Clow Valve Company

What Clow Valve Company does

Clow Valve Company is a U.S. manufacturer of ductile-iron waterworks valves and fire hydrants, operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of privately held McWane, Inc. since 1985. The company runs an iron foundry, brass foundry, machine shop, assembly, and finished-goods warehousing at its Oskaloosa, Iowa headquarters (450+ employees, $43M+ annual payroll, $150M+ annual economic impact), with a West Coast distribution facility in Riverside, California. Its product portfolio spans resilient-wedge and double-disc gate valves, butterfly, check, and eccentric plug valves, plus dry-barrel and wet-barrel hydrants carrying AWWA, UL, FM, NSF, and ANSI/ASTM certifications; ductile iron components carry a minimum 100-year anticipated service life. Clow also sells the iHydrant and iHydrantPlus™ lines, which embed acoustic leak detection, pressure, and temperature sensors with machine-learning analytics for real-time water-system intelligence.

The business model is industrial hardware sales plus an emerging software/analytics attach. Revenue is generated by shipping valves and hydrants through a two-tier channel: a dedicated outside sales force covering all 50 U.S. states combined with an inside sales team in Oskaloosa, selling into a network of 300+ authorized distributors anchored by Core & Main, Ferguson Waterworks, and ACT Pipe & Supply. End customers are municipal water utilities, contractors, and waterworks engineering specifiers, served under published List Price Book pricing. Distribution is U.S.-only; international exposure is indirect through the broader McWane family of companies. Recent capital allocation has been heavily concentrated on an $80M, 36,000-square-foot foundry modernization (completed August 2025) that nearly doubled production capacity, positioning the company for the IIJA-funded municipal infrastructure replacement cycle.

Name

Clow Valve Company

Legal name

Clow Valve Company

Website

https://clowvalve.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1878

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Clow Valve Company, founded 1878 and a wholly owned subsidiary of McWane, Inc., is an Oskaloosa, Iowa-based manufacturer of ductile-iron waterworks valves and fire hydrants (including the smart iHydrant/iHydrantPlus analytics platform) sold through a 300+ distributor network to U.S. municipal water utilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waterworks Valves and Fire Hydrants

NAICS

Industrial Valve Manufacturing (332911), Metal Valve Manufacturing (33291)

SIC

Pumps & Pumping Equipment (3561)

akta.pro primary industry

Valves & Cartridge Valves (Directional, Pressure, Flow Control) (IMAHAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Valves, Regulators & Backflow Prevention (Control Valves, Pressure Regulators, Check/Backflow) (AFABAHAG), Seals, Valves & Auxiliary Components (for Pumps/Compressors) (IMAHANAH)

Keywords

• Waterworks valves
• Fire hydrants
• Ductile iron castings
• Municipal water infrastructure
• Smart hydrant monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Oskaloosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Waterworks Valves and Hydrants: Clow Valve manufactures and sells waterworks valves and fire hydrants for water distribution and infrastructure systems. Products include resilient-wedge gate valves, double disc gate valves, dry-barrel and wet-barrel fire hydrants, UL-FM certified products, and specialty valves. Revenue is generated through direct sales to distributors and municipalities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Clow Valve Company manufactures and distributes ductile iron waterworks valves and fire hydrants for municipal water distribution and fire protection systems. The product portfolio includes resilient-wedge gate valves, double disc gate valves, butterfly valves, check valves, eccentric plug valves, dry-barrel and wet-barrel fire hydrants, and UL-FM certified products. The company also offers iHydrant smart hydrant monitoring technology and the McWane Pocket Engineer mobile application.

Product overview

Clow Valve Company is a manufacturer of waterworks products for water distribution and infrastructure. The product portfolio centers on fire hydrants (including the smart iHydrant monitoring system) and waterworks valves (resilient-wedge gate valves, double disc gate valves, butterfly valves, check valves, and eccentric plug valves) for municipal water systems. Products are offered with UL-FM certifications for fire protection applications. The company also provides the McWane Pocket Engineer mobile/web application for technical calculations and product information access. All products are manufactured in the USA with American workers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iHydrant: Real-time intelligence and analytics system for water systems monitoring, including acoustic leak detection, pressure monitoring and temperature data with machine learning tools.
• McWane Pocket Engineer

Products and services

• Fire Hydrants Dry-barrel and wet-barrel fire hydrants for water distribution and fire protection systems, including UL-FM certified products. Manufactured in Oskaloosa, Iowa from ductile iron with 100-year minimum service life. Used by municipal water utilities, contractors, and waterworks distributors across the United States.
• Waterworks Valves Water distribution valves for municipal water systems, including resilient-wedge gate valves (AWWA C509, C515), double disc gate valves, butterfly valves (AWWA C504), check valves (AWWA C508), and eccentric plug valves (AWWA C517). Manufactured from ductile iron and certified to AWWA standards. Used by municipalities, contractors, and waterworks distributors.
• iHydrant

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly doubled production capacity through $80 million foundry expansion
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Indian Hills Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2023Industrial Maintenance Work-Based Learning Partnership providing students with hands-on career exploration and technical skill development. Clow Valve participates in career events like Community College Day on the Hill to showcase career opportunities in manufacturing and skilled trades.
• Habitat for HumanityminorOthersMcWane team members have built homes in partnership with Habitat for Humanity as part of community outreach programs.
• American Red CrossminorOthersMcWane team members participate in fundraising walks and support Red Cross initiatives in communities where they operate.
• United WayminorOthersMcWane team members have supported United Way through fundraising activities and volunteerism.
• Endeavors Puerto RicominorOthersValve & Hydrant team members from McWane, including Clow Valve, teamed up with Endeavors Puerto Rico at annual sales meetings to provide supply packs to homeless veterans.
• EC&S (General Contractor)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for the $80 million foundry expansion project completed in 2025.
• Diversified Pattern and Engineering CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for the $80 million foundry expansion project, supporting foundry modernization and automation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EJ Group (East Jordan Iron Works): U.S./Canadian manufacturer of iron waterworks products including gate valves, fire hydrants, and municipal castings. Direct competitor in the same AWWA-spec municipal waterworks procurement channel as Clow.
• Kennedy Valve: Sister McWane subsidiary manufacturing waterworks valves and hydrants in Elmira, NY. Competes head-to-head with Clow in the same U.S. municipal AWWA-spec waterworks market under the same parent; comparable product lines including UL/FM hydrants and resilient-wedge gate valves.
• Mueller Water Products: Leading U.S. manufacturer of waterworks valves, hydrants, and pipe fittings for municipal water and fire protection systems. Closest publicly traded direct competitor to Clow in iron gate valves, butterfly valves, and dry-barrel hydrants serving the same AWWA-spec municipal market.
• American AVK: U.S. manufacturer of ductile iron resilient-wedge gate valves, fire hydrants, and AWWA-spec waterworks products. Direct North American competitor in municipal valve and hydrant tenders, with comparable certification profile.
• M&H Valve Company: Sister McWane subsidiary producing waterworks valves and hydrants in Anniston, AL. Direct U.S. municipal competitor with overlapping AWWA-certified gate valve, check valve, and hydrant SKUs, sharing distribution and parent-level resources with Clow.
• Tyler Union: Sister McWane subsidiary producing ductile iron fittings, valves, and hydrant components for U.S. waterworks. Direct competitor serving overlapping municipal and distributor customers; shares McWane's national sales coverage.

Others

• Core & Main: Largest U.S. waterworks distributor; a Clow channel partner that also distributes competing hydrant and valve brands. Materially comparable as a counterparty shaping Clow's route-to-market, though not a manufacturer peer.

Emerging players

• Star Pipe Products: U.S. manufacturer and distributor of ductile iron waterworks fittings, valves, and related products. Competes with Clow in municipal waterworks procurement, particularly through shared distributor channels, though more focused on fittings than hydrants.
• U.S. Pipe and Foundry: U.S. manufacturer of ductile iron pipe and fittings for water and wastewater infrastructure. Adjacent to Clow's hydrant/valve business; competes for the same municipal project budgets though it does not directly make hydrants or gate valves.

Broad incumbents

• Watts Water Technologies: Larger publicly traded manufacturer of water products spanning valves, backflow preventers, drainage, and plumbing. Overlaps with Clow in waterworks/municipal valve categories but serves a much broader product portfolio beyond ductile iron hydrants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ClowValve
• Xx.com/ClowValve

Compliance14 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clow Valve Company