Bingham & Taylor to shut down Culpeper plant, laying off 92 employees

Utility infrastructure products manufacturer Bingham & Taylor plans to permanently close its Culpeper plant this fall, laying off 92 employees in the process.

The company notified the state of the layoffs in a May 21 letter filed under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The letter said the company will permanently close the cast iron foundry at 601 Nalle Place in the town of Culpeper on or before Nov. 30. The closure will affect all but a few employees. Some longtime Culpeper employees have been offered the opportunity to transfer to other locations.

Founded in 1849, Bingham & Taylor sells meter- and valve-access products to water and gas utility customers.

In addition to the Culpeper site, the company operates plastics injection-molding and blow-molding plants in Fredericksburg. In November 2025, the company was acquired by North Carolina-based Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, a manufacturer of cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings for plumbing applications. At the time of the acquisition, Bingham & Taylor had about 250 employees, about 240 of whom were based in Virginia, and the company said it did not expect any jobs to be lost because of the acquisition.

Bradford Muller, a spokesperson for Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, said in an email the company decided to close the Culpeper foundry after reviewing the facility alongside its Oakboro, North Carolina-based foundry and determining that “changes in market conditions have resulted in excess manufacturing capacity.” The company decided to transfer the work being done in Culpeper to its Oakboro facility.

Muller said lower-cost imports from India have taken a growing share of the domestic municipal castings market, putting pressure on U.S. manufacturers and contributing to lower production volumes at domestic foundries. He also cited “operational challenges” that the company said it was unaware of when it acquired Bingham & Taylor, although he did not elaborate on what those challenges were.

Muller noted that the Fredericksburg plastic facilities have unique capabilities not replicated at other Charlotte Pipe facilities and operate independently from the Culpeper foundry. Those plants will continue operating as normal, and the company plans to transfer some assembly operations from Culpeper to the Jamison Lane site in Fredericksburg.

Muller said the 92 employees listed in the WARN notice were not among those offered transfers. He said he did not know how many employees received transfer offers or how many would remain with the company.

In the WARN letter, Bingham & Taylor said it would make every effort to assist impacted employees and coordinate with the Virginia Rapid Response team to provide transition assistance.

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry acquired Wisconsin-based Neenah Foundry, a manufacturer of municipal castings, in 2022.

Muller said the Bingham & Taylor brand will continue, along with the Neenah brand, as part of Charlotte Pipe’s infrastructure division. The company will evaluate what to do with the Culpeper facility at a future date.