08/17/2026
James Gibson is the new Territory Manager for Xylem's Smith-Blair products in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Florida Panhandle, and Western Tennessee.
He has spent his career showing up when things go wrong. He particularly enjoys fielding the calls that carry gravity, the ones where a large-diameter coupling is leaking or a bridge crossing has failing expansion joints, and he drops everything to get there fast.
His path to Smith-Blair started at the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, where he ran field tests when fish kills or industrial discharges fouled the water. From there he moved through coating plants, US Pipe's estimating division, and other jobs in manufacturing. One unique fact about James' background is he once sketched a coupling for a million-dollar project in Egypt that is still used today.
James spent the last decade working at Consolidated Pipe, where he became known as "The Demo Guy", building three trailers, one with a button that set a ball joint moving and a lexan booth that simulated a restraint pull test. He would rather show a product working than describe it.
Off the clock, James pastors a church in Tuscaloosa, AL and has done some form of ministry work since the 1980s, from prison visits to hospital calls. He writes theological papers, golfs, and takes his two children and nine grandchildren tubing on the water. He even helped his son and son-in-law, both military veterans, find their footing in the waterworks industry.
When a project is on the line and the clock is ticking, James is the person who makes sure nothing sits unanswered. Bring him your toughest field problem, and he will sketch you a solution.
