United Pipe & Steel

United Pipe & Steel Corp., a subsidiary of Reliance, Inc. and headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is a distributor of standard pipe and tube products in the United States. The company serves wholesale distributors in the plumbing, heating, HVAC, fire protection, electrical and other industries from their distribution centers across United States. Products sold include steel pipe, copper tubing, PVC pipe, electrical conduit, strut channel and threaded rod.

History
United Pipe & Steel was founded by David Cohen in Everett, Massachusetts, in 1980. Morgenthaler, a private equity firm, acquired the company in 2013.

In 2019 United Pipe & Steel was acquired by One Equity Partners, and operationally integrated with Merfish Pipe & Supply, a master distributor based in Houston, Texas. In 2020, both companies were merged and renamed Merfish United.

In 2021 Reliance, Inc. acquired the company, and it was renamed back to United Pipe & Steel in 2023, with an updated brandmark.

Business model
United Pipe operates a fleet of semi-trailer trucks and flatbed trailers, delivering less-than-truckload orders of pipe to wholesale distributors in the industries served. This model, known as master distribution, supports the supply chain by allowing suppliers to make smaller purchases and replenish their inventories more quickly. By allowing distributors to mix and match products, low minimum order weights can be easily met for free freight allowed on regular, weekly truck delivery routes.