About CDA

Copper-Industry Marketing Plan Includes a 50-Year Warranty on Tube and Fittings

January 14, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK — The seven U.S. manufacturers of copper tube and fittings remain the only makers of plumbing materials to offer a 50-year limited warranty on their products when properly installed in homes and other residential buildings. The centerpiece of the Copper Development Association's Builder Satisfaction Program, the warranty covers copper water tube and fittings against defects in material or workmanship in manufacturing the product and is transferable to succeeding homeowners.

The warranty provides builders with an added-value perk they can use to attract prospective buyers and an incentive to choose copper over plastic alternatives.

Handsome preprinted certificates outlining the terms of coverage and claims procedure of the Manufacturers' 50-Year Limited Warranty on copper tube and fittings are available in English and Spanish, along with informational brochures and other marketing materials, to registered participants in CDA's Builder Satisfaction Program. Warranty certificates can also be obtained from participating manufacturers.

Many builders find it useful to display the certificates in their showrooms and model homes, while others like the reassuring touch of turning over the warranty certificates with the keys to a home they've just sold.

" In today's ultra-competitive, value-conscious market, builders need to find new ways to earn buyer confidence," says Andy Kireta Sr., Copper Development Association vice president for plumbing tube, pipe and fittings. "The warranty gives builders and consumers one more good reason to choose copper over materials that don't have the same record of reliability. The 50-year warranty says 'we're here today and we're here to stay,' and that's got to be attractive to any buyer of a new home."

Participating U.S. manufacturers in the 50-Year Limited Warranty Program include: Cambridge-Lee Industries, Inc., Reading, Pennsylvania; Cerro Copper Products, St. Louis, Missouri; Elkhart Products Corporation, Elkhart, Indiana; Howell Metals Company, New Market, Virginia; Mueller Industries, Inc., Memphis, Tennessee; NIBCO Inc., Elkhart, Indiana; and Wolverine Tube, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama.

Participating Canadian manufacturers include: Cello Products, Inc., Cambridge, Ontario; Streamline Copper & Brass Ltd., Strathroy, Ontario; and Wolverine Tube, London, Ontario. In Canada, warranty certificates are available in both English and French.

For more information on the Manufacturers' 50-Year Limited Warranty on copper tube and fittings call CDA at 800-741-6823.

###

The Copper Development Association is the information, education, market and technical development arm of the copper, brass and bronze industries in the USA.

Press Contacts

Ken Geremia
Senior Staff Consultant
Phone: (603) 292-6510
E-mail