When the L.B. Foster steel pipe coating plant in Birmingham, Alabama received the Level 3 Excellence Award from the Alabama Productivity Center this year, it marked the latest achievement at a company obsessed with quality.

Founded in Pennsylvania in 1902, L.B. Foster made its name in business with an ironclad warranty. In those days, the company refurbished and resold used rail, retrieved from abandoned railroads and urban transit systems. To set itself apart from competitors, the company guaranteed: “If the material is not up to the standard represented, ship it back and we will pay the freight both ways.”  

Today, L.B. Foster is a publicly traded company with operations in several states, manufacturing tubular, rail industry, and construction industry products. The steel pipe coating plant in Alabama, which employs 50 to 60 employees based on customer demand, is ISO 9001:2008 registered. With superb precision, it applies fusion bond epoxy corrosion protection on 10.75" to 24" diameter steel line pipe. The plant recently reached one million employee hours without a lost time accident.

The award received by L.B. Foster Award is a state-level distinction patterned after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. For its commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, L.B. Foster and its steel pipe coating plant make for a Great Manufacturing Story.