Preparations For Pipes XIII In Full Swing

Organisers of SAPPMA’s PIPES XIII report that preparations for their plastic pipe Conference and Exhibition this year are well advanced and have now published their conference program. Themed ‘“The Versatility of Plastic Pipe”, the event takes place on 6 – 7 September 2022 at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg (right next to the International Airport).

Jan Venter, Chief Executive Officer of the Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) explains: “We are privileged to host this conference jointly, as a spin-off event from the main PPCA plastic pipe conference. Delegate registration points towards an expected attendance of about 300 delegates.”
“This year, the conference will be a hybrid event, accommodating speakers and delegates in person or online. The speaker line-up also includes some of the best papers that were presented at the PPCA’s PIPES XX conference in Amsterdam last year.”

Topics that will be covered by international experts, include the following:

The link between correct extrusion and butt fusion welding of PE pipes
Mike Troughton from TWI in the UK will deliver a paper that proposes quality improvements in the way that PE pipes can be manufactured to produce acceptable butt fusion joints. The author has identified features called “windows” or local areas where there may be a lack of carbon black pigmentation in the manufactured pipe. His paper is entitled: ‘Effect of insufficient homogenization during the extrusion of polyethylene pipes on butt fusion joint integrity’.

PVC Pipe characteristics enabling sustainability
Bruce Hollands is Executive Director at Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association. His presentation on ‘An overview of PVC Pipe’s sustainable attributes’ will report on the very latest technical developments and research that evidence the sustainability credentials of this important pipe material.

Groundbreaking field trials
Peter Sejersen, Technical Manager of The European Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association (TEPPFA) will review the findings of extensive Scandinavian fieldwork trials carried out on large diameter buried thermoplastic pipes. These installation trials confirm the technical and commercial validity of such pipe systems up to 3000mm in diameter.
Such precise work and measurement carried out across a variety of installation conditions has also led to the creation of a new design calculation tool that can be used when the installation parameters are outside the scope of the established parameters. Sejersen’s paper entitled: ‘Design of large diameter buried pipes’, will be of relevance to the future landscape of buried plastic pipe systems in South Africa and throughout the world.

African connections compared by case
Further evidence of the benefits of large diameter structured wall HDPE pipes particularly within the water sector is drawn through case studies from Tanzania, Thailand and Kenya by Simon Thomas. By virtue of comparison, Thomas refers to the characteristics of traditional pipe materials in his paper: ‘Best-in-class: the major benefits that large diameter HDPE structured wall technology can bring to infrastructure.’

The main scope of his work highlights the distinct advantages of large diameter structured wall pipes as regards the versatility, creativity and innovation that can be achieved with their use. It also illustrates the positive impact and contribution that this technology can bring to sub-Saharan Africa.
Further information concerning conference registration, sponsorship and exhibition space available via: https://www.sappma.co.za/index.php/pipesxiii

Pipes XIII Exhibitors:
Alprene  MacNeil
Pipeflo   Molecor (2x stands)
BSI        Group Rare
Aenor    Plastics SA
Zerma Africa    Plastiweld

List of Pipes XIII Sponsors:
• Gold Sponsor: Molecor
• Silver Sponsor: Plastic & Chemical Trading
• Delegate Bags: Marley
• Booklet: Van Ryn Rubber
• iPad: PE100 + Association; PVC4Pipes
• Lucky Draw Gift: Flotek
• Gift for presenters: Gradco
• Reception function: Proplastics
• USB’s: Safripol

Further information:
SAPPMA: Jan Venter
Tel.: +27 11 314 4021 email: [email protected]
PPCA: Zoran Davidovski email:[email protected]