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Core & Main is one of only two national distributors of the pipe, valves, fittings, meters, storm-drainage and fire-protection products that build and repair America's water and wastewater systems. It doesn't manufacture — it buys from ~200 makers and sells through ~370 branches to municipalities, water utilities and contractors, growing by rolling up small regional distributors (35+ deals, ~$1.7B, since 2017).

The middleman of water infrastructure

Core & Main sits in the middle of the water economy: makers of pipe, valves, meters and drainage products on one side; the cities, utilities and contractors that build and fix water systems on the other. It doesn't manufacture anything — it holds local inventory and connects the two, which is why scale and a dense branch network are its whole advantage.

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