IAPMO Turns 100: The Group Behind Arizona’s Plumbing Code Reports Record Growth

The organization that writes the Uniform Plumbing Code just marked its 100th birthday, and it did so in strong shape. The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) closed out a yearlong centennial celebration at its 2026 Annual Education and Business Conference, held at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, California, near the Los Angeles neighborhoods where 39 plumbing inspectors founded the group in 1926.

In his State of IAPMO report, CEO Dave Viola pointed to membership up 49 percent since the end of the COVID pandemic and projected 2026 revenue of $111.2 million. He credited a new laboratory in New Jersey as one driver of the association’s expansion, and he announced a proposed corporate restructuring (pending membership approval) that would fold the UES, ESG, R&T, and R&T Labs divisions into a more streamlined organization. ASSE, ARCSA, IWSH, and IAPMO’s international entities would remain as they are.

The centennial also celebrated the industry’s charitable side. IAPMO’s International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation (IWSH) marked its 10th anniversary with a completed plumbing renovation at the Los Angeles Mission, which serves more than 1,000 visitors a day. Six United Association locals and SoCal Pipe Trades District Council 16 supplied the labor, and manufacturers including Kohler, LIXIL, Moen, Delta, and Sloan donated fixtures and materials.

Members re-elected Jeremy Stettler as president and Brian Hamner as vice president, and Carlos Flores of Houston was named secretary/treasurer. Twelve award categories recognized 23 honorees, including 12 new IAPMO Fellows. Keynote speaker Judaline Cassidy, a New York City plumber and founder of Tools & Tiaras, urged the room to support the next generation of tradespeople. Attendees also got the first look at a hardbound history book, IAPMO: Our First 100 Years. In a separate interview published September 25, Viola named climate change, counterfeit products, and data center water demand as the priorities for the association’s second century, and summed up its approach in one line: if you want to get your way, you have to collaborate.

Why it matters to JFN

Every fixture group we rough in, every water heater we set, and every drain line we run on a multifamily or student housing project in Arizona is sized and installed to the Uniform Plumbing Code that IAPMO maintains. A healthy, growing IAPMO means a code that keeps pace with new products, such as heat pump water heaters and data-driven pipe sizing, and a stronger pipeline of inspectors and instructors in the jurisdictions where we work. We also take note of the Los Angeles Mission project. Union pipe trades and major manufacturers came together to renovate a building that serves a thousand people a day, which is a reminder that the plumbing trade’s core purpose is public health. That is a purpose we are proud to share as a family-owned Arizona contractor heading into our own fourth decade.

Sources: Contractor Magazine, September 24, 2026; Contractor Magazine, September 25, 2026; PHCP Pros, September 22, 2026