United Pipe & Steel (UPS) and Merfish Pipe & Supply (MPS) announced that they are combining under Merfish Pipe Holdings (MPH), an entity that is majority owned by One Equity Partners (OEP).

MPS is a master distributor of carbon steel welded and seamless pipe as well as carbon steel fittings and flanges serving distributors across the United States through its five locations in Texas, New Jersey, Florida, Southern California and Northern California.

UPS is a master distributor of carbon steel standard pipe, copper tube, PVC pipe, electrical conduit and related products. UPS distributes this diverse set of products from 12 locations strategically located throughout the United States in Ipswich, Massachusetts; Easton, Pennsylvania; Elyria, Ohio; Franklin, Indiana; Loves Park, Illinois; Burlington, North Carolina; Corsicana, Texas; Topeka, Kansas; Birmingham, Alabama; Apopka, Florida; Rialto, California; and Stockton, California.

UPS CEO Greg Leidner will assume the role of CEO of MPH. Current MPH CEO Gerald Merfish has been named as the chairman of MPH. Merfish remains an investor in MPH and Leidner has also invested in MPH with OEP.

“Our new partnership with UPS is synergistic and will create the largest master distributor of standard pipe products in the United States,” said Merfish. 

“We are pleased to join with MPS. Together we will continue to develop ways to enhance the supply chain for our suppliers and customers, while providing employees with meaningful and rewarding opportunities to develop professionally," added Leidner. "This is a new and exciting chapter for MPS/UPS, our employees, our customers and our vendors.”

Leidner also said that customers of both UPS and MPS Pipe will continue to receive uninterrupted, industry-best service including:

• Over 270 weekly dedicated regular milk-run deliveries on a 65-vehicle fleet of trucks, the most of any master distributor in the United States
• Access to a unique assortment of products which when combined allows a customer to easily achieve full freight allowed minimum weight requirements
• Scheduled deliveries to job sites or supply houses to wherever the distributor desires from a combined 17 distribution centers strategically located throughout the United States
• An offering of a deep and wide range of pipe products, including domestic and imported carbon steel pipe, plastic pipe, copper tube, electrical conduit and related products so wholesale distributors can buy what they need, when they need it