[2] McWane is also a manufacturer of pressurized cylinders for the storage of propane and other gases through its Manchester Tank and Equipment Company division, as well as fire protection systems and extinguishers through its Amerex subsidiary.

[3] Based in Birmingham, Alabama, McWane is a family owned company employing more than 6,900 team members in over 25 manufacturing locations worldwide.

"[7] His vision is referred to within the company as "The McWane Way",[8] and can be summarized as aiming to improve both the methods of work and the lives of the workers, rather than focusing only on financial loss.

[7] In 2006, McWane's Atlantic States plant in New Jersey became the first foundry in North America to apply technology to substantially limit mercury emissions.

The following year, a McWane plant, Clow Valve Company in Oskaloosa, Iowa, was the first iron and brass foundry in the country to be recognized as a Voluntary Protection Program site by OSHA.

In 1999, McWane bought two more companies: Manchester Tank & Equipment of Brentwood, Tennessee and Amerex Corporation of Trussville, Alabama, expanding its manufacturing of fire extinguishers.

[15] After entering the Canadian market in 1989, McWane established Clow Canada in 1990, with manufacturing operations in Saint John, New Brunswick.

[17] Additionally, through Amerex, McWane acquired Solberg Scandinavian AS, an independent firefighting foam agent manufacturer based in Bergen, Norway.

[18] In 2012, McWane moved into the technology space by adding Seoul-based ComTech Korea [16] and Ontario-based Futurecom,[19] eventually acquiring UK-based Zinwave in 2014.

[29] This agreement covered 28 of the company's manufacturing facilities in 14 states, and resolves violations including the Clean Air Act.

[31] Prior to the media reports, the company had been implementing changes to its operating practices since 2000, according to McWane's president, G. Ruffner Page.

To ensure legal compliance, the company implemented oversight mechanisms and incentive schemes, including internal and external (third party) audits and a financial incentive program for managers based upon EHS performance, an appropriate range of disciplinary actions for noncompliance, along with a confidential, 24-hour phone line for reporting suspected violations and other concerns.

"[9] During sentencing of the company in a case regarding environmental damages in New Jersey, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Cooper concluded, "A night and day difference has been accomplished, not by wishful thinking, but by determined and sustained effort at all levels.

"[36] As a result of the changes implemented by McWane, the company, and its operating divisions and subsidiaries have received local and national recognition and awards.

[44] In 2008, the Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co. donated $75,000 to upgrade the Walters Park band shell in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.