise. I still don’t advertise. It’s all been word of mouth.”

Talking about being a female in this industry, Bowcott says she definitely tries her best to be a mentor for as many women as possible. Or men if they want, “but we don’t really get those calls lol.”

“I used to be more involved with non-profits and local groups, but I took a step back—as it was getting super time consuming and a lot volunteer work—to focus more on my business as well as social media as I seem to reach more women on social media than I did before.”

The Social Connection

And because of social media, many doors have opened, more than Bowcott thought imaginable. “Being able to go to the RIDGID Experience 2022, going to conventions and trade shows and hanging out and becoming friends with the plumbers that you have followed for years, the supportive messages and the messages of people needing mentoring or advice, or simply messaging to say that I made a difference in their life as an inspiration to them is truly heartwarming,” says Bowcott.

“I am so grateful for the opportunities that have been dropped at my doorstep for simply taking a video or picture of what I did that day. And not that I needed to advertise, but I know a lot of my clients have called because of what they have seen on social media. They get to see what type of work you’re putting out there which really helps.”

Personal Touch

As far as downtime, what does Mary-Anne like to do to decompress? ““I don’t decompress haha. I rock climb, do Crossfit, personal training, surf, park roller skating, and I also clean my van at any opportunity if there’s something out of place. I try and do as much as possible at home before its time to make dinner. My days are long and exhausting, I can’t sit still, I don’t relax, I’m always on the go, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As well as hurting her back, she struggled with severe knee pain from, you guessed it, roofing and plumbing, and she actually thought she was going to need a knee replacement by 40. She met with a local athletic therapist and he said that if she didn’t do some sort of weight training to strengthen areas that needed it, her body would “implode by 40.” “S“So, I started at my local Crossfit gym, and shockingly after 2-3 months, I had zero knee and back pain. So, I am a believer. I now work out around 4-5 days a week depending on how busy I am.”

Though she already travels a lot, there’s a few items pending on her bucket list: going to Morocco, going to Turkey, skydiving, an Indonesian boating/surf trip, and a trip to Tahiti.

If you ask Bowcott about her tattoos, she’ll tell you she made a lot of poor tattoo choices in her younger days. “My first was a tattoo in a hotel room when I was 16 by a pretty dodgy character. Thank God I didn’t end up with a disease after that one. It was supposed to be a fairy, but ended up looking like a gremlin trying to bang itself with its foot. I got it covered up with a tiger on a waterfall landscape, but I hated that too as it was definitely too cartoonish. I ended up getting 12 laser treatments on it and finally found someone to cover it up, and that’s when I got the tiger on my back, which I’m super happy with.”

What’s next? Bowcott tries to live her life as each one is her last and she tries to experience as much as possible, “because you really don’t know when you’re gonna go and I want to make sure I do as much as I can before that day. My husband’s best friend passed away a few years ago at 50 and it really buggered me up. Ever since then, my life has been nothing but trying to do it all NOW!”

Oatey Co. recently sponsored a plumbing day at Northeast Ohio Let’s Build Construction Camp for Girls, a program for middle-school-aged and high-school-aged girls to attend a free week-long camp to explore the construction trades, architecture, engineering, and construction manufacturing through hands-on experiences and field trips.

As a Premier Sponsor of the program, Oatey’s Women’s Resource Network (WRN), an associate resource group dedicated to women’s professional, personal, and leadership development, volunteered at the camp on Tuesday, June 27. Thirteen WRN members attended the plumbing day, teaching campers the art of installing Oatey’s Quadtro Washing Machine Outlet Box and other plumbing products that Oatey donated to the program. The group also hosted and led a Lunch-and-Learn about careers at Oatey, informing campers about the endless possibilities that exist for women in the construction industry.

Each camper received a copy of the book “The House That She Built,” empowering them to help spread the word about careers in construction. The book educates young readers about the people and skills that go into building a home and tells the true story of a home built by all female tradespeople.

“The Women’s Resource Network is proud to support a program that aims to inspire and equip young girls with knowledge of a traditionally male-dominated industry,” says Amanda Keiber, co-chair of the WRN and Director, Corporate Communications, Oatey Co.

“The hands-on experiences offered at the camp allowed these girls to learn on their feet, build camaraderie with one another, and realize their potential. It is not just about teaching plumbing skills, but also about imparting life skills, exposing them to possible career paths, and helping them break barriers to explore new possibilities.”

Oatey learned about Let’s Build on its “” podcast featuring guest Plumber Paige, a 20-year-old Skilled Trades Advocate and Social Media Influencer, who attended another recent Let’s Build camp that took place in Lehigh Valley, PA. After learning about Let’s Build, Oatey was eager to support the NE Ohio camp, as the program aligns well with Oatey’s mission to support the trades and help grow the pipeline of talent into the industry.

“We are grateful for the Oatey Women’s Resource Network’s involvement in Northeast Ohio Let’s Build Construction Camp for Girls,” says Shelly Higgins, Camp Director of NE Ohio Let’s Build Construction Camp for Girls. “The plumbing day that the WRN members hosted was a great opportunity for the campers to learn about installing Oatey’s innovative products and gain hands-on experience.

“Oatey’s dedication to supporting the trades has created a lasting impact on the campers,” she continues. “We hope other industry leaders follow Oatey’s example and help us continue providing campers with these invaluable experiences.”