European Plastic Pipes Market (The)

Rapra Industry Analysis Report Series

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Trevor Stafford

Europe’s leading plastics and rubber consultancy with over 80 years of experience providing industry with technology, information and products

The European Plastic Pipes Market

A Rapra Industry Analysis Report

By

Trevor Stafford Plasticpipes

January 2001

Rapra Technology Limited Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4NR, UK Tel: +44 (0)1939 250383

Fax: +44 (0)1939 251118

http://www.rapra.net

The right of Trevor Stafford to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with Sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Cover photographs reproduced with permission from: top, Wavin Plastics Limited; middle and bottom, Plasticpipes, © Trevor Stafford, 1998.

© Rapra Technology Limited 2001 ISBN: 1-85957-237-5 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the publisher, Rapra Technology Limited, Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4NR, UK.

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Contents 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Overview.................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Report Structure ...................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Politico-Economic Factors ....................................................................................... 3 2 THE POLYMER PIPE SUPPLY INDUSTRY................................................................... 7 2.1 Material Selection Criteria for Pipe Applications....................................................... 7 2.1.1 Basic Property Requirements............................................................................ 7 2.1.2 Effects of Internal Fluid ..................................................................................... 9 2.1.3 Effects of External Environment ...................................................................... 10 2.1.4 Installation Requirements................................................................................ 12 2.1.5 Costing............................................................................................................ 13 2.2 Historic Developments ........................................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Why Evolution of Technology is Important ...................................................... 14 2.2.2 Early Developments - The 1940s and 1950s................................................... 14 2.2.3 Establishing a Mainstream Technology - The 1960s and 1970s...................... 15 2.2.4 A Mature Industry, the 1980s and 1990s and The Current Situation ............... 15 2.2.5 Perceiving Trends in Supply............................................................................ 16 2.3 Current Polymer Usage ......................................................................................... 19 2.3.1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 19 2.3.2 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and its Variants ........................................................ 19 2.3.3 Polyethylene (PE) and its Variants .................................................................. 23 2.3.4 Polypropylene (PP) and its Variants ................................................................ 25 2.3.5 Polybutylene (PB)............................................................................................ 26 2.3.6 Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) ............................................................. 26 2.3.7 Polyketones..................................................................................................... 27 2.3.8 Polyamides...................................................................................................... 27 2.3.9 All Other Polymers .......................................................................................... 27 2.4 The Major Resin Suppliers..................................................................................... 28 2.4.1 Petrochemical Technology Background .......................................................... 28 2.4.2 Polymer Capacity of The Oil and Petrochemical Industry................................ 30 2.4.3 Price Sensitivity of Polymers ........................................................................... 31 2.4.4 Niche Markets ................................................................................................. 32 3 PIPE SYSTEMS MARKET ........................................................................................... 33 3.1 Application Sectors and Major Users ..................................................................... 33 3.1.1 Water Drainage and Control............................................................................ 33 3.1.2 Agricultural Purposes ...................................................................................... 35 3.1.3 Potable Water Supply ..................................................................................... 37 3.1.4 Sewerage ........................................................................................................ 41 3.1.5 Gas and Fuel Supply....................................................................................... 42 3.1.6 Hot Water Systems ......................................................................................... 49 3.1.7 Industrial Piping............................................................................................... 51 Contents

The European Plastic Pipes Market

3.1.8 Smaller Pipe/Tubing - ‘Plumbing’ and Sanitation .............................................52 3.1.9 Non-Fluids Pipes - Cable Ducting and Telecommunications............................53 3.2 Scales of Demand and Historic Development ........................................................54 3.2.1 Overview - Who Purchases Pipes?..................................................................54 3.3 Trends in Demand..................................................................................................55 4 PIPE MANUFACTURE AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN ......................................................57 4.1 Production Technologies........................................................................................57 4.1.1 Extrusion and its Development ........................................................................57 4.1.2 Co-extrusion and Multi-Wall Pipes ...................................................................60 4.1.3 Conex ..............................................................................................................61 4.1.4 Polymer Orientation Control.............................................................................62 4.1.5 Structured Pipewalls and Foam Core Walls.....................................................64 4.1.6 Composite and Reinforced Pipe Production Techniques .................................66 4.1.6.1 Thermosets –‘GRP Pipes’ .........................................................................66 4.1.6.2 Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes (RTP) .....................................................67 4.1.7 Extruder Equipment Supply .............................................................................70 4.1.8 Associated Production Equipment ...................................................................70 4.2 The Pipe Manufacturers .........................................................................................72 4.2.1 Present Situation - Major Companies in Europe ..............................................72 4.2.2 Globalisation and Consolidation.......................................................................74 4.3 Economic Trends in Supply....................................................................................75 4.3.1 Description of Supply Chain Patterns...............................................................75 4.3.2 Supply Chain Practicalities...............................................................................76 4.3.3 Future Development Possibilities .....................................................................76 5 PIPE FITTINGS MARKET ............................................................................................77 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................77 5.2 Technologies and Production Routes.....................................................................78 5.3 Scale of Industry and Major Suppliers ....................................................................79 6 PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION ........................................................................................81 6.1 Installation Technologies........................................................................................81 6.1.2 Pressure Testing..............................................................................................83 6.1.3 Linings for Steel Pipe.......................................................................................83 6.2 On-Site Jointing Technologies................................................................................84 6.3 Equipment Suppliers ..............................................................................................87 6.4 Construction Industry .............................................................................................87 7 QUALITY CONTROL AND RESEARCH.......................................................................89 7.1 Plastics Pipe Supply...............................................................................................89 7.2 Governing Standards and Authorities.....................................................................90 7.2.2 European (CEN) Pipe Standards .....................................................................90 7.2.3 International (ISO) Pipe Standards ..................................................................95 8 DIRECTORY ..............................................................................................................105 Resin Suppliers ..........................................................................................................105 Extrusion Equipment Suppliers ..................................................................................111 Contents

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Pipe and Fittings Manufacturers and Suppliers.......................................................... 113 Pipe Installation Equipment Suppliers........................................................................ 119 Pipeline Constructors................................................................................................. 122 Pipe Design and Consultants..................................................................................... 126 Pipe Test and Technical Centres............................................................................... 128 Industry Representative Bodies ................................................................................. 131 References ................................................................................................................ 135 Abbreviations............................................................................................................. 140

Contents

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Contents

The European Plastic Pipes Market

1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview The sources of information for participants in the plastic pipe industry are many and varied for it has become one of the great industries of the world. Pipelines and tubing are vital to the infrastructure and economic activity of all countries from the poorest of the third world to the richest developed nations. Plastics have progressively displaced longer established materials through four decades and extruded pipe constitutes a major area of application for polymeric materials. Worldwide, the tonnage of plastics consumed in pipe is around 9 million tonnes out of a total polymer production of around 100 million tonnes. The pipes market is therefore about 8 billion dollars in polymer value which is probably doubled as product turnover when conversion and distribution costs are taken into account. The European market constitutes about one-quarter of the world total being currently around 2.5 million tonnes. The significance of this market in relation to the general use of polymeric materials is shown by Table 1.1 which indicates that pipes are one of the major areas of application. The market is dominated by one polymer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and, as shown in Table 1.2, PVC piping in building and construction is perhaps the largest single polymer application, constituting 5% of all plastic used. Table 1.1 Principal Uses of Thermoplastics in Western Europe Products Quantities Percentages of ’000 Tonnes Total Injection Moulded Products 5,337 21 Films 4,709 18 Blow Mouldings 3,074 12 Bags 2,666 10 Pipes 2,285 9 Thermoformed Sheet 1,556 6 Cable 930 4 Forms 720 3 Window Profile 700 3 Extrusion Coatings 395 1.5 Others 3,285 13 Total 25,654 Source: TN Sofres Consulting for APME

The pipes market also involves a very large pipe fittings production and supply sector. The use of polymers in fittings, creates higher added value per unit mass than the bulk material extruded as pipe. Fittings production mostly involves injection moulding and total value is on a similar scale to the sale of pipe itself. Growing with the plastics pipe industry are the building and construction industry sectors specifically related to pipe installation technology. These are usually contracted services with many smaller companies operating within individual countries. The supply of equipment for pipe installation is however increasingly developing a multi-national character. Although the original approach to pipeline construction in plastics was simply to adopt the technologies already in place for metallic systems, there have been new technologies introduced that exploit polymer properties. For instance the trenchless technologies that greatly reduce pipe laying costs are highly dependent on the flexibility and ductility of polyethylene (PE) pipes and jointing by fusion welding also exploits the 1

The European Plastic Pipes Market

thermal characteristics of polyethylene. The turnover of the industries associated with installation of plastic pipes is hard to assess but must be many times the figure quoted previously for pipe production value. Clearly the plastic pipe production and construction industries represent a major component of economic activity and are vital to infrastructure development worldwide. Table 1.2 Main Segments in Plastics Processors Consumption (1997) (These ten segments make a total of almost 9 m tonnes which is one-third of total consumption) Market Segment Quantity Percentage ‘000 tonnes of Total PVC Pipes – for buildings 1,435 5.1 LDPE Film – distribution 1,187 4.2 PET Bottles – food 985 3.5 PVC Profile – buildings 957 3.4 LDPE Bags – food 836 3.0 PS Thermoform Sheet – food 815 2.9 HDPE Blow Moulding – detergent/pharmaceutical 755 2.7 LDPE Bags – distribution 706 2.5 PP Injection – furniture 670 2.4 LDPE Film - food 604 2.2 Total 8,950 32 Source: TN Sofres Consulting for APME PET: Polyethylene terephthalate LDPE: Low density PE PS: Polystyrene HDPE: High density PE LDPE: Low density PE

A full understanding of the plastic pipe industry requires far greater analytical coverage than is offered by typical market surveys. Market surveys generally provide good coverage of the status quo in terms of supply and demand volumes and prices on a regional basis. By contrast, in this Rapra Industry Analysis Report we have attempted to probe more widely, using the many and varied information sources to reveal fundamental influences on supply and demand technology that ultimately control price, performance and market trends. For example, perhaps the biggest single question facing the long-term future of the plastic pipe market is, can PVC maintain its great dominance or will it eventually become outpaced by growth of PE and polypropylene (PP) or newer materials? This question might be raised by an analysis of volume and price trends but any form of answer requires a fuller picture of technological trends through the polymer supply, pipe production, installation technology and applications development areas.

1.2 Report Structure This Rapra Industry Analysis Report has the objective of bringing together information from a broad spectrum of polymer and pipe supply technology and relating it to the regional and demographic trends of the demand side. It is hoped that this approach will enable readers to view their own more detailed market information within a broader context and consequently gain a more complete understanding of long-term trends. 2

The European Plastic Pipes Market

1.3 Politico-Economic Factors Supply and demand balances of market forces depend crucially on political, economic and demographic factors. Following the turbulent history of the twentieth century, at the beginning of a new Millennium, with the notable exception of the Balkan states and some former Soviet republics, there is currently a climate of peace, giving encouragement of trade and investment. The European Union (EU) has become an economic powerhouse and the global economy, led by the USA, promises growth opportunities that will spread eastwards and southwards, from the well-established market economies of Western and Northern Europe. To assist in interpreting these opportunities, it is useful at the outset to present a summary of the size and economic statistics of the nation states that presently constitute the European continent (see Tables 1.3 and 1.4). Of course some of the states bordering the Mediterranean sea, such as Israel, Egypt, and the North African states might almost be regarded as part of a European economic area of influence but for the purpose of this analysis, Europe is defined by traditional geographic boundaries.

Country

Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland UK Totals/Averages Principal Sources:

Table 1.3 Demographics, Western Europe Approx. Number Average GDP GDP/Head Population of Homes Occupancy ($bn) ($000) (m) (m) 8 10 5 5 58 81 10 0.3 3.5 57 0.4 15 4 10 39 9 7 58

3.3 3.9 2.3 2.1 24 35 3.6 0.1 1.0 24 0.15 6.2 1.8 3.5 16 3.9 2.9 23

2.4 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.8 2.5 3.5 2.4 2.6 2.4 2.2 2.9 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5

200 230 150 100 1,400 1,900 85 7 55 1,100 1.2 350 115 75 500 220 280 1,100

25 23 30 20 24 23.5 8.5 25 16 19 30 23 29 7.5 13 24 40 19

Homes with Mains Water (%) >99 >99 98 >99 >99 >99 80 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 87 90 99 >99 >99

375

156.75

2.5

7,800

21

99

International Database US Bureau of Census UN/OECD Statistics ‘The Economist’ – Book of World Vital Statistics GDP: Gross domestic product UN: United Nations OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The significance of demographic statistics is that they point to potential opportunities for basic commodities, such as pipes, given that there is sufficient investment incentive. Investment potential depends on gross domestic product (GDP) growth and sometimes on political decisions in other countries. Generally the potential for GDP growth can be high in countries starting from a lower level of economic activity provided there is a stable 3

The European Plastic Pipes Market

political economic state and provided the country can be drawn into capital markets. This has been the case for the more recent entrants to the EU from southern Europe and could well hold for Eastern expansion of the EU in coming years. The statistics illustrate some of the differences in relative wealth, particularly between the former Eastern Bloc states and capital driven markets of the West. However, it is important to remember that although growth was restricted by war then by communist central planning, the East European states do have an industrial base and an educated and skilled population. Given sufficient investment they are capable of rapid economic growth without the long-term development of very basic education and industrial cultures required in poorer countries elsewhere in the world.

Country

Albania Belarus Bosnia Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Estonia Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Moldova Poland Romania Russia Slovakia Slovenia Turkey Ukraine Serbia Totals/Averages Principal Sources:

Table 1.4 Demographics, East and Central Europe Approx. Number Average GDP GDP/Head Population of Homes Occupancy $bn $000 (m) (m) 3 10 3 9 4 10 1.5 5 10 2.5 4 2 4 38 23 150 5 2 60 52 10 408

1 3 0.7 3.3 0.8 3.3 0.4 1.2 4 0.6 1 1 11.4 7.7 52 1.8 14 8.8 3 119

3 3.3 4.3 3 5 3 3.7 4.2 2.6 4.2 4 4 3.3 3 2.9 2.8 4.3 5.9 3.3 3.3

7 18 36 2.6 38 20 36 95 36 700 13 15 135 128 1,279.6

0.8 4.5 3.6 1.7 3.8 8 9 2.5 1.6 47 2.6 7.5 2.3 2.5 4.6

% Homes with Mains Water 72 80 97 84 55 84 83 41 92 99 85

International Database US Bureau of Census UN/OECD Statistics ‘The Economist’ – Book of World Vital Statistics

The era of central planning in Eastern European economies facilitated some major investments in infrastructural necessities such as energy, transport and irrigation. For instance, Russia possesses by far the largest gas supply company - inherited from Soviet intentions to exploit their huge reserves of natural gas. A pipeline industry therefore exists but like many other basic economic features it was for many years starved of technology and investment linked to multi-national companies. The opportunities in Eastern Europe involve decisions to renovate large, ill-maintained systems or to invest in new installations.

4

The European Plastic Pipes Market

The important feature of statistics for water drainage, water supply and sewerage pipelines is the number of dwelling houses and rate of new construction. In Eastern Europe there is still scope for addition to water supply grids and even more opportunity for connection of houses to sewerage schemes. The opportunities for piping of fuel gas depend on the availability of natural gas supplies and the economic competition from other fuels. Eastern Europe has the potential to become a major consumer of natural gas from Russia but requires external investment and local cultural adjustment to the realistic charges of fuel delivery. In summary, Eastern and Central Europe offers considerable opportunity for new business from rapid economic growth but the pipe industry will continue to be dominated by the high level of economic activity and investment capability of Western Europe.

5

The European Plastic Pipes Market

6

The European Plastic Pipes Market

2 THE POLYMER PIPE SUPPLY INDUSTRY

2.1 Material Selection Criteria for Pipe Applications

2.1.1 Basic Property Requirements In considering why certain polymers are chosen for pipe construction we will start with the idealistic supposition that the material selection is part of the design process for pipeline construction. In practice the design process for pipeline engineers involves a balance of considerations, with materials selection being but one aspect. In most situations the dominant consideration is a cost constraint - most commonly a short-term budget; nevertheless good engineers will be concerned to optimise any investments against the criterion of minimised whole life cost. A true balance of the costs: raw materials, pipe and fitting production, pipeline installation and in-service maintenance is complex, but common to any design solution is the importance of achieving long asset life and avoiding premature failure as a result of not anticipating factors affecting long-term durability. Relatively arbitrary ‘design factors’ are often introduced to create a safety margin beyond design calculations, but improved knowledge of the long-term performance of plastic pipes is now permitting a reduction from previous over-generous factors, resulting in savings on material costs. Careful material selection is hence more critical to durability. The life of a pipeline is largely determined by the interaction of three things: • • •

Basic mechanical properties Pipe geometry Environmental conditions

Most design problems and solutions can be seen to involve any two of these, or all three together. This analysis is further illustrated for pipes in Figure 1. Basic properties, e.g., mechanical strength, are derived from the molecular structure and are controllable only by specification of chemical production. Pipe geometry is design dependent, for example, pipe dimensions as well as installation features such as bend radii and jointing method. Environmental conditions are largely outside the designer’s control, involving the given features such as fluid environment, operating temperature and the external loads. A pipeline designer can make initial calculations of flow conditions and pipe sizing with no regard for the pipe material. Except for smoothness of the pipe wall, the flow properties are simply determined by diameter. The pipe material must ultimately be considered for its mechanical properties of resisting internal and external loading and its chemical resistance in long term use. Consideration of basic material properties involves the relationship between those properties that are intrinsic to the material such as strength, stiffness, and toughness and those related to the application, such as environmental stress cracking (ESC) resistance, rapid crack propagation (RCP) resistance, and fatigue resistance. All of these properties fundamentally derive from the polymer microstructure, which can be characterised at a molecular level and at a higher level where crystalline structures mingle with the amorphous regions between them. It is the variations in such structures that differentiate the available grades of each polymer. Additionally, particularly in the case of PVC, it is necessary to consider the property variations due to modifying additives such as low 7

The European Plastic Pipes Market

molecular weight plasticisers, reinforcing fillers and alloying polymers. Going beyond the intrinsic properties of base resin and additives it is important to be aware that the extrusion processing conditions can also markedly alter the properties and lifetime characteristics of a pipe product.

Figure 1 Pipe Design Factors From this analysis we can see how it is possible to define requirements for material properties appropriate to pipeline construction and translate these into terms understandable to the chemical engineering technology of polymer production. Indeed the technologies of polymer production and pipeline utilisation have developed in tandem over several decades to a point where we can now select from a proven range of material types with even wider options emerging for the future. The practicalities of material selection for a pipe design engineer are usually a question of obtaining appropriate properties at a minimum cost. One common misconception in selecting using cost information is to look at mechanical properties and polymer prices in isolation. Bulk polymer prices are usually given in cost per mass, e.g., $ per tonne or $ 8

The European Plastic Pipes Market

per kilo, but properties (such as tensile strength) are measured on standard sample shapes which have constant volume. The key parameter in evaluating relative performance should therefore be a ratio between the property of interest and the cost per volume, e.g., $ per cubic metre. This can make a significant difference between the relative merits of polymers with differing densities. The effect is illustrated for typical property data for a number of pipe polymers in Table 2.1. Table 2.1 Properties and Prices of Some Pipe Polymers Polymer

uPVC LDPE MDPE/HDPE UHMWPE PP PA 11 ABS PVDF PTFE

Densit y 3 T/m

Cost $/T

Cost 3 $/m

Strength: Cost Ratio

Stiffness: Cost Ratio

0.06 >1.06 0.15 >1.06 0.07 0.05 0.2 0.18

Strain to Yield % 3.5 19 12 25 10 20 1.9 9.5

1.4 0.92 0.94 0.95 0.905 1.04 1.06 1.76

1.70 0.3 1.4 0.4 1.7 0.13 0.96 0.05

0.16

70

2.1

1.2

0.03

200 110

0.03 0.7

4 7.5

1.33 1.2

1,700 920 940 2,400 900 7,200 2,500 31,00 0 20,00 0 4,000 4,800

26.5 11 32 15 36.6 7.4 16 1.1

400

1,200 1,000 1,000 2,500 1,000 7,000 2,400 18,00 0 14,00 0 3,000 4,000

12 13.5

0.6 0.6

Short Term Tensile Strength MPa 45 10 30 35 33 52 47 35

Flex Modulus GPa

Elongation at Break %

Notched Izod Impact

2.9 0.3 1.3 0.8 1.5 0.9 2.7 1.7

50 400 100 500 150 320 8 50

25

0.6

PET 50 2.3 PC 65 2.8 Source: Plascams, Rapra Technology Ltd. UPVC: Unplasticised PVC MDPE: Medium density PE UHMWPE: Ultra high molecular weight PE PA 11: Polyamide 11 ABS: Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene PVDF: Polyvinylidene fluoride PTFE: Polytetrafluoroethylene PC: Polycarbonate

2.1.2 Effects of Internal Fluid The internal fluid is the reason for the existence of a pipe. It creates a physical stress on the pipe (as pressure) and may have chemical effects such as corrosion or solvation. The function of the pipe is to maintain containment of the fluid and provide a flow path for the required life. The designer must therefore address the mechanical design in terms of long-term viscoelastic response to continuous stress. Creep rupture is the first level of anticipated long-term failure. To avoid premature failure requires a wall thickness appropriate to the pipe strength. Pipe failure should ultimately, or even prematurely, always involve a ductile failure mode, allowing gradual loss of pressure rather than sudden brittle failure that could release stored energy, leading to additional dangers. The chemical effects of the internal fluid can lead to degradation of mechanical strength and promote early failure. Polymers do not suffer galvanic corrosion like metals. Fluid action is more likely to involve solvent action, where slow permeation of fluid reduces pipe wall strength or chemical degradation whereby the polymer chain structure is broken with resulting loss of strength. Polymer chemical resistance tables exist but certain ‘rules of thumb’ apply to the commodity polymers. PVC, which has an electrically polar molecular structure (because of the chlorine atom in the polymer repeat unit), is solvated by polar solvents such as aromatic hydrocarbons and ketones. PE has a non-polar polymer structure and is therefore not softened by polar solvents. It can however be slowly softened by non-polar low molecular weight fluids such as paraffinic hydrocarbons in 9

The European Plastic Pipes Market

fuels, oils and greases. The general trends in chemical resistance of pipe polymers are shown in Table 2.2. More detailed and specific data are available from pipe manufacturers and polymer suppliers and they should be consulted for information on specific product grades. Table 2.2 Pipe Polymers – Chemical Resistance Acids (Concentrates)

Acids (Dilute)

Alkalis

Alcohols

Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Paraffinics, Oils, Greases

Fair Good Good Good Good Good Good Good

Poor Poor Poor Fair Poor Poor Fair Good

Fair Poor Poor Fair Good Fair Good Good

UPVC Fair Good Good LDPE Fair Good Good M/HDPE Good Good Good PP Fair Good Good CPVC Good Good Good ABS Poor Fair Good PVDF Good Good Good PTFE Good Good Good Source: Plascams, Rapra Technology Ltd CPVC: Chlorinated PVC

Polar Solvents (e.g., Ketones) Poor Good Good Good Poor Poor Poor Good

A more subtle effect of fluids coming into contact with polymers for long periods is ESC [1]. This occurs when a contacting fluid causes the rapid acceleration of slow crack growth in stressed areas. This effect is very important for pressure pipe designers since their pipes are continuously stressed. ESC can lead to brittle failure ahead of anticipated long term ductile bursting. As the term environmental stress cracking infers, the rate of slow crack growth is dependent upon the nature of the surrounding fluid. The microstructural causes of this dependency have not been fully elucidated but considerable experimental evidence of the effects of various fluids on a range of polymers has been accumulated. The presumption by most recent authors is that those agents that promote stress cracking do so by weakening the oriented polymer chains being drawn at the very tip of the crack. In some cases the cracking process can be accelerated greatly. For example, hydrocarbons such as fuels, oil-based paints and cleaning fluids can cause severe cracking and crazing of polycarbonates (PC). Problems have also been experienced with PVC pipes carrying gas with aromatic hydrocarbon components and PE pipes are at greatest threat from surface active, detergent type materials. Although aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons soften and weaken PE, they do not appear to act as aggressive stress cracking agents, perhaps because they soften material around the crack to an extent where blunting of the crack tip relieves the stress concentration. For practical purposes, the significance of the environmental effects is not only in terms of the fluid carried, but also, in the nature of the chemicals that the outer pipe surface may meet. It is generally accepted that there is no major difference between most soil conditions and the clean water used in hydrostatic testing. Long- and short-term hydrostatic pressure testing in water tanks has become the main technique for assessing the quality of pipe materials in relation to their service in below ground conditions.

2.1.3 Effects of External Environment Whilst some pipe users take pressure containment as their primary design criterion, others, notably the installers of large diameter pipes intended for low pressure drainage and sewerage, are far more concerned with design against failure by collapse or buckling 10

The European Plastic Pipes Market

caused by ground loading. Particular interest and expertise in developing such design rules has evolved in Scandinavia and Germany. The long experience and results of many years of experimental study on Scandinavian pipe systems have been reported by Janson and Molin in many reports and two text books [2, 3]. Flexible plastic pipes are able to deform to accommodate surrounding soil movement without necessarily experiencing excessive pipe wall stress. This can have the advantageous effect of transferring vertical loads into the supporting earth. On the other hand rigid pipes, such as metal, clay or concrete, must carry any external ground loads within their own structure. In response to vertical crushing forces from the overburden plus any vehicle axle loads, the reaction forces within a rigid pipe wall generate force moments and these can potentially induce fracture. A less stiff plastic pipe deforms, translating the vertical load into a lateral movement that generates reaction forces in the soil fill around the pipe sides which then oppose further movement and prevent pipe collapse (see Figure 2). The flexibility and ductility of plastic pipes also confers greater tolerance to large-scale ground movement, as might occur in landslips or earthquakes.

Figure 2 Effects of Ground Loading on Flexible Pipe Reproduced with permission from T. Stafford, Plastics in Pressure Pipes, Rapra, Review Report, 1998, 9, 6. © 1998, Rapra Technology Limited.

The effect of ground loads on pipes can be described by equations that involve the primary geometric and material property variables. Various analytical approaches have been adopted and there has been some disagreement between different national codes. The analyses are usually based on techniques first described by Spangler to calculate deflection of highway culverts. In the UK equations devised by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL) [4] have been used. The German and Scandinavian codes have become widely used in Europe but in future it is likely that computer-interpreted 11

The European Plastic Pipes Market

versions developed from accepted CEN standards will be used. A recent survey of the technical status has been given by Alferink, Bjorklund and Kallionen [5]. By way of example the equation below is that attributed to Spangler who developed it in the late 1940s to aid highway culvert design and it has been the basis of most subsequent expressions. This equation has the form: 6 D Where:

=

K (DL PB + PS) x DR 3 8EI/D + 0.06ES

= = = = = =

Deflection Pipe Diameter Deflection ‘Lag Factor’ (Allows for compaction) Re-rounding Factor due to Internal Pressure Vertical Pressure of Backfill Vertical Pressure of Surcharge Load

EI/D

=

Pipe Ring Stiffness

E ES I t K

= = = = =

Pipe Material Modulus Soil Modulus Moment of Inertia Pipe Wall Thickness Bedding Constant (= 0.1 for sand)

6 D DL DR PB PS 3

=

3

Et 3 12D

The most significant feature of such equations is the very high dependence of pipe stiffness (and deflection) on the diameter to wall thickness ratio, usually termed the standard dimensional ratio (SDR). Because pipe stiffness depends on the reciprocal of 3 (SDR) this means that pipe geometry changes are relatively more important than material modulus differences. The implication is that if the pipe design is not determined by an internal pressure criterion, and if the designer is able to reduce costs by adopting a thin pipe wall, then it may be necessary to control the surrounding soil modulus properties by selection of a backfill material and ensure uniformity by careful and thorough compaction. The long-term response of plastic pipes to intermittent external loads caused by vehicle axle loads causes concern for designers when pipes are laid below roadways. This subject has been extensively investigated by authors associated with the Wavin pipe company [6]. For many years they have conducted pipe profile measurements by drawing sled based instruments through pipes which have remained in service. These studies all tend towards a conclusion that most pipe deformation takes place during and shortly after initial installation. Thereafter, there continues to be some further deformation for a period of about two years and very little movement occurs in subsequent years. The suggestion is made that dynamic loading from heavy traffic speeds up the process of consolidation but does not add to the long-term deformation. It is also inferred that pipe deflection is more associated with early soil compaction than long-term pipe material creep.

2.1.4 Installation Requirements Pipe material suitability may be a key aspect of fitness for purpose in terms of ease and costs of installation. The most obvious example of this is the preferred selection of PE pipes over PVC pipes when coiled pipe installation may be most important. Because of its 12

The European Plastic Pipes Market

higher stiffness PVC can only be coiled when used in thin wall, small diameters. PE, as MDPE or HDPE, can be coiled in large diameters. PE therefore is selected for ‘no-dig’ applications or when the number of joints has to be minimised. PE materials are also far more easily welded than PVC and most other polymers. PE is therefore suited to allwelded forms of construction which can give great assurance of long-term pipe integrity and this has been a major factor in its adoption for gas distribution. PVC installations tend to exploit simpler, low cost jointing methods which involve little or no additional tools and equipment and are less demanding of operative skills. It is therefore generally quicker and easier to introduce PVC pipe installation methods when the labour force has previously only experienced construction with metallic or clay pipes. Table 2.3 Cost Comparison for Different Pipe Types and Sizes Polymer type

Pipe Function

Diameter mm

Thickness mm

Cross Section Area 2 m 0.0084 0.0078 0.0069 0.1028 0.0090 0.0079 0.1964 0.0090 0.0075 0.0064 0.0047 0.0841 0.0075

Nominal Pressure PN MPa 0.6 1.0 1.6 1.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.6 1.0 1.6 1.0 0.6

uPVC Pressure 110 3.2 uPVC Pressure 110 5.3 uPVC Pressure 110 8.2 uPVC Pressure 400 19.1 uPVC Sewer 110 N/A uPVC Corrugated OD 120 ID 100 uPVC Corrugated OD 575 ID 500 uPVC Drain/Coil 110 N/A PP-H Pressure 110 6.3 PP-H Pressure 110 10 PP-H Pressure 110 16.2 PP-H Pressure 400 36.4 MDPEPressure 110 6.3 80 MDPEPressure 110 10 0.0064 1.0 80 MDPEPressure 400 36.4 0.0841 0.8 80 HDPEPressure 110 6.3 0.0075 1.0 100 HDPEPressure 110 10 0.0064 1.6 100 HDPEPressure 400 22.7 0.0988 1.0 100 HDPE Drain/Coil 110 N/A 0.0085 N/A N/S HDPE Ducting 63 3.7 0.0024 N/A N/S ABS Industrial 114 6.7 0.0080 0.9 ABS Industrial 114 10.6 0.0068 1.5 CPVC Chemical 114 6 0.0082 1.5 CPVC Chemical 114 8.6 0.0074 2.2 PVDF Chem. Hot 110 3.4 0.0084 1.0 PVDF Chem. Hot 110 5.3 0.0078 1.6 PVDF Chem. Hot 400 12.2 0.1108 1.0 ECTFE Hi-Purity 110 5.3 0.0078 1.0 OD: Outer diameter ID: Internal diameter N/A: Not applicable PP-H: Polypropylene – homopolymer Hi-purity: High purity applications such as semi-conductor production ECTFE: Ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene

Price per Metre $/m 12 18 27 240 5 3.5 80 1.6 14 22 30 280 13

Mass per Metre kg/m 1.6 2.6 3.9 31.7 1.2 1 25 1.1 2 3 4.3 40 2.06

Price per Mass $/kg 7.5 6.92 6.92 7.57 4.17 3.5 3.20 1.45 7.0 7.33 6.98 7.0 6.31

Price per Capacity 2 $/(PN)m

Price per Area 2 $/m

237.16 231.86 245.15 233.35 N/A N/A N/A N/A 313.04 345.68 396.29 332.86 290.68

1423.0 2318.6 3922.4 2333.5 555.6 443.0 407.3 177.8 1878.2 3456.8 6340.6 3328.6 1744.1

20

3.13

6.39

314.25

3142.5

260

41.2

6.31

386.36

3090.9

14

2.08

6.73

187.82

1878.2

21

3.15

6.67

206.23

3299.7

180

27.2

6.62

182.19

1821.9

1.6

1.1

1.45

N/A

188.2

2.7

0.75

3.6

N/A

1111.6

32 42 55 75 160 250 2100 375

2.5 3.76 3.34 4.63 2.2 3.32 28 3.14

12.8 11.17 16.47 16.20 72.73 75.30 75 119.43

447.14 413.81 448.55 463.05 1912.04 2012.72 1894.54 4830.52

4025.3 6207.1 6728.2 10187.0 19120.4 32203.5 18945.4 48305.2

2.1.5 Costing In perhaps the majority of pipe selection situations the initial purchase price of the pipe, for a given size, is a decisive factor in material selection. The selling price set by the 13

The European Plastic Pipes Market

manufacturer is determined by the combination of production costs, purchasing arrangements and competitive pressures. Production costs include pipe resin costs as a basic factor, extrusion costs (which depend greatly on scale and duration of production run), and the costs of quality control and proof testing for high specification materials. The purchase arrangements greatly affect the price agreement. Where a manufacturer issues a stock catalogue the prices asked are relatively high because these are prices for small quantities of products which are maintained in stock and such sales carry the highest overheads. A contract purchase by a user or installer of relatively large quantities, who is likely to become a long-term customer, results in very large discounts from catalogue prices. Competitive pressures and the desire to maintain market share in the larger, more profitable markets, such as pressure pipe utilities also forces prices down and generally keeps the bulk pipe markets at a fairly low level of profitability. Cost comparisons for a variety of pipe types and sizes are given in Table 2.3 but it is always important to keep a broad view of costs and to consider in detail the additional costs of fittings, installation techniques and cost of ‘lifetime ownership’ in the case of buried utilities. Table 2.3 is an analysis of pipe cost factors. It illustrates the effect of material type and size in terms of diameter and wall thickness. For pressure pipes a ‘cost per capacity’ term is evaluated which is the cost per unit length divided by flow area multiplied by pressure. This is not relevant to pipes not specified for pressure uses and so a ‘cost per area’ term is also included which is the cost per unit length divided by the flow area. This type of analysis represents a step beyond the material property-cost relationship shown in Table 2.1 since the pipe prices include processing costs. It is therefore interesting to note that for pipes of differing size there are similar costs per unit mass for each material. The analysis represents a way for pipeline designers and planners to view the relative value of their decisions on pipe material types and pipe sizing. The numerical values in Table 2.3 are given for example only. They have been drawn from various sources at various times and are therefore not intended for current commercial comparisons. Potential purchasers should therefore obtain up-to-date prices directly from sales organisations to conduct their own detailed cost studies.

2.2 Historic Developments

2.2.1 Why Evolution of Technology is Important It is not possible to comprehend the true nature of a major industry by simply looking at its current structure and performance. To properly understand why certain forms of organisation exist and what factors determine performance figures it is vital to appreciate the evolution of the industry. The decisions and standards adopted in response to factors pertaining many years ago often result in consequences that continue to influence current technologies. In addition an appreciation of where the industry came from assists in the perception of where it is going next. Therefore we will briefly review the history of plastic pipe production and supply.

2.2.2 Early Developments - The 1940s and 1950s A reduction in cost and growth in supplies of thermoplastics came about mainly as a result of massive investment in oil refining and chemical process plant both during and 14

The European Plastic Pipes Market

after the Second World War. Three bulk commodity polymers became available - PVC, LDPE, and PS. PVC, with its better combination of strength, stiffness and toughness was the first to be used for major pipe applications. The techniques for extrusion of PVC pipe were proven by IG Farben in Germany in the late 1930s and developed in the early 1940s, under wartime pressures to find pipework materials for chemical plants [7]. By the late 1940s, the investment power of the USA had developed a market for non-pressure pipe-work, e.g., for rainwater drainage, and research was progressing on measuring the properties of various polymers which could be used in low pressure applications such as potable water and gas supply. The plastic pipe manufacturers found that these markets were highly critical of engineering performance and so improvements in the materials were necessary. The improvement in properties such as low temperature toughness in PVC and strength and stiffness in PE was achieved via the introduction of new grades of polymer. Perhaps the most notable was the more crystalline HDPE in the mid-1950s, produced thanks to the introduction of catalysts. Reconstruction of European towns and cities that had suffered wartime destruction constituted massive infrastructure investment and boosted demand for construction materials including utility pipelines. Although iron and steel continued to be the dominant pipe materials the increasing availability of plastics at reducing prices prompted much technical development that created many of the plastic pipe production and application technologies used today.

2.2.3 Establishing a Mainstream Technology - The 1960s and 1970s The 1960s saw the opening up of newer markets. In particular, the rapid investment in natural gas supplies by the Netherlands and the UK, brought demands for replacement and extension of ageing iron gas pipe systems. The Dutch gas industry initially made considerable use of unplasticised PVC (uPVC). The preference by British Gas for PE and its specification for materials with long-term durability [8] had a stimulating effect on the development and improvement of MDPE. This material has now achieved a dominant worldwide position for gas supply pipes in preference to the basic grades of HDPE. Two major advantages of the PE based materials for pipeline applications are that they can be laid from long coils and can be fusion welded to provide strong high integrity pipe joints. In contrast, PVC pipes are not normally coiled or fusion welded. They are laid in straight lengths and joined either by solvent welding or by mechanical joints with rubber seals. The UK water industry experienced quality problems with uPVC pipes in the early 1970s and, as a result, introduced more stringent tests for fracture toughness which greatly improved compounding and processing standards. The 1960s and early 1970s was a period of economic growth in Europe, the USA and Japan with correspondingly high investment in polymer production and pipe processing technology. Oil price increases from Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and political strife in the Middle East subsequently created supply uncertainties and price inflation but plastic pipe demand continued to grow and investment in production plant was maintained. Essentially by the 1970s plastic pipe technology was well established and was recognisably the same as it is today.

2.2.4 A Mature Industry, the 1980s and 1990s and The Current Situation Probably because of a well-established price advantages for pipe in preferred pressure ratings, uPVC continued to dominate water industry applications throughout most of the world. However, a newer grade of HDPE (PE100), which possesses a good combination 15

The European Plastic Pipes Market

of strength and durability under stress, whilst preserving the flexibility and jointing advantages of PE has been developed [9]. Originally intended to meet gas industry requirements it now offers a viable and attractive alternative to uPVC for water pressure piping. PP is also proving to be a growing competitor for PVC in lower pressure drainage pipe and for general industrial use. In order to defend its share of the pipe market in the advanced economies of Western Europe, uPVC has had to offer the possibility of improved mechanical performance [10]. Improvement of low temperature toughness was achieved by alloying it with other polymers. Greater pressure containment strength was achieved by molecular orientation in the pipe wall and higher temperature rating was achieved by post-polymerisation chlorination. One special form of PE that has extended its market range is the cross-linked version (PE-X), whose advantage is that it remains pressure resistant and durable at hot water temperatures of around 90 °C. This advantage alone has been responsible for increasing sales for both domestic and commercial hot water applications and PE-X piping usage grew significantly across the whole of continental Europe [11]. Today the pipe applications of PVC, PE and PP have become a major consideration in the global consumption of polymeric materials. By comparison, other polymers that were market contenders for pipe products developed little and now consume small tonnages in what may be regarded as specialist applications. Nevertheless piping may still constitute an important market for these other plastics in relation to their total consumption. For instance extrusion of pipe is significant in the markets for polybutadiene (PB), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).

2.2.5 Perceiving Trends in Supply A number of quantitative market surveys of the plastic pipe markets in European countries have been conducted in recent years. There are problems in teasing out and distilling the long-term trends from surveys that differ in depth of coverage and in composition of countries covered. The interested reader might be best advised to analyse for their own purposes the results of several surveys, such as those by Townsend-Tarnell, IAL, and AMI [12, 13, 14]. To analyse current trends in an historic context perhaps the longest continuous set of data is that published each year by Modern Plastics International [15]. Contained within that extensive survey are pipe consumption figures for PVC, HDPE, LDPE (including linear LDPE; LLDPE) and ABS. The figures available for PP are for overall extrusion and are not specific to pipe production. Extracting the details of pipe application from the Modern Plastics International data over three decades provides the curves shown in Figure 3. Taken over such a long period of time the total growth in plastic pipe usage is most impressive and certain trends become very obvious. The static state of the ABS and LDPE markets has reduced their relative importance. PVC has dominated by early and continuous growth from the 1960s, and indeed the pipe application has grown faster than most other PVC uses, except for building profiles, such as window frames. Pipeline applications are therefore very important to the PVC industry and are responsible for around 40% of resin use. HDPE growth started later but is on a higher and more consistent growth pattern than PVC. HDPE growth overtook LDPE in the early 1980s and surged away as it became the preferred material for many pressure pipe applications. Other surveys indicate that PP, from a much lower level, also has a high growth rate. The 16

The European Plastic Pipes Market

most intriguing aspect of these comparisons, with importance for predicting future usage is in the figures for PVC use in recent years. The growth rate appears to have slowed and this may herald an inevitable demand plateau. PVC has been able to maintain its growth rate over the three decades by extending into new markets and, by extending into larger pipe sizes. Larger pipes with thicker walls consume relatively large amounts of polymer and so the usage of PVC could continue to grow, even as other polymers eroded its use in the smaller diameter markets. The future threats to PVC growth come not only from HDPE and PP as alternative polymers but also from more efficient usage of PVC polymer itself in large pipe applications, such as sewerage, which increasingly utilises structured wall technology. For non-pressure, gravity driven drainage, corrugated pipes and foam core pipes provide large diameters but consume significantly less polymer than solid wall pipe. An understanding of overall trends must also take account of geographic and demographic growth patterns. The most likely markets to show early plateaux of demand are those of Northern Europe where plastics already have a major share of pipe applications. Other markets in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe lag in depth of penetration and can be expected to provide continuing growth opportunities for many years. Comment on the qualitative factors affecting market trends has been given by Denning [16]. He illustrated the rapid growth of the PVC pipe market from 1965 to 1975, replacing traditional materials and establishing a dominance with continued growth in the 1980s despite the introduction of competitive materials and attacks based on environmental issues. Denning traced the rapid growth of MDPE and HDPE from 1980 onwards to their development as pressure pipe for the gas market and subsequent application for water supply. With regard to new opportunities, he placed significance on the growth of Eastern European markets and the need for higher pressure capability in plastics systems to challenge the present steel pipe markets. He foresaw no immediate alternative to the established plastic materials for low pressure piping. Given the historic pattern of the data in Figure 3, to which results of other surveys may be added, it is possible to speculate on how the trends may continue. The extrapolations of Figure 4 are offered merely to stimulate discussion. Only the results of the real interplay of market forces and new technologies can determine future events.

17

The European Plastic Pipes Market

1600

1400

1200

'000 Tonnes

1000

PVC LDPE

800

HDPE ABS

600

400

200

99

97

95

93

91

89

87

85

83

81

79

77

75

73

71

69

67

65

0

Year

Figure 3 Western European Plastics Consumption in Pipes

18

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Ten Year Trends 1600

1400

1200

'000 Tonnes

1000 PVC LDPE

800

HDPE ABS

600

400

200

99 20 01 20 03 20 05 20 07 20 09

97

95

93

91

89

87

85

83

81

79

77

75

73

71

69

67

65

0

Year

Figure 4 Forward Projection of Long-Term Trends in Polymer Usage for Pipes

2.3 Current Polymer Usage

2.3.1 Overview Allowing for some variation in estimates of European consumption of polymers in Pipe applications it is generally observed that around 1.5 million tonnes of PVC are used annually and around 500 thousand tonnes of HDPE are used. PP use in various forms constitutes probably around 150 thousand tonnes. These are the dominant materials that also constitute greatest growth potential in tonnage terms. There is however scope for smaller, but profitable opportunities in speciality markets.

2.3.2 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and its Variants PVC was one of the earliest polymers. It was produced in the laboratory as early as 1872 but methods of production were not patented until 1912 by Klatte in Germany and Ostromislensky in Russia, working independently. Commercial production began in Germany and the USA in the 1930s where PVC began to be used in rigid and plasticised forms. As discussed previously, extruded pipe use began in the late 1930s and was stimulated by wartime shortages of the 1940s. The PVC supply industry grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s. Applications were then mainly in plasticised form as a flexible sheet material. The development of the rigid forms (uPVC) was held back by processing difficulties and poor service performance associated with thermo-oxidative degradation. Plasticised PVC, a blend of the polymer with a compatible viscous liquid (such as a phthalate ester), can be processed at lower temperatures where degradation is less severe but the product has limited strength and low elastic modulus. The development of improved processing and compounding ingredients which could resist degradation led to the use of uPVC in thicker walled 19

The European Plastic Pipes Market

products including large diameter pipes. This opened the way for great expansion of its use in pressure pipes. The world capacity for PVC is now around 25 million tonnes of which European capacity is 6 million tonnes. Much of the growth of capacity in recent years has been in the AsiaPacific region. European capacity has grown only slowly in the past 20 years with mature market demand in many sectors. As a result, developments have largely been directed at cost reduction and rationalisation of production plant. The trading and merging of assets between major petrochemical companies is a feature of the current supply industry. PVC production has historically been dependent on three differing technologies, suspension, emulsion and bulk processes. These produce a polymer of similar molecular structure but of differing particulate nature. These variations in particulate assembly affect some of the basic properties of PVC but mechanical property differences become masked by additional compounding with additives that are a significant element in the composition and properties of any final product. The ability to modify PVC by formulation with low molecular weight additives, liquid or solid, and its compatibility with other polymers has led to a great variety in the potential range of properties available. Due to the low level of crystallinity and the polar nature of its molecular structure, PVC can be compounded with a large range of fillers, plasticisers and compatible polymers that are used to modify the physical properties, ease processing and reduce cost. This high degree of variability within materials classified as PVC has, in the past, created a number of problems, resulting in the poor performance of some pipes during service life. Liquid plasticisers can be added to increase flexibility and reinforcing fillers can be added to increase stiffness. For applications where high strength is not needed PVC will tolerate relatively high loadings of low cost filler such as calcium carbonate. PVC was one of the earliest thermoplastics to be used in pipes and is still, by far, the most widely used polymer for pipeline construction. The rigid, unplasticised form (uPVC) provides a good balance of properties with acceptable whole life costs. As pipe material, PVC is probably at its most attractive when perceived simply as a substitute for metallic or ceramic pipe products. It is stronger and harder than PE and, for most applications, equally good in terms of chemical and corrosion resistance. However strength and hardness can be less attractive features if they are associated with a greater tendency to brittle failure modes or notch sensitivity and if they do not permit the pipe to be coiled or be ‘squeezed-off’. Within the generic class of PVC there are a number of variants in both material type and performance. The main objective of such polymer material variation is to improve upon the fracture toughness of ordinary PVC resins. The tendency to embrittle has been perceived as a problem, particularly during installation when the pipe is vulnerable to external damage and may also be exposed to low ambient temperatures. Historically some suppliers, seeking to minimise product cost (and not subject to specifications that would ensure long-term durability) produced pipe of inadequate quality. For example, early applications of uPVC, in the UK and Holland, for pressurised water distribution resulted in unacceptable, premature brittle failures. These failures stimulated support for studies into the causes and nature of brittle failure and methods for improving the fracture toughness. The development of appropriate test methods and related specifications, based upon the fracture mechanics approach, did much to bring higher quality materials on to the market. In addition to the modifications achieved by blending with other polymers, the processing of the basic PVC resin was improved to optimise its strength and toughness. The better understanding of the potential failure mechanisms coupled with improvements in quality control methods has overcome durability problems and in recent years, those pipe producers whose market 20

The European Plastic Pipes Market

share was under threat from new grades of HDPE have also introduced new products based upon modified versions of PVC. These include PVC toughened by blending with chlorinated PE and other resins, and PVC pipes given a higher burst strength by creating molecular level orientation that reacts against the pipe wall hoop stresses. This molecular orientation can be induced by a secondary processing stage that involves the controlled expansion of the pipe to a larger diameter than the original extruded diameter. The process and pipe properties has been described by Uponor and North East Water [17]. More recently the Wavin company has introduced an oriented PVC pipe produced by simultaneously drawing and expanding the pipe at the mouth of the extruder [18]. Uponor and Vinidex have also collaborated to produce a new technology for continuous production of molecular oriented pipe [19]. Because of the potentially great importance of these types of product to future development of PVC in pressure pipes, the topic will be discussed in greater depth in Section 4.1.4. Ironically, the more efficient use of the polymer achieved by oriented pipe technology may mean that sales of PVC resin are not helped. As discussed previously, the quest for ideal mechanical properties in pipe materials is usually directed at achieving an appropriate combination of long-term strength, stiffness, and fracture toughness. This can, in effect, mean sacrificing some of the strength and hardness attributes in order to minimise the potential of a brittle failure mode. Blends of PVC with elastomeric polymers have been used to produce toughened PVC [20]. These appear to function by creating a crack arresting two-phase microstructure. Two of the current commercial examples of this approach are the PVC-PE-acrylic alloy produced by Hepworths [21] and the PVC-chlorinated PE compound produced by EVC [22]. Perhaps the most successful of the blended polymers has been chlorinated PE (CPE). CPE polymers are formed by the post-polymerisation chlorination of PE. In itself CPE is a low strength polymer with no significant application as a production thermoplastic. However in combination with PVC it produces a product with far better resistance to low temperature embrittlement. Raw PVC polymer has a particulate structure with size and shape determined by the polymerisation conditions. During processes, such as pipe extrusion, sufficient heat and work, as shear mixing, must be applied to the molten polymer to break down and then fully fuse the particle structure. This heat and work must be limited to a level which does not breakdown the polymer structure nor degrade the physical properties. PVC processing must therefore be carefully controlled within optimum conditions with the addition of appropriate additives to protect the polymer chain from thermal and oxidative degradation. PVC polymer selection for pipe extrusion is usually guided by the choice of a high ‘Kvalue’ resin. The K value in this context refers to a molecular weight related parameter determined by solution viscosity measurements as defined in ISO 1628-2:1988. A minimum ISO ‘K’ value of 65 is recommended for pipe applications. Extrusion technology is well developed with twin-screw extruders being the norm. Extruder barrel temperatures of around 180 °C are usual. PVC has a largely amorphous, glassy microstructure with a glass transition temperature (Tg), of about 20 °C but its small crystalline content, around 5%, has a significant residual effect on the polymer chain forces, up to the crystalline melting temperature (Tm) of 212 °C. However processing cannot be raised to this temperature without causing chain scission and reducing the molecular weight. As a result of pipe failures that were identified as having inadequate ‘gelation’, or fusion of the polymer particle structure, a simple test involving the immersion of a sample in methylene chloride was introduced. The solvent action quickly breaks down an inadequately processed sample by destroying the interface between sintered particles. If 21

The European Plastic Pipes Market

the particles are fully fused to form a continuous entangled polymer network, then the methylene chloride only produces a swollen gel structure. Although this test can pick out inadequately processed materials it cannot identify a material which has been degraded by excessive heat and shear. These two factors can adversely affect both strength and toughness. Studies by Holloway and Naaktgeboren [23], showed that to optimise uPVC processing conditions, it is best to specify a combination of tests of adequate gelation using resistance to methylene chloride, and measurement of yield strength and fracture toughness. By far the greatest part of PVC production across the world is now made by the ‘suspension’ process. Vinyl chloride monomer (derived from a reaction between ethylene (derived from oil) and chlorine (derived from common salt) is dispersed in deionised water with the help of small quantities of chemical dispersants and polymerisation initiators (typically peroxide compounds). At moderately raised temperature (50 °C) and pressure (0.7 MPa) polymerisation proceeds and the polymer can be removed from the resulting slurry by de-watering and steam stripping the unconverted vinyl chloride monomer. Widespread concern about the dangers to health of vinyl chloride monomer has had a major effect on production plant design and construction in the last 20 years. The general aspects of environmental acceptability of PVC has been a contentious topic perceived as a potential market threat and has stimulated much action and comment from the major producers. The environmental ‘scares’ concerning use of PVC can be viewed as a consequence of its success and ubiquity. All synthetic products utilised on such a wide scale inevitably have environmental impact from their production, use and disposal. Three concerns have been expressed with respect to PVC; carcinogenic effects of vinyl chloride monomer released in production, hormone mimicking effects of some plasticisers and dioxin release from low temperature combustion. The PVC industry has responded collectively and thoroughly to improve its practices where necessary and to defend itself against illinformed criticism. The Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (APME) and the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers (ECVM) have reported extensively on the environmental issues. ECVM has charters of good practice for limiting environmental emissions in production and is developing a policy on waste management and disposal. The European Plastics Pipes and Fittings Association (TEPPFA) represents the pipes industry on environmental matters of collective interest. Although the environmental issues have been perceived as a general threat to confidence in the very large markets for PVC, particularly food packaging and toys, there appears to have been little real effect on pipe demand in most countries. A variation on PVC that is important for some pipe applications is ‘Chlorinated PVC’ (CPVC). This is manufactured by chlorination at a post-polymerisation stage. The modified polymer which carries additional chlorine atoms has a stiffer polymer chain resulting in better high temperature performance than PVC. CPVC has therefore been used for piping hot water and industrial chemicals where it continues to be used in competition with PP and crosslinked PE. The mechanical properties and chemical resistance characteristics of CPVC are similar to PVC. Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) is worthy of mention as a pipe material in an historic context. It was, along with PVC, one of the earliest of pipe polymers. It was marketed in the USA as early as the 1950s under the name ‘Saran’. The material proved to have unacceptably brittle failure modes and has fallen into disuse as a pipe polymer. However PVDC remains important as a coating or lining material or as a co-extrusion layering material for other pipe polymers. This is because PVDC has a much lower permeation 22

The European Plastic Pipes Market

coefficient than the major pipe materials. It can therefore be used as a barrier layer to greatly reduce the through-wall transmission of oxygen or hydrocarbon vapours.

2.3.3 Polyethylene (PE) and its Variants The early grades of PE, first commercialised in the 1940s, using the ICI high-pressure process, were characterised by their highly branched polymer molecular structure. The high degree of branching interfered with the polymer chain alignments necessary for crystallisation and so the material had relatively low density. This material, termed LDPE, is tough and flexible but is relatively soft and has relatively poor resistance to chemicals and ESC. It is used in general purpose small diameter tubing and became extensively adopted for water service pipes up to 32 mm diameter but has no significance in the larger pipe market. In the mid-1950s, the discovery of Ziegler catalysts made it possible to polymerise ethylene gas at lower pressures to produce linear growth of the carbon-carbon backbone chain and very few PE side branches. This polymer could crystallise by chain folding (crystallites) to form a HDPE, which proved to be considerably stronger and harder than LDPE. HDPE was quickly developed for pipe purposes, notably by Hoechst in Germany. It had the requisite strength, stiffness, and chemical resistance, could be coiled (up to 180 mm size) and was amenable to heat fusion jointing. The pressure testing and accelerated ageing tests conducted by Hoechst, and other early suppliers, showed that HDPE pipes might suffer early failures by ESC. This became a limiting factor when trying to design for in-ground product lifetimes of at least 50 years [24]. It was noted in the early experimental studies that higher molecular weight polymers, i.e., high melt viscosity, low melt flow rate (MFR), were to be preferred for long-term durability. When it became recognised that poor ESC behaviour of HDPE was associated with slow crack growth between the large crystallites, PE grades with alternative molecular structures were sought. In the mid-1960s, DuPont and Phillips in the USA both developed copolymers of ethylene with small quantities of higher olefins such as hexene and octene. These produced a linear carbon-carbon chain polymer which also had a few short side branches distributed along it. The presence of the short branches served to limit the growth of crystallinity and resulted in a MDPE but, more importantly the long chains became incorporated and locked into several crystallites (tie-molecules) thereby inhibiting cracks forming along crystal boundaries. Such polymers gave excellent long term ESC resistance but still reasonably good mechanical strength. Because of its assured longterm properties, MDPE became widely adopted for gas pipe and with such a premium quality market available, resin quality, maintained by specified high levels of quality control, improved progressively. The Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW-PE) polymer developed in the USA by Phillips and in Europe by Hoechst also proved to have exceptionally good properties because molecular entanglements restricted crystallite size and encouraged tie-molecule formation. The material found a large outlet for high quality pipe requirements (such as the gas industry) in the USA but it is generally restricted to high performance demands, such as aggressive chemical process plant, in Europe. The UHMW-PE grades are difficult and slow to process as pipe, because conventional extrusion processes cannot cope with the extremely high viscosity of the melt. Ram extrusion has to be used resulting in high pipe extrusion costs. The next most significant development of PE materials came in the 1980s, in response to gas industry, and in particular British Gas (25) demands for improved resistance to RCP 23

The European Plastic Pipes Market

in larger gas pipes operating at higher pressures. The Solvay company developed a HDPE material that, for the first time, had high resistance to RCP yet maintained an ESC resistance similar to the MDPE grades. This combination of preferred properties was achieved by further process plant developments, which could give a bi-modal molecular weight distribution of the polymer. A sequential polymerisation process was developed to produce a reactor blend of two separate molecular weight products (bi-modal). Reactor changes enabled the side branches to be distributed preferentially on the higher molecular weight fraction. Tie-molecules were on the longer chains where they could be most effective. The lower molecular weight fraction with few side branches could crystallise easily leading to a reasonable density. A combination of both effects markedly improved the RCP resistance [26]. The bi-modal type of HDPE is now available from various manufacturers. It should be noted that both the bi-modal and the original, ‘first generation’, HDPE grades are available commercially but they offer widely different performances. The potential for specification confusion, which could have serious consequences, especially for gas pipe design, further encouraged the ISO/CEN standards bodies to establish new and more precise performance standards for gas and water pipes. Firstly, the PE strengths were classified, e.g., PE80 and PE100. The number part of the code, divided by 10, is the minimum long-term circumferential stress (MPa) capability for 50 years continuous operation. For example, an SDR 11 wall thickness PE 100 class of pipe is capable of withstanding an internal pressure of 2 MPa (no safety factor included). Secondly, appropriate gas and water pipe standards were introduced that ensured sufficient ESC and RCP performance for each of the three PE materials. Also minimum safety factors of 2 for gas and 1.3 for water were defined. The higher performance pipes made from PE100 are proving to be popular with the water utilities since this class of PE is able to offer substantial cost savings because pipe wall thickness can be reduced. The original pressure ratings using PE80 with the thicker SDR 11 pipe can now be replaced with the thinner SDR 17 pipes using PE100 operating at the same or similar pressures. The late 1990s have seen the development within several companies of polymerisation processes assisted by ‘metallocene’ catalysts [27]. The significance of this technology is that it permits a high degree of control over the polymer chemical structure. Polymer chain structures can be designed for specific properties by assembling additional molecular structures into the chain or as side branches at specific intervals in the main chain. It is likely that new grades of polyethylene will be developed for special purposes at a premium price whilst bulk production of a few standardised grades will be maintained at commodity prices. There is a revived and growing interest in cross-linked PE (originally abbreviated XLPE but now standardised by ISO/CEN as PE-X) [28]. These materials have a long history in parallel with conventional PE materials but have become of greater interest as the chemistry and processing techniques improved, enabling the production of larger diameter pipes. Cross-linking of PE is achieved in three possible ways. High energy radiation of PE by electron beam or gamma rays creates chemically active sites within the polymeric structure that cross-link to other polymer chains. Similar effects can be obtained by the vigorous chemical action of small additions of peroxide agents at process temperatures. A variation on this, which delays the cross-linking action to a postprocessing stage, is to deposit silane groups into the polymer chain. These become the cross-linking sites when hydrated by steam permeation, which can be carried out any time after production.

24

The European Plastic Pipes Market

PE-X pipes have a particularly good range of properties. The material is extremely tough, being virtually immune to both slow crack (ESC) and fast crack (RCP) problems. Moreover, these properties are maintained over a wide temperature range, from about –40 °C to 110 °C. This has led to major market development for hot water piping in plumbing and underground heating where use of PE-X competes with use of polybutylene products. There is also considerable interest in the use of PE-X pipe for severe environment applications, such as very cold (arctic) or hot (tropics/deserts) areas and where piping is liable to damage, e.g., insertion in old pipes with internal projections or in trenches containing sharp rocks [29].

2.3.4 Polypropylene (PP) and its Variants PP ranks third largest among the pipe polymers but quite a long way behind PVC and PE. PP is used for many applications and is used in almost all pipe application sectors. It has good mechanical performance at low price allowing it to compete with PVC in the price sensitive markets such as rainwater drainage goods. Its high temperature capability and chemical resistance promotes its application in the hot water and industrial sectors. It can be joined by most methods including butt fusion and electrofusion welding. We may ask why PP has not a higher market penetration? Why does its usage not approach the tonnages of PVC and PE? Although use of PP in pipe applications is high it has not yet been used for major utility applications and the pressure pipe markets. The reasons for this may simply be associated with historic precedents. PVC and PE materials have received a high level of technical support and development because they are established as the leading materials in the water and gas pressure pipe markets, where technical developments are concentrated. Premium grade products have evolved from the competition to meet the specifications of these markets. The developments in PP supply have usually been subordinate to other applications such as packaging. The PP suppliers have not focussed consistently on pipe applications and there has been a proliferation of grades and properties that perhaps confuses potential users. Whilst for instance, the differences between LDPE and HDPE or uPVC and ‘impact modified’ PVC are fairly obvious, the PP suppliers offer the more subtle variations in copolymer derived molecular structures. Essentially these fall into three categories, homopolymer (PP-H), random copolymer (PP-R) and block copolymer (PP-B) with different manufacturers offering variations that can differ in properties. The co-monomer to produce the copolymer is commonly ethylene so that the PP molecular chain is disrupted by PE segments, either as short random inclusions or longer blocks (where the PE segment lengths become comparable with PP lengths these are called ethylene-propylene copolymers and would have rubbery qualities). The main objective of including PE segments in the PP chain is to introduce flexibility and toughness at low temperature by lowering the Tg. The PP-H is hard and tough and in thin sheet or film applications such as packaging does not suffer embrittlement. For pipe applications, with thick walls, the loss of toughness below a Tg of around 12 °C can lead to inadequate impact resistance at lower temperatures. PP-H pipes have high strength and stiffness and are used for pressure piping in elevated temperature conditions such as chemical industry pipework where they can be obtained for a lower price than the PE-X or CPVC materials PP-R has lower strength, but greater flexibility, whilst retaining good high temperature capability. The material is used for smaller diameter flexible tubing in hot water internal piping. Here it competes as a lower cost alternative to PE-X and polybutylene. PP-B retains good stiffness, has lower strength than PP-H, but is tougher at 0 °C and below. The copolymer block structure essentially creates a heterophase microstructure 25

The European Plastic Pipes Market

comparable with that of ABS or impact modified PVC. Such structures prevent crack growth and release internal stresses that induce brittleness. PP-B is therefore a material suited to the rigours of outdoor, buried pipe applications such as drainage and sewerage. It is a relatively low cost polymer and so competes against PVC in such applications. A higher performance version of PP-B given the trade name ‘XMOD PP-B’, has higher stiffness, impact resistance and strength compared to PP-B resins, it is marketed by PCD Polymere of Austria (30). The product is directed at pressure pipe and thin wall structural pipe, as well as sewerage systems. A further advantage of PP is good abrasion resistance and therefore PP products are suitable for slurry pipe applications.

2.3.5 Polybutylene (PB) PB is classified as a polyolefin along with PE and PP with which it shares some polymeric and microstructural characteristics. Like PE and PP it is semi-crystalline which confers a good combination of strength and toughness. PB pipe has been available for many years and for some time it was thought likely to develop into a mass market application comparable to that of PP or even PE. The biggest single advantage of PB is that it has superior high temperature resistance compared with PE for applications involving hot water transport. The market for PB has however not grown substantially. It has not achieved a performance/price breakthrough that would greatly favour its use over, for instance, PP or PE-X. PB also suffered disastrous marketing setbacks after a series of legal claims in the USA arising from in-service failure of domestic hot water systems. The causes were variously attributed to poor installation technique or ESC by chlorinated water. The net result was loss of reputation and a shift of interest towards PE-X for such applications. The plastic pipe supply industry has generally learned a lesson from this case to more thoroughly test for and consider long-term failure modes and specify with a view to fitness for purpose. In Europe, PB has retained a significant but minority share of the hot water pipe market through the supply of high quality complete pipe and fitting systems supported with good jointing techniques. The market for PB materials may increase if Wavin are successful in gaining market acceptance for their recently introduced domestic plumbing pipe, ‘Osma-Gold’ which is marketed as a complete system for hot and cold water, with easy to fit connectors and a design life of 50 years (31).

2.3.6 Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) The copolymerised rubbery segments of this polymer create a multiphase microstructure that overcomes the brittle characteristics of PS and results in a tough general purpose plastic. ABS is one of the oldest and most established materials used in pipe production, but it has a relatively low market share. ABS is sometimes described as ‘producer friendly’. It extrudes into pipe, and moulds into fittings, with controllable and predictable flow behaviour at relatively low temperatures. It also has appropriate mechanical properties, with a combination of stiffness, strength and toughness, suitable for most pipe applications. The failure of ABS to capture a large market share is perhaps because it has no major advantages to place it above the competitive resins. Although the mix of characteristics is good for general purposes it fails on the specific design requirements required for major applications. ABS does not have the strength and stiffness of PVC or PP, it does not have the ductility and toughness of HDPE. It has less good chemical resistance and lower effective operating temperature range. It has no price advantage in large-scale production. ABS is therefore likely to continue only as a niche market product, 26

The European Plastic Pipes Market

produced in low scale of production for local general industrial pipe-work applications (32).

2.3.7 Polyketones Polyketone polymers are a newly developed range of materials that are worthy of note because of a range of attractive properties for pipe applications. The polyketones are potentially a type of low cost commodity polymer because of their low cost, high availability of their monomeric precursor – olefins, e.g., ethylene, and carbon monoxide. The polymers produced have a semi-crystalline structure conferring a good combination of strength, stiffness, toughness, chemical resistance, wear resistance and high temperature stability. A significant advantage for some uses, such as chemical pipe linings, is low permeation properties, i.e., high resistance to through wall flow of oxygen, hydrocarbons and vapours. BP Chemicals [33], also showed, unusually, the possibility of blending polyketones with both PVC and PE polymers. Polyketones have as yet, not appeared in commercial pipe production and there is great uncertainty over their future market potential because it is understood that both Shell and BP have abandoned commercial development of these materials.

2.3.8 Polyamides The polyamide (‘Nylon’) polymers have potentially very attractive properties for pipe application with high ratings for strength, stiffness and operating temperature range. Toughness is usually good but can be inconsistently poor if incorrectly processed. Polyamide toughness is achieved in the presence of a low moisture content. Totally ‘dry’ Nylon becomes notch sensitive and can fail in brittle fashion. In hot water, Nylon becomes hydrated and properties are degraded. The main reasons for Nylon not becoming a major contender in pipeline usage are probably cost and product confusion. The polymerisation processes for polyamides do not appear to lend themselves to the economies of scale achievable by the simpler molecular structures of PVC and the polyolefins. Despite the fact that high strength means that thin walls can be used in pressure applications, the ‘cost per metre’ is still not competitive. Pipe stiffness is too high to allow installation from coil and although joint welding can be done by solvents, there are potential safety hazards with the chemicals used. The product confusion with polyamide resins is even greater than that with PP materials. There are a series of polymers classified as polyamides, and popularly known as Nylons, that have a variety of performance characteristics. This creates a problem when considering the selection of material for specific pipe duties. One example of this polymer being used for a utility pressure pipe application is the use of Nylon 11 as gas distribution pipe by Australian Gas & Coke Co for the city of Sydney. This large-scale application is virtually unique, although the polymer suppliers have attempted to market their material more widely on the basis of long-term successful use in Sydney.

2.3.9 All Other Polymers Of the fluorinated polymers PVDF and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are used in pipe applications. PTFE materials are very difficult to process and despite excellent chemical and high temperature resistance, PTFE materials have too low strength and stiffness for practical purposes. PTFE is therefore used more as a lining for metallic pipe systems. PVDF however is an excellent pipe-forming polymer. It is highly crystalline with a high melting point and a high degradation temperature. It has a good combination of strength, 27

The European Plastic Pipes Market

stiffness, toughness, high operating temperature, and chemical resistance. The very major drawback with PVDF is its very high cost. At a cost of around $30,000 per tonne it has to be a niche market material rather than a high usage material [34]. Where cost is less important than performance, for instance in high temperature, corrosion resistant pipe for chemical or pharmaceutical plant then PVDF can justify its usage. Another example of its application is in ultra pure water supply pipes for microelectronics manufacturing plant. A number of other polymers are used in pipe form for small markets. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is popular where high transparency pipe is required for purposes such as demonstration display equipment. PC materials have high strength and stiffness and find some application for short-term pipe-work applications but the material can fail in brittle fashion because of notch sensitivity and crack growth when exposed to hydrocarbons. It therefore finds no long-term, large scale applications.

2.4 The Major Resin Suppliers

2.4.1 Petrochemical Technology Background The output of the plastic pipe industry is totally dominated by a very small number of ‘commodity’ polymers. The origin of this supply-led situation lies in the technology and market structure of the oil and chemical industries. Just as coal and iron were the energy and materials basis for 19th century industrial progress, so oil and petrochemicals have been the economic driving forces for 20th century energy and materials. One distinct difference is that the 19th century industrial giants grew within nation states but the major oil and chemical companies have become truly multi-national organisations operating globally with financial structures greater than many national economies. The oil industry started from small beginnings about a hundred years ago and came to maturity in the two decades prior to the second world war, coinciding with the most inventive period of industrial chemistry that gave us most of the thermoplastics still in common use. The simple imperatives of the oil industry have been to sell every component of crude oil for the best price and, at the same time, to continually expand markets by driving down product prices. Crude oil is fractionated by distillation into, ‘heavy’ tars (used in road building), waxes (used in candles and industrial products), oils (used in lubricants), light oils (used in transport fuels) and gases (used in fuels and chemicals). The chemicals industry grew from the 19th century development of basic chemicals derived from mineral-based raw material commodities such as salt, coal and sulphur. Major industries grew around bulk production of secondary chemicals such as soda, chlorine, sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid, and their downstream bulk products such as fertilisers. The chemicals industry subsequently became a major market for the oil refinery outputs such as ethylene. In particular, polymeric materials became a massive market from the 1950s onwards because of their applicability to so many consumer products. Polymers could effectively convert large tonnages of oil-derived products into materials with practical uses because they condense large quantities of low molecular weight gases into solids which have useful mechanical and physical properties. The simplest of the major polymers, PE is formed from ethylene gases originally produced alongside the light oil fractions (naphtha). Demand for ethylene grew so much that it had to be produced specifically by catalytic breakdown of oil components. Ethylene gas also became the main production route to PVC where it was polymerised with chlorine obtained from sodium chloride. These polymers were produced by chemical 28

The European Plastic Pipes Market

industries that were originally independent of the major oil companies but in modern times their interdependency has led to convergence and consolidation, so that today the downstream petrochemical industry is, in corporate terms, often indistinguishable from the oil and fuels sector. The pressures of worldwide competition encouraged investment in larger scale plant for economies of scale, and had the effect of increasing output and reducing real prices which has, in turn, promoted market growth, creating an economic growth spiral that has fuelled a great expansion in living standards in developed and developing nations alike. Any concerns over limits to growth arising from the dilemma of population expansion and finite fossil fuel stocks are continually pushed into the future, but will eventually emerge later in the 21st century as industry supply and demand matching problems, with consequent effects on prices and production efficiency. The scale of fossil fuel usage has also been recognised as a potential threat to the ecological stability of the global environment. The 21st century will see increasing pressures to control pollution of the land, water, and air environments by legislation to restrict emissions and disposal of waste products from this vast industrial output. The relevance of oil and petrochemical industry economics to the pipe industry is that the commodity plastics are produced at prices that greatly favour their selection and encourage pipe makers to design products around the properties of such plastics. This we can interpret as the ‘push’ of a technology into the market place. Later we will examine the ‘pull’ of applications technology that creates a demand for performance properties and therefore influences the investment in polymer production. It is also important to recognise that the high throughput efficiency of large scale pipe extrusion plants causes pipe product price to be greatly dependent on the price of the polymer used. High quality pipe-work produced from say 95% PVC or PE on high throughput extruders with long production runs is converted so efficiently that input costs of plant use, power, labour, etc., represent perhaps only 20-30% of production cost compared with 70-80% being polymer cost. The commodity polymers PVC, PE and PP are manufactured in highly efficient plants on a vast scale and their price is closely related to the market price of oil. Thus for these materials there is a very direct linkage between pipe product prices and the world oil price. In the mid 1990s the long-term growth of worldwide capacities for oil production, refining, polymer production and pipe production have coincided with slowing short-term economic growth that reduced consumption below expectations. The result was downward pressure on prices at all stages. We can see that the production of pipe for large-scale applications in the building and construction sectors and for utility distribution purposes forms part of our economic foundations traceable to fossil fuel exploitation. The market forces that constrain the profitability of mass-market pipe producers tend to support the trends to converge production into large-scale units and polymer purchase arrangements with close affinity to the petrochemical majors. Table 2.4 Table of Added Values Typical Price ($) per Tonne Crude Oil 150 Naphtha (1st Stage Refining) 250 Ethylene (2nd Stage Refining) 700 Polyethylene (Polymerisation Step) 1,200 PE Pipe (Extrusion Plant) 2,000 PE Pipeline (Installation in Ground) 5,000

29

The European Plastic Pipes Market

As an illustration of the nature of wealth creation within this sector of modern economic infrastructure it is instructive to look at added values in a sequence of products as shown in Table 2.4. All prices are approximate for purpose of example only.

2.4.2 Polymer Capacity of The Oil and Petrochemical Industry The structure of the oil industry and its downstream petrochemical production facilities has continually evolved in a climate of global competition and is currently changing by merger and re-alignment of core interests. Major political and financial forces shape these industries but the general trend is to grow markets and increase economies of production scale. The 1990s saw a slump in oil prices and overcapacity in commodity chemicals and plastics. This forced the closure of smaller, inefficient polymer production sites and resulted in a series of mergers between producers to concentrate production on everlarger plant. At the time of writing, the oil price has recovered to an historically high value and has caused the expected knock-on in rising prices of chemicals and commodity plastics. The changing relationships and co-operative ventures between major companies is however still continuing under the need to adapt to new polymerisation technologies, such as catalyst improvements, that are controlled by licence agreements. The changing supply pattern has affected the market in principle pipe polymers, reducing the number of European and US based providers to European pipe makers. At the same time however there are newer entrants to the market in the form of Middle East and Asian companies. Table 2.5 West European PVC Capacity (1999) Companies PVC Capacity ’000 Tonnes EVC 1,320 Solvin 1,250 Elf-Atochem 890 Vinnolit 560 LVM 455 Norsk Hydro 490 Shin-Etsu 420 Vestolit 350 Total 5,735 Source: Harriman Chemsult

Table 2.5 illustrates the supply capacity of a number of companies supplying PVC to the West European markets. As with much of the petrochemical industry there is an on-going history of business re-organisation and production plant consolidation. The largest producer, EVC, based in the Netherlands and Belgium, was originally formed by a merger of ICI and EniChem interests but became independent in 1994. EVC has itself recently become subject to a takeover from its rival Vestolit, an offshoot of Degussa–Hüls, which is owned by financial investment organisations D. George Harris & Associates and Candover Investments plc. EVC has previously been associated with plans to merge with the PVC interests of Norsk Hydro and Vestolit has been expected to link with Vinnolit. Hydro Polymers are expected to be divested from Norsk Hydro. Only Solvay as a producer of both PVC and PE pipe resins appears to be remaining independent at the current time.

30

The European Plastic Pipes Market

The Western European supply of PE and PP materials for 1998 is shown in Table 2.6. The Hoechst PE capacity was merged into BASF and this company has recently agreed a ‘mega-merger’ with Shell. BASF and Shell had already formed the Elenac PE company but the more recently announced venture will add to their PP capacity, as Montell (Shell) and Targor (BASF) are added to Elenac to form one polyolefins conglomerate. Borealis which emerged from Neste Chemicals, and is jointly owned by Statoil (Norway), OMV (Austria) and PCD (Abu Dhabi) has become a major force in Polyolefins. BP Chemicals has broadened its interests via the BP/Amoco parent company merger and has formed Appryl (a PP production company) by co-operation with Elf-Atochem. Elf-Atochem itself has merged with Total-Fina which will create a joint PE capacity as ATO-Fina. Polimeri of Italy is a joint venture between Union Carbide and EniChem. Union Carbide (UCC) has merged PE interests with Dow. At the same time UCC has a joint venture with ElfAtochem to produce ‘speciality PE’ grades under the name of Aspell. Table 2.6 West European Polyolefin Capacity (1998) ’000 Tonnes Companies PE PP Borealis 2,000 1,340 DSM 1,150 750 Elenac 1,950 0 Targor 0 1,725 BP-Amoco 1,250 475 Polimeri 1,600 0 Dow 1,375 225 Montell 0 1,500 Exxon 800 160 Repsol 525 375 Elf-Atochem 500 375 Fina 460 375 Solvay 440 375 Aspell 300 0 Polychim 0 200 Totals 12,350 7,500 Source: Borealis

The effect of recent merging of the Elenac, Targor and Montell interests will create a single company capacity for 1.95 m tonnes of PE and 3.225 m tonnes of PP. Until recently it appeared that the major Belgian company Solvay was remaining independent as a supplier of both Polyolefins and PVC. However as this report goes to press, there is news of a merging of the HDPE interests of Solvay and BP-Amoco as a joint venture operating in Europe and the USA. Two other major PVC suppliers are EVC and Hydro. EVC based in The Netherlands and Belgium, was originally a merger of ICI and EniChem interests but became independent in 1994. Hydro Polymers produce PVC as part of the Norsk Hydro Group and as Hydro-Geon which was formerly BFGoodrich.

2.4.3 Price Sensitivity of Polymers The significance of price changes of commodity polymers is that there is an immediate knock-on effect to the costs of large-scale pipe production. Raw material costs are a major factor in the overall cost of extruded pipe. Therefore the selling prices of pipes can 31

The European Plastic Pipes Market

be expected to reflect the upward trend in polymer prices. The relatively low polymer prices of the mid-1990s must have benefited the marketing of pipes in volume terms because customers could afford more product for a given investment. Competition however has kept the profitability of bulk pipe producers low and it is uncertain what effect the continued price rises may have. On the one hand price rises may squeeze market volume demand but, on the other hand, rising prices may allow some increase in profit margins. What can be observed is that the pipe supply market has, historically, continued to show healthy growth in both volume and turnover, despite the ups and downs of commodity prices over the years.

2.4.4 Niche Markets The previous discussion applied mainly to that greater part of the pipe industry processing and using the low cost commodity polymers. It would be wrong however to ignore the smaller output of pipe in other polymers or more special grades of the bulk polymers because these sectors of the market can still be of significant size and can be far more profitable. They are therefore important to both large pipe companies and smaller producers with more limited market aspirations. Almost all commercial polymers find a market in pipes; perhaps the most significant exception is PS which finds no significant market even though it is one of the commodity materials. This does make the point that price is not the only criterion of selection. PS has an inadequate combination of toughness and strength and inferior chemical resistance for most pipe requirements. ABS a copolymer styrenic is probably the most significant pipe material after the ‘big three’ and can also be classed with them as a commodity grade since it also has wide use in general plastics manufacturing. It has a number of good allround characteristics as a pipe material and has competed for both pressure and nonpressure applications but it has neither the price nor property advantages to be attractive to the bulk market consumers. ABS maintains its position because of good marketing that exploits a proven reputation in certain lower consumption sectors. The pipe market for other polymers mostly exploits particular property advantages which can carry a price premium. An example is PVDF for which pipe is the principle market but at a price around 20 times that of PE. The production of PVDF is costly and on a relatively small scale but it finds a good market in pipes because of its excellent properties. It has an unusually high degree of crystallinity and relatively high melting point which confers a good combination of strength and stiffness up to continuous service temperatures of 140 °C. It also has excellent chemical resistance. Again, this serves as another reminder that price is not the only pipe material selection criterion. A special property that can be exploited is transparency, for example PMMA is used as an alternative to glass pipe-work where flow visibility is required or is aesthetically appealing. The chemical and pharmaceutical industries use a good deal of piping, often for the transport of aggressive fluids. The design criterion in these circumstances is usually resistance to corrosion or solvation of the pipe wall. These industries will accept high materials cost, for instance stainless steel is commonly used. Plastic materials are therefore used when they have appropriate chemical resistance or perhaps temperature tolerance. Reinforced-plastic pipes in particular are also used in the chemicals sector. In general the so-called ‘engineering polymers’ have not been exploited as pipes even though they have good mechanical properties. The reason for this is probably a combination of high price and difficulty in processing by extrusion. 32

The European Plastic Pipes Market

3 PIPE SYSTEMS MARKET

3.1 Application Sectors and Major Users

3.1.1 Water Drainage and Control The degree of control that human communities can exercise over local water flow is one measure of civilisation. The process of urbanisation interferes with rainwater runoff to natural watercourses and artificial means of drainage must be introduced to avoid localised flooding. Since the mid-19th century, piping has been used as the primary method of directing water into larger capacity culverts and channels which are for the most part canalised natural watercourses. For about a hundred years the most widely used material for underground drainage has been fired clay pipes. These still form a significant share of the market though for larger diameters they were superseded by concrete pipes which could be produced more cheaply in larger diameters. In above ground applications or where pipe-work might be subject to impact or higher forces then iron pipe was widely used. All these traditional materials can now be replaced by plastic systems. The drainage pipe market can be divided into different sectors where applications involve variations in traditional technologies and where differing bodies are responsible for pipework selection and purchase. Rainwater drainage can involve: • • •

the built environment roadways open land

Relative quantities of pipe used are shown in Table 3.1. Table 3.1 Main Markets for Plastic Pipes in Europe Application

PVC tonnes

HD/ MDPE tonnes 166,090 249,900 15,400 50,270 106,530 27,950 4,900

LDPE tonnes

PP tonnes

PE-X tonnes

ABS tonnes

PB tonnes

5,700 10,315 89,155 9,730 0 3,100 0

46,960 0 0 8,000 0 30,340 24,995

0 0 0 0 0 0 26,005

6,805 0 0 0 0 3,230 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 5,690

Application Totals tonnes 1,273,905 422,715 159,215 157,580 108,530 79,280 63,090

Polymer Totals 1,373,250 621,040 118,000 Source: Macplas International, 1999, 1, p.26. HD: High density

110,295

26,005

10,035

5,690

2,264,315

Drain/Sewer Potable Water Agriculture Conduit Gas Industry Heating/Plumbing

1,048,350 162,500 54,660 89,580 2,000 14,660 1,500

Initial responsibility for supplying systems to collect and dispose of rainwater falling on buildings and impervious surfaces is usually part of architectural design and implementation is by the builders of the property. This market involves pipe-work and a great variety of associated fittings. The market is large in total but highly fragmented and must respond to the localised requirements from very large numbers of relatively small

33

The European Plastic Pipes Market

purchasers. The market is therefore served by a cascade of distributors and builders’ merchants with varying degrees of purchasing power. Almost all drainage systems are gravity driven. Water must be collected, routed in a systematic manner involving final discharge to natural water courses, after passing through a purification plant if necessary. Some idea of the design considerations is given by the example of a calculation that 25 mm of rainwater falling on a paved area of 1 3 hectare amounts to 250 m of water to dispose. If this falls in one hour, the discharge rate is 70 l/s and this could be carried by a 315 mm diameter pipe at a flow speed of 1 m/s, implying a gravity fall of 3 m in 1000 m. The water would need to be collected by a 2 reticulated pipe network. Gulley spacings are typically one per 200 m or 50 per hectare implying 50 branch pipes to the 315 mm main drain. Such calculations are the starting point for drainage pipe system design and companies competing for this market must offer a wide range of fittings to facilitate the engineering and architectural features associated with the paved and built environment [35]. The product transported by drains is essentially water which may have a high proportion of suspended solids such as sand and soil. Burial depths are generally relatively shallow but the main design criterion is pipe wall stiffness. Strength to resist internal pressure is secondary. Traditional drainage construction has been dominated by ceramic materials. Vitreous clay pipes and fittings have a long life and have been used for collection and feeder branches whilst the larger diameters have utilised concrete. Iron pipe and fittings, such as collection gulleys have been used where high loads or impact damage are a consideration. The plastics industry has competed very successfully with steady displacement of the traditional materials. The advent of structured wall pipes with high stiffness and advantages of ease of handling and connecting has accelerated the adoption of plastics drainage for highway systems. Building drainage marries the use of above ground rainwater collection systems, guttering, down pipes and fittings to the underground drain network. Rainwater collection systems have been one of the most successful areas of application for plastics. PVC has mainly met the requirements for many years resulting in the almost total displacement of traditional iron pipe and fittings. Being above ground, the pipes and fittings need to be stabilised against long-term ultra violet light and weathering exposure. Although PVC has been the dominant material in a highly competitive, low cost structure market, there is increasing use of PP materials. Some rainwater drainage products for large buildings and construction products need to be more sophisticated. For instance, rapid discharge of flash storm water from large flat roofs is important to avoid destructive overloading from the weight of water. This can involve pumped or syphoned systems requiring pressure pipes such as HDPE systems. The drainage of rainwater runoff from buildings and paved areas subsequently involves larger mains drainage routes which are normally part of the responsibility of local government. These responsibilities may be expressed as legal requirements and in recent times have become increasingly involved with environmental concerns to protect watercourses from pollution. The main drainage of water is subject to much local variation. Design depends greatly on rainfall patterns, particularly in the capability to absorb flash storm water, often overlapping the need to drain water runoff from highways and to dispose of sewage. The differing demands call for differing pipe technology solutions. Decision making on design and purchasing is typically the responsibility of municipal engineering departments. As large corporate entities they may be able to purchase by tender/contract through major product distributors or even direct from pipe manufacturers. 34

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Modern highway engineering pays considerable attention to the efficient drainage of road surfaces for the safety of vehicles travelling at high speed. Roadway gulleys and drainage culverts need to have resistance to occasional entry pollutants such as motor oils and vehicle fuel. The mechanical requirements are for resistance to ground forces and traffic overburden. The construction of new roads also requires consideration of land drainage around and below the route to ensure there is no flooding or undermining of the carriageway during heavy rain. Drainage pipe-work design has therefore become an integral feature of total roadway planning and specification of pipe and fittings is a responsibility of highway engineering departments. An appropriate technology has developed as a variation on general drainage pipe-work. There is increasing use of large diameter corrugated or structured wall pipes in PVC, PP or HDPE materials. Purchase of highway drainage is project-specific, generally following large scale contracts to develop sections of major roadways. Land drainage has a very long history and its requirements are often legally expressed so as to avoid conflict between neighbouring landowners. English case law has established the rights of landowners to drain and discharge water to natural watercourses. Most land drainage schemes involve the supplementing of natural water courses by the cutting of additional open ditches but in the mid-19th century, English landowners pioneered the use of pipe for underground land drains. These were made from short sections of clay pipe laid out in herring-bone or rectangular grid patterns which could absorb water from the soil and transport it down hill slopes to drainage channels in lower ground. This remains an accepted method in most countries but is being progressively displaced by the laying of perforated plastic pipes laid from flexible coils. Land drainage pipes are set out in patterns, such as herringbone or gridiron, with spacing dependent on soil conditions. Heavy clays may require drains spaced at 5 m intervals but in light sandy soils spacing at 25 m may be sufficient. Drainage is normally to nearby watercourses which can also absorb silting. The amount of water runoff can be calculated, as in the earlier drainage example, but the main difference is that land drainage is less immediate, because of the holding capacity of the topsoil. Runoff may occur typically in a 24-hour period after the passage of a storm. The burial of perforated, corrugated PVC or PE pipe coils is assisted, particularly in high labour cost countries, by mechanised pipe laying equipment. In rural areas with no other services laid in the soil it is possible to lay drainage pipes quickly by plough-in techniques, at rates of around 1 kilometre per day. The market for drainage products is population related and variations are determined largely by the activity of the building and construction industry, which in turn depends on regional economic progress and government priorities. At this time the developed Western European economies appear to be expanding and steady market growth can be expected. The East European economies are continuing to re-structure and priorities, particularly under Western investment influence, are directed at infrastructure improvements which include much construction industry work. High growth prospects may therefore be anticipated in Eastern Europe drainage pipe applications.

3.1.2 Agricultural Purposes Drainage of land to extend areas of cultivation and to improve winter accessibility has always been a predominant concern of landowners in Northern Europe. In the drier climates of Southern Europe the greater concern was with maintaining soil moisture levels in the summer months. The increase of agricultural crops yield derived by irrigation from the major rivers was the basis of some of the earliest civilisations. Sophisticated systems 35

The European Plastic Pipes Market

of water conservation by damming and its distribution by open cut channels were established over hundreds of years and became the basis of farming in most hot dry countries. As with drainage however the availability of pipes gave new opportunities for controlling the flow of water. The population growth of the last 100 years has required progressive increase in land available for agriculture and an increase in crop yields per unit of land area. Much of this has been achieved by irrigation with the result that many countries now have a very high dependency on man-made water supply systems (Table 3.2). Table 3.2 Agricultural Irrigation in Europe in 1998 Land Area Cultivated % Irrigated ’000 ha Area ’000 ha Albania 2,875 699 48.6 Austria 8,386 1,479 0.0 Belgium 3,310 832 4.8 Bulgaria 11,091 4,511 17.7 Slovakia 7,886 3,333 0.7 Denmark 4,309 2,374 20.1 France 55,150 19,517 10.2 Germany 35,698 12,107 4.0 Greece 13,196 3,941 36.1 Hungary 9,303 5,045 4.2 Italy 30,127 11,030 24.5 Netherlands 4084 941 60 Poland 32,325 14,379 07 Portugal 9,198 2,580 24. Romania 23,839 9843 29.3 Spain 50,599 19,080 19.1 Switzerland 4,129 439 5.7 UK 24,488 6,308 1.7 Former Yugoslavia 25,580 7,204 1.7 Country

Area Irrigated ’000 ha 340 4 40 800 24 476 2,000 485 1,422 210 2,698 565 100 632 2,880 3,640 25 108 119

Source: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) online databases, www.apps.foa.org

The flexibility and corrosion resistance of plastics makes them very suitable for easy installation in, and over, most types of ground. Although most traditionally irrigated lands depend on channelled water courses the more recent additions have been achieved by piped systems [36]. These may be pressurised systems derived from water mains or may be low-pressure gravity fed systems. Water can be fed directly to soil by pipes or in the case of pressure systems can be sprayed by sprinkler devices. In modern farming, irrigation is no longer confined to the hot dry countries of the Mediterranean. Irrigation and land drainage are seen as methods of achieving optimum growing conditions and freeing farmers from the uncertainty of rainfall patterns. Therefore the market for irrigation equipment extends even to areas with relatively high annual rainfall. Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union countries developed large-scale irrigation schemes during the period of large-scale collectivisation of farms. Many of these largescale schemes were poorly maintained and fell into disuse. The effect of exposure to more efficient production from the West and World markets has meant abandonment of 36

The European Plastic Pipes Market

large tracts of irrigated land and collapse of agricultural output levels. As a part of its programmes to improve agricultural production in East Europe the World Bank had identified a need to invest heavily in renewal of irrigation with improved techniques. Some idea of the scale of investment is given in a World Bank report [37]. The provision of pipe-work for irrigation schemes has been identified as an opportunity to develop appropriate pipe systems. The Wavin company for example has a product range specially for the purpose. Most irrigation pipe-work is however probably distributed by agricultural equipment specialists who have developed irrigation systems by assembly of general-purpose water supply and drainage pipes. The main opportunity for new pipe systems in irrigation derives from moves away from traditional open-course water channels to closed pipe systems. The open channel schemes involve not only high construction costs but also high maintenance costs. Additionally in arid climates there is high evaporative loss. Piped systems may involve high installation costs but thereafter they have long trouble-free life and negligible water loss. Piping also creates provision for pumped water schemes that can open land up to irrigation that was not accessible to gravity-channelled water.

3.1.3 Potable Water Supply Water supply is a basic human need. The earliest human settlements were always by a running water supply and most urbanised communities grew up around rivers. The process of industrialisation also created new demands for continuous water supply. When the development of cities and concentrations of population outstripped local supplies it created a need for transporting water. There has therefore been a long history of technological development dating back to the earliest of civilisations. In the 19th and 20th centuries, water control and pumped supplies developed on a very large scale. Damming of rivers controlled the all-year supply capacity. Large diameter trunk mains supplemented natural watercourses. Local header reservoirs and elevated tanks with pumping stations and valving were built to control the supply to a distribution network feeding individual households, factories and commercial centres. This is the pattern of supply to most cities of the developed world and is the aspiration of the poorest countries of the underdeveloped areas. Yet the stark fact remains that around one billion people still have no direct access to clean drinking water. As a consequence, around 35% of deaths in under developed countries are associated with this lack of a basic requirement for decent life. Surprisingly, freshwater is not as ubiquitous as may be thought. Although 70% of the planet is covered with water, less than 3% of this is freshwater. Much of this is inaccessible because approximately 90% of the world's freshwater is locked up as polar ice caps, glaciers and deep underground water. In fact, only about 0.3% of the world's water is available for consumption from lakes, rivers and underground aquifers. Many countries already have inadequate water capacity and amongst those with adequate supplies there are future threats of limitation by contamination and over-extraction. Increasingly, water is being recognised as a finite commodity that must, like fossil fuels, be depleted on a controlled basis with regard for the needs of future generations [38]. The commercial consequences of this are inevitably, higher valuation of water resources and greater emphasis on conservation and regulation. Pipe systems will undoubtedly be an area of continuing investment for this purpose. The main targets of investment are likely to be renewal and improvement of supply in developed cities, and the provision of low cost clean water in undeveloped countries. The former is characterised by decay of existing infrastructures, typically 50 to 100 years old, with associated large leakage rates and inefficiency of supply. The problems of 37

The European Plastic Pipes Market

undeveloped countries are characterised by lack of existing infrastructure, lack of investment, lack of expertise, lack of materials supply chain and lack of construction capacity. Table 3.3 West European Potable Water Usage (Per Year) Domestic per Industrial Domestic Total Domestic per 9 3 3 3 Person (m /y) Dwelling (m /y) Totals (bm3) (10 m /y) Austria 0.63 78 191 0.13 Belgium 0.45 46 115 0.18 Denmark 0.32 64 139 0.095 Finland 0.23 48 109 0.197 France 3.3 57 137 1.3 Germany 4.1 51 117 1.6 Italy 4.5 77 187 1.4 Luxembourg 0.027 67 180 0.013 Netherlands 0.96 64 154 0.22 Spain 1.9 49 119 0.87 Sweden 0.53 59 136 0.26 UK 3.4 59 148 2.0 Totals/Averages 20.35 60 144 8.26 Country

Principle Source: EU Panorama ’95 (Review: Water Supply and Distribution, written by EUREAN)

Within Europe the cities fall into the first category, that is to improve existing resources. The cities already offer water supplies to practically all inhabitants (Table 1.3 and Table 3.3). In rural areas of Eastern and Central Europe there are needs for additional piping systems but the overall need is for improvement and refurbishment of systems constructed of traditional materials that are now failing. Failures may involve lack of capacity to sustain increasing demand but this is exaggerated by tuberculation (calcification growth within pipes) and leakage from joints and broken pipes. Because of the perceived low value of water (it falls freely as rain!) there is a widespread disregard for the cost of water lost by leakage. The reluctance to maintain and repair means that water companies can typically lose 25-30% of their product without regarding it as a financial burden. Commercial factors are beginning to act against this. Water supply economics are changing. The value of water is becoming seen to be its value as a delivered product, rather than its cost at source. So the value includes transportation system costs. The water companies are increasingly being managed on a competitive commercial basis. The UK has led the way by privatisation and regulation. France has established large water companies that act as multinational organisations. These trends are likely to continue, with commercial management replacing established municipal service industry values and restrictions. Although commercial management can result in much tighter budgetary control and pressure to adopt short-term profitability goals, it also releases new investment potential. The pattern set by the privatisation of UK water authorities and the international activities of French and US utilities has dramatically changed the decisionmaking process for UK water investment and similar development patterns are likely to follow in other parts of Europe. The changes involve more critical analysis of water supply networks and reviews of the need for investment to maintain quality and quantity to regulated specifications. Advanced forms of network analysis, coupled with flow monitoring data collection are involved. When a need to renew piping or add new supplies is identified, then investment, at acceptable capital costs, is sought with payback secured by the water supply charges. The resulting effect has been the impetus for the supply chain to develop technologies, often involving plastic pipes laid by more efficient installation methods, that are highly competitive. 38

The European Plastic Pipes Market

The traditional pipe materials of the water supply industry have been quite varied. From the mid nineteenth century until the 1930s cast iron water mains were laid extensively and it is this heritage of aged pipe that is progressively failing and requiring replacement. Cast iron pipes corrode and fail brittly with ground movements. Many of the older pies are clogged by corrosion or lime deposits. Joints of older pipes are commonly leaky. The later pipes were laid in ductile iron, steel, asbestos-cement, and reinforced concrete. Each material had some advantage for particular circumstances but their markets have been attacked by plastics systems. Ductile iron has retained a sizeable market in moderately large diameters. Steel retains its advantage at high pressures (above 1.6 MPa) and concrete products are competitive for very large diameters. Substitution by plastics material has progressed steadily, largely determined by perceived price advantage. PVC piping has been used in mains pipes since the 1950s and PE, initially as LDPE, and later as MDPE or HDPE became extensively used for small diameter service pipes. The pace of acceptance of PVC and other polymers for larger mains usage was initially relatively slow and very variable with inconsistent selection criteria between different water companies. Plastics became essentially one of several alternatives. In later years however, the improvements in engineering standards and availability of well designed systems at very competitive prices led to plastics becoming a first choice material. The water industry in the USA and Europe looked to PVC as the dominant material for pressure pipes. However the success of MDPE and HDPE pipe systems in gas distribution pipe networks has brought about a major shift towards PE within the European water sector. The advantages of PE are in construction techniques. It can be laid from coils with reduced jointing, can be joined by fusion welding techniques, and can be ‘squeezed-off’ to stop flow. The gas industry was able to accept higher costs for a highly specified, high quality PE system. The water industry was not initially able to justify these costs but became more interested with the introduction of no-dig pipe laying techniques and the introduction of higher strength, crack resisting PE100 grades of HDPE. These materials could tolerate high-pressure water usage without compromise of stress crack resistance. Confidence in their ductility and resistance to short-term or longterm brittle failure allowed for specifications to adopt lower design safety factors. When allowance is made for the usable strength of PE100 with a reduced design factor, the previously perceived performance/cost advantage in PVC can be greatly reduced or removed altogether. One area of water supply regulation that is taking much technical and market attention at present is the EU directed limit on lead levels in drinking water supply. These progressively onerous levels create a problem for those countries that have made extensive use of lead service pipes. To avoid the leaching of lead compounds into the domestic water, the supply may be treated with phosphate salts, but the longer-term solution will require large investment in replacing the lead pipes or lining them with an inert barrier material. Various polymer linings, including PET [39], MDPE and TPE are currently being proposed. The largest European markets for lead service pipe replacement/renovation are France and the UK. German water suppliers many years ago opted to use mainly steel instead of lead. The high level of interest in reducing lead concentrations also raised some questions about the leaching of lead-based stabiliser compounds from PVC pipe. A number of European pipe manufacturers have already moved to non-lead stabiliser systems and it is likely that such moves will be completed by voluntary action before legislation is introduced [40]. Although the water industry’s usage of plastic pipe-work generally pre-dated that of the gas industry, the engineering specifications for PE pipe developed by the gas industry, to ensure high quality and long life under pressure, were subsequently taken up by the water 39

The European Plastic Pipes Market

industry in its own specifications. The initial dominance of PVC within the water market meant that the specifications and material developments for PVC have largely been introduced by water utilities. The result of these two separate pedigrees has resulted in quite different approaches to pipe product specification for PVC and PE materials. The mechanical performance demands on a pressure pipe are similar whether the pressure source is gaseous or liquid though there may be some differences with regard to dynamic pressure fluctuations. In gas pipes the pressure variations tend to be characterised by relatively slow changes in response to demand and the movements of control valves. In water systems rapid changes are far more likely and these are transmitted as pressure waves, this is because a liquid is unable to damp surges in flow caused by pumps and valves. As a result of this, dynamic mechanical and fatigue properties of pipes and fittings are of greater significance to the long-term durability of water pipelines. The greatest practical difference in design philosophy between gas and water pipelines is however associated with the consequences of pipe failure. Leakage of gas can have disastrous results whereas leakage of water is not usually hazardous. For this reason, planners can risk failures in water pipes by operating them closer to their theoretically maximum performance whereas designers of gas pipelines adopt safety conscious, conservative engineering practices. The water industry can be expected to use lower safety factors in calculation and to be quicker to try cost reducing procedures, whilst the gas industry is characterised by a prudent approach with high safety factors in calculations and a slow, proof-testing approach to new materials and methods. As an example, the water industry makes extensive use of ‘push-fit‘ pipe connectors which are quick and easy to install but depend on the long-term sealing performance of elastomeric elements whilst the gas industry prefers to use welded joints wherever possible, avoiding dependence on materials that could have a shorter life than the pipe itself. Potable water is transported to consumers through a network of pipes which consists of mains pipes with a range of sizes and connections to consumer premises by smaller service pipes. In the older industrial cities of Europe, much of the pipeline infrastructure is around 100 years old and iron water pipes and gas pipes are subject to decay by corrosion. Water pipes suffer additionally from internal build up of deposits lining the pipes which eventually interfere excessively with flow capacity. The water supply network of the UK consists of around 300,000 km of pipe-work but has not had an investment boost equivalent to the introduction of natural gas. However following privatisation of the water utilities that are responsible for maintaining the public supply, major renovation and replacement strategies have been developed which involves widespread introduction of plastics. New pipeline systems for new urban developments are now almost entirely constructed in plastics. Most pipelining projects start from a supply concept featuring an objective of satisfying the demands of a series of users with water at specific levels of flow. The operating pressure for the water supply network ranges in practice from about 0.1 to 1.6 MPa with occasional variations due to water flow surges that can create negative or vacuum conditions or peak pressures of up to 2 MPa. When considering the possibility of using plastic pipe, or any other alternative to the long established materials, the planner must ensure that there is no possibility of introducing substances that could taint, colour or contaminate, the drinking water supply. The need to protect the water supply from contamination has led to much consideration of the permeability of plastics materials due to the possibility of migration of low molecular weight particles through the pipe wall from the external environment. Also the range of additives in the polymer compound for colouring, modifying properties or protecting the pipe from degradation is limited to materials that produce no threat to public health in the 40

The European Plastic Pipes Market

concentrations that could arise by leaching into the water flow. The high molecular weight polymers, such as PVC and PE do not themselves migrate into the water and therefore present no problem. Interest concentrates on the low molecular weight additives that are added as protection from degradation by heat, UV light, or oxidation. Such materials are often organometallic compounds which do pose questions concerning migration concentration and toxicity level. Studies pertaining to lead stabilisers in PVC are outlined in [40]. Antioxidant migration from PE water pipes is dealt with in [41]. Obtaining approval for pipe and fitting materials that come into contact with drinking water requires a series of costly long-term tests and once a supplier has gained acceptance of a product, there is understandable reluctance to make changes that would necessitate new tests. Following construction of a pipe system, sterilisation procedures are required to ensure that no contamination remains to affect the drinking quality of the water. Colour coding of potable water pipes is becoming standardised as a result of European standardisation with national requirements specifying either all blue or black with blue stripes. These two options are becoming widely used throughout the world.

3.1.4 Sewerage Sewerage pipe-work derives from a human need that is less obvious than fresh drinking water, but nevertheless, disposal of wastewater and its separation from freshwater is an important contributor to civilised and healthy life. For thousands of years the transport of wastewater was in open channels flushed by rainwater runoff. In the 19th century there developed an understanding of the microbial nature of diseases and the major role played by dirty water in the spread of life-threatening infections such as cholera and typhoid. This knowledge was the spur for widespread construction of sewerage networks in most towns and cities of the industrialised world. The connection of households to main sewers was slower than the connection to water pipes but most towns and cities by now have fully connected households. Ownership and maintenance of sewers continues to be a municipal responsibility in most countries but, along with the potable water supply, the UK has placed much of its sewerage system into commercial ownership. Generally, in any area of the country, the same company operates water supply and wastewater removal. The provision of both services has much in common. Water supply and sewage disposal are approximately in balance and are predictable for human communities, being related for instance to population density and the number of persons occupying individual premises. Water demand and sewerage capacity need to be provided with regard to typical lifestyles. With increasing prosperity goes an increasing usage of water. The introduction this century of great improvements in sanitation, bathing facilities, and kitchen appliances for most of the population of modern cities has required continued investment in water supplies and sewerage. The older cities which grew with 19th century industry have major sewerage systems that are around 100 years old and in many cases are becoming decayed and inadequate. In most cities the market for renovation of sewerage systems greatly exceeds the opportunity for new build. Sewerage pipe-work is distinct from general rainfall drainage in that it is intended to carry highly polluted water resulting from the domestic or industrial use of water. As such it is usually subject to more control and regulation and may be the responsibility of different authorities. Sewerage systems like drainage are for the most part gravity operated, but whilst surface water can drain to watercourses, foul water must be separated from freshwater and be treated at a purification plant before return to natural systems. Sewage transport pipe-work may therefore involve the use of pumping stations and some elements of pressurised pipe-work. 41

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Sewerage systems can involve deeper pipe burial and the use of very large diameter pipe-work systems or tunnelled watercourses. Final disposal to land-based water courses requires a high degree of purification and in countries such as the UK, with a long coastline, extensive use is made of sea outfall pipes. Concern over coastal water pollution and environmental damage has led to improved levels of purification prior to sea disposal but the use of sea outfall pipes continues to be an important aspect of wastewater disposal. Traditional sewer construction materials have been similar to drainage systems, that is, vitreous clay and concrete with iron pipe extensively used for pump systems. Large tunnelled sewers may be of traditional brick construction with a variety of cross section shapes designed to maintain flow speed in dry weather and yet carry excess water flow in storm conditions. Plastics now form a major sector of the market although there has probably been less use of them compared to drainage and potable water systems. Because of the use of large diameter pipe-work, sewerage projects can utilise large quantities of polymer. For instance the replacement of iron or concrete pipe-work for sea outfalls by large diameter plastic systems is a major opportunity. Outfalls operate in a marine environment which may involve tidal forces and present particular problems of construction and anchorage. The subject has been discussed by Berndtson [42] and design guidance on anchorage and protection against tidal movements is provided by Janson [43]. Sewerage pipes share many of the same design objectives as potable water pipes but additional features are: the use of generally larger diameter pipes, the presence of solids carried in the flow, the greater likelihood of exposure to contaminating materials (such as surface active agents), deeper installations with subsequently higher ground loadings and external water pressures. Abrasion from suspended solids can be a problem for metallic and ceramic sewer materials but polymers are usually more resistant. Because the majority of sewerage pipes form part of gravity flow systems, involving low pressures and large diameters, pipe wall stiffness is usually of greater importance than resistance to internal pressure. Pressure pipes are however used for pumped systems. In most countries the sewerage pipe market is still open to greater penetration by plastics. Existing pipe-work installations often feature a variety of traditional materials. Concrete, clay and iron and steel pipes continue to be extensively used whilst PVC, HDPE, PP and glass reinforced plastic (GRP) compete in various forms. As with other forms of below ground pipe-work much use has been made of clay pipes for small feeder connections. Large-scale mains are often constructed as brickwork tunnels. Iron pipe, particularly ductile iron has been used extensively where pipe is above ground. Larger diameter pipework is now mainly made of concrete. Sewerage has become increasingly recognised as one of the major market opportunities for plastics. The market has been extensively exploited in Scandinavia and is now growing in Western Europe generally [30]. One issue for plastic pipes in water and sewerage applications has been their susceptibility to damage by the high-pressure water jetting apparatus that has become adopted for cleaning out accumulated solids. This potential threat to plastic pipe markets appears to have been resolved by improvements to the control of water jetting pressures so as to avoid damage without impairing cleaning efficiency [43].

3.1.5 Gas and Fuel Supply Although the piping of natural gas (methane) as an energy supply for industrial and domestic heating was established early in this century, as an adjunct of the North American oil industry, the technology took on a wider significance in the 1960s with the 42

The European Plastic Pipes Market

exploitation of gas fields in North Africa, the former Soviet Union and the North Sea. The transport and trading of natural gas is now a worldwide industry on a scale almost as important as oil. In many countries, gas has displaced coal as a primary fuel and chemical feedstock. Gas is also becoming important for power generation and is perceived as a means of mitigating air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by virtue of its cleaner burning characteristics when compared with other fossil fuels. The development of natural gas as a major constituent in the basic energy requirements of European countries has been a highly influential factor in the introduction of plastic pipe systems. Pipeline engineering is the fundamental technology of the oil and gas industries. The technology was principally led by the growth of the oil and natural gas industries of the USA but the discovery of natural gas offshore of Western Europe in the 1960s led to rapid exploitation initially by the concentrated populations of the Netherlands and the UK. The major investment decision to convert the whole of the UK gas distribution network to a unified natural gas grid was far seeing and paved the way for subsequent global exploitation of natural gas resources. The high pressure ‘transmission’ of natural gas utilises welded steel pipes of around 1 m diameter operating at around 8 MPa pressure. The low-pressure networks within towns and cities consuming the gas were originally installed for the distribution of coal derivative ‘town’ gas which was generated and transported at quite low pressure. It was for the replacement and extension of such systems that the Netherlands and the UK made extensive use of plastics. Table 3.4 European Gas Production and Usage Country

Gas Reserve 9 3 10 m

Austria 24 Belgium Denmark 120 Finland France 14 Germany 235 Greece Ireland 6 Italy 265 Netherlands 1,870 Portugal Spain Sweden UK 760 Norway 2,560 Switzerland Algeria 3,000 Russia 47,000 Ukraine 1,100 Hungary 85 Czech Republic 4 Slovakia 14 Poland 154 Source: IGU Statistics (1998).

Annual Production 9 3 10 m

Annual Consumption 9 3 10 m

Use as % Primary Energy

% Households Supplied

1.5 7 2 19 1.5 18 68 90 45 66 490 17 3.5 0.5 0.4 4

8.5 16 13.5 3.6 39 85 3.6 58 43 <1 13.5 1.2 87 2.4 10 315 5.7 12 8 6 11

25 18 12 12 12 10 0.3 23 27 43 6.8 1.6 28 8 50 46 18 -

30 50 12 <2 41 38 24 28 55 90 18 <2 76 -

Gas Consumed per Person per Year 3 ’000 m 1.0 1.0 2.9 1.5 2.0 0.3

Some idea of potential market size can be gained from examination of ratios of gas usage per head of population (Table 3.4). Highly developed markets such as UK, Germany, Italy 43

The European Plastic Pipes Market

and Netherlands indicates potential of one to two thousand cubic metres per head. Notably Spain, Greece and Portugal offer growth opportunity in the EU. A number of countries in Eastern and Central Europe appear to offer considerable scope for gas consumption increase and expansion of supply network. The current status of the PE pipe application by European gas companies is discussed by Desterholt and Walters of the Gastec Company [44]. PE is expected to maintain its predominance with progressive improvement of materials and installation technologies. Figures for low-pressure distribution pipe lengths in various countries are give in Table 3.5 Table 3.5 Gas Distribution Mains Total Lengths and Length of PE Pipe Installed Country Length (km) PE Length (km) Austria 17,800 Belgium 40,100 17,700 Croatia 1,100 Czech Republic 23,600 Denmark 16,000 1,400 Estonia 1,400 Finland 1,200 France 137,000 63,500 Germany 270,000 93,000 UK 252,000 110,000 Hungary 41,000 Ireland 4,800 Italy 164,000 2,000 Latvia 3,300 Lithuania 4,000 Netherlands 108,000 12,000 + 55,000 PVC Poland 79,300 40,000 Romania 21,000 Russia 200,000 Slovak Republic 12,300 Slovenia 200 Spain 14,800 11,700 Sweden 3,000 Switzerland 11,500 Europe, Total 1,427,400 Source: D. Oesterholt and M. Wolters, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Göteborg, Sweden, 1998, p.9, Tables 1 and 2.

Analysis of the data indicates the maturity of the gas supply markets in North and West Europe. Here there is a steady market for PE to be used in the replacement and refurbishment of the still large iron pipe legacy. In Southern Europe and the Mediterranean countries, natural gas supply was slower to develop and so their rapid growth as PE pipe markets is still taking place. Eastern and Central Europe promise to be areas of opportunity for growth in natural gas pipe systems. Those countries within the influence of the Soviet Union were already connected to the enormous supply of natural gas available from Russia. However, infrastructural investment in pipe-work and high quality pipe technology was not available. Opening of markets to Western investment and technology can now offer rapid growth 44

The European Plastic Pipes Market

provided financial support is available. For instance Poland offers an interesting study in natural gas distribution. The country has a strong record in pipe technology since it did have oil and gas reserves of its own that have been exploited since the1920s. Poland has a relatively modern gas network making extensive use of PE pipe-work. There is a national need to improve energy efficiency by greater use of natural gas and yet the domestic market is proving difficult to stimulate because of the cost of gas to consumers in the free market. Under communist planning systems, heating could be obtained at very low cost via large-scale hot water systems from combined heat and power (CHP) plant. Communities not able to access hot water systems would use open fires and low cost coal supplies. As Poland tries to reduce pollution from inefficient coal burning in old CHP plant and domestic fires, it is finding difficulty in converting the population to cleaner, efficient gas systems which are costly to install. There is an important distinction to be made between transmission and distribution of natural gas. Transmission activities typically involve: •

the bulk purchase of natural gas supplies, normally under long-term contracts with gas producers;

•

the transport of gas via high-pressure, high-capacity pipeline systems from the point of purchase to the principal zones of demand;

•

the storage of natural gas for strategic or load-balancing purposes and,

•

the bulk sales of natural gas to distribution companies, other transmission companies or large-volume industrial or power generation customers.

Transmission is largely carried out at high pressures (7-8 MPa) beyond the capability of plastics pipes and involving only welded steel construction. Distribution activities involve the movement of gas through local low-pressure, lowcapacity pipelines to final consumers in the residential, commercial and small industrial sectors, together with associated meter-reading, invoicing and account administration services. It is within distribution engineering that plastics can be used. Natural gas is used in a variety of ways to meet a number of energy needs in various demand sectors. It is burned as a fuel for space heating and hot water production, (especially in the residential and commercial sectors), it is used in power stations to generate electricity, it provides a feedstock for the petrochemical industry to produce ethylene and propylene, and it is used in industry for steam raising, firing furnaces, and in drying processes. The natural gas supply to Europe is largely sourced from the periphery; from gas fields in the North Sea, in North Africa and in Russia's Asian republics. Small gas fields also exist within a number of countries and are exploited to supply an element of their local markets. The data shows that the Russian gas fields have vast long-term supply capacity. Norway exports far more gas than it can consume itself. The Netherlands forms a large market for their own supply with significant surplus for export. The UK is virtually self-sufficient from its own offshore supplies with little capacity for export. The big users of natural gas include France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. Even within these developed markets, the share that gas holds as a fraction of total energy varies. France, having little indigenous fossil fuel energy capacity, has a policy of generating electricity from nuclear power. Germany has protected its coal mining resources by using coal for electricity generation. As a result of their self-sufficiency the UK and the Netherlands utilise natural 45

The European Plastic Pipes Market

gas as their leading energy resource and also use it for a proportion of their electricity generation as well as the primary heating source for domestic, commercial and industrial premises. In the most highly developed, multi-fuel markets, gas tends towards a 25% share of energy (this is the case in the earliest and most developed market, the USA). In the UK the share is around 27%, but in Germany, which is the biggest single European consumer the share is only 18%. The assumption may be made that where there are ready supplies of natural gas available at a competitive price, then there is good growth potential if the share of energy usage is below 25%. In Holland and the UK, where the gas market is near to saturation, the market for plastic pipes is predominantly in the refurbishment of the older, metallic, gas distribution networks. The countries of the EU and Western Europe are effectively linked by a high-pressure gas transmission grid. From the Norwegian offshore fields four major pipelines, Zeepipe, Norpipe, Franpipe and Europipe, can supply around 65 billion cubic metres of gas per year. Algerian gas is exported via Tunisia and a Mediterranean pipeline into the Italian grid. Gas is also piped from Algeria to Spain and Portugal via Morocco. Supply from Algeria to France, Spain and Greece is also transported as liquefied natural gas (LNG) in large tanker ships. Russian gas is supplied to Germany via major pipelines that cross the Ukraine and the Czech Republic. Other routes for Russian gas into EU countries are by Belarus and Poland. The overall annual growth rate for natural gas consumption in EU countries has been about 3.5%. Expectations are that this may increase with reducing restrictions on power generation and the EU actions to liberalise trading aspects of natural gas markets. Natural gas substitution of coal is seen as a short-term means of reducing the release of pollutants and ‘greenhouse gases’ which is an objective for most states. The environmental advantages of natural gas compared to other fuels has been one of the major factors in its success in increasing its market share in the EU. Natural gas contains very little sulphur and it emits less NO~ per unit of energy than other fossil fuels. It also contributes to fewer emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases than oil or coal, and is thus perceived as a lesser contributor to the threat of global climate change. Any study of the potential for growth of the gas industry in Europe must take account of the organisational structure of the industry in the various countries. There is an on-going process of capital reorganisation of utilities in many countries and this process will undoubtedly influence investment in pipelines. The most dynamic gas industry in Europe for three decades was that of the UK. Exploitation of gas fields in the North Sea created rapid growth which justified heavy investment in high-pressure steel transmission lines and low-pressure PE distribution lines. This was followed in the 1980s by a major political decision to privatise British Gas which had become the largest integrated gas company in Europe. Subsequently the further fracturing of the monopoly of British Gas to create a more competitive gas market has established precedents for a more liberal trading regime throughout Europe. Germany never had an integrated gas distribution industry. The German supply industry had remained rooted in the municipal authorities of many towns and cities. Privatisation and liberalisation meant the proliferation of many small companies. More recently the trend in Germany has been to formation of larger conglomerates. In France the national Gaz de France has remained a dominant single force. Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy have undergone major structural reorganisations to create competitive gas supply structures. A 1995 publication by the EU [45], named Greece, Portugal and Spain as the countries likely to enjoy most significant gas industry expansion. Indeed, the Spanish market for gas is growing at around 10% per year. The Scandinavian countries, despite the large reserves of Norway, are not major users of natural gas. The feasibility of creating a Nordic gas grid is under active consideration, including a Baltic pipeline to Finland. Opportunities for plastic distribution pipe systems would emerge if these transmission routes were created. 46

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Some countries, such as Greece and Portugal, are just introducing natural gas and offer considerable scope for gas consumption, if the required infrastructure can be developed. Finally there is a middle tier of underdeveloped markets, with the share of gas ranging from 6% in Spain to 13–20% in some of the more mature markets listed earlier (France, Germany and Belgium). The market share of gas in Spain is low because gas was only recently introduced but the market should now expand rapidly, with the development of the appropriate infrastructure. The scope for further developments of these markets vary considerably depending on their energy resource endowment (other than gas), their energy policy and the development of the required infrastructure (for transmission and distribution within the country but also pipelines and LNG facilities to import gas). In particular, infrastructure developments will be essential to the development of middle tier, and especially new, or ‘yet to be created’, markets. However greater integration of the EU energy infrastructure (especially regarding electricity and gas markets) has been given high level of priority in the completion of the Internal Energy Market. In 1992, a Communication on electricity and natural gas transmission infrastructure noted that infrastructure integration was essential to completion of the Internal Energy Market, while ensuring flexibility and security of energy supplies. MDPE and HDPE plastic pipes have become generally accepted as the material of choice for new and replacement gas mains in the lower pressure networks of gas supply systems in most parts of the world. Much of the credit for this wide acceptance of PE can be traced to the very successful introduction of PE to extend and improve the UK gas network in response to natural gas discoveries. Prior to the introduction of natural gas in the late 1960s the UK had a number of long established urban gas supply systems to distribute fuel gas generated from coal. The pipe-work in these systems had been laid down over a period of about 100 years and when the UK converted to natural gas there was about 200,000 km of cast iron pipe-work mostly operating at low pressures of no more than 7500 Pa. The great expansion in demand for natural gas, together with leakage problems in iron pipe joints caused by the drying effects of natural gas, prompted a major programme to extend and replace the iron pipes with new pipe materials. Since the 1950s, plastics have been investigated for their potential for gas piping. In the Netherlands, PVC pipes originally intended for water drainage and already available in a range of sizes and fittings, were adapted for gas distribution purposes. The alternative approach of designing pipe-work specifically for the pressure ranges and long-term reliability demanded for gas industry application was recognised in the USA. The DuPont and Phillips companies introduced PE pipes, in a full range of sizes for gas networks. The UK, introducing natural gas a few years after the Netherlands, was able to make use of the DuPont, ‘Aldyl A’, MDPE pipe system and this set the initial norms for a very large scale investment, encouraging supply from UK and European manufacturers. The subsequent history of supply became progressively involved with improving material quality, increasing the range of available pipe diameters and providing an appropriate range of fittings and means of jointing. In smaller diameters PE pipe could be supplied and installed in coil form and this had a dramatic effect on the cost of installation. In larger diameters, where the actual pipe costs per metre might be higher than the alternatives such as ductile iron or steel, the ability to avoid trenching operations by inserting a PE pipe through old mains made the PE option more attractive. Later development of larger diameter coils, close-fit lining, moling machines and plough-in techniques further exploited PE pipe technology as ‘no-dig’ methods became the economically favoured approach. Two other features of PE pipe were important in establishing it as the preferred material for gas distribution. These were, ‘squeeze-off’ and fusion welding. ‘Squeeze-off’ refers to 47

The European Plastic Pipes Market

the ability of PE pipe to withstand local compression between two cylinders to pinch the pipe closed and stop the flow of gas. With each progressive increase in pipe diameter it was proved that squeeze-off could be used without causing sufficient damage to the pipe wall to prejudice its fifty-year design life. The decisions by British Gas to allow squeeze-off for flow stopping throughout its network was only possible because of the specification of highly stress crack resistant materials. Gas distribution companies in some other European countries, that did not have such a high specification, were unable to permit their engineers to exploit this very practical approach to stopping gas flow for emergency or service purposes. The attraction of fusion welding for the gas industry is that it enables very secure, highly durable pipe joints to be made at relatively low cost. Also, unlike steel welding, which requires highly skilled operators and expensive equipment, PE pipe welding requires only simple equipment and procedures that are less demanding of operator skills. Gas companies do not normally have the opportunity to design a totally new system in isolation from previous installations. It is more usual to connect to another part of the system either immediately or in future expansion. The designer or planner must therefore consider questions of pipe-work compatibility. It is likely that the basic design concepts, such as operating pressure range, will be dictated by some pre-established policy, whilst total system requirement to deliver the necessary gas flow levels are subject mainly to marketing and planning objectives. Such constraints, interpreted by a mathematical network model, serve as the starting point for a design sequence that determines the performance of the pipe system. In the UK, system planning and operation has been conducted in the shadow of the long established infrastructure of the 200,000 km of lowpressure iron pipe. The introduction of natural gas into the UK from offshore continental shelf sources around 1970 was via a 2000 km, high pressure, national gas transmission system constructed from large diameter (91 cm and 107 cm) steel pipes operating at 7 MPa. For operational engineering purposes there was an administrative and technological distinction between gas transmission, defined as gas at pressures of 0.7 MPa and above, and gas distribution, defined as pressures up to 0.7 MPa. The technological difference was largely reflected in the use of welded steel pipes with specified standards of pipe and weld inspection for 0.7 MPa and above, whilst ductile iron pipe was the original material of choice for the intermediate pressures between 7500 Pa and 0.7 MPa, leaving the historic network of cast iron pipes as the low pressure mains in urban areas. The network design was fundamentally based on a sequence of pressure reduction stages. Between each pressure stage the pipe-work was considered to operate within a fixed pressure range with gas flow varying with demand. The new plastic pipe-work therefore was to be designed for a fixed pressure maximum, irrespective of diameter. This resulted in the concept of making maximum design stress independent of pipe diameter by specifying a particular SDR. Operationally, generous safety factors were adopted by using SDR 17.6 pipe up to 0.2 MPa and SDR 11 pipe up to 0.4 MPa. Subsequently, the improvement of PE resin quality in respect of both slow crack growth resistance and rapid crack propagation resistance permitted PE pipes to be utilised up to the maximum distribution pressure of 0.7 MPa. The European Standard for gaseous fuel supply will in future permit PE pipe of PE100 quality to be used for gas pressures up to 1 MPa in SDR 11 sizes. The less restrictive safety factors will also permit pipe thickness reductions in lower pressure regimes. The earliest application of plastics was for new and replacement service pipes. The required diameter range was typically ½ inch to 2 inches, the later metric range being 16 to 63 mm. It was immediately necessary to have a means of joining each end into the existing metallic systems; in the UK this was most commonly via a tee connection on to an iron main at one end and a transition fitting to a steel tube before the consumer’s 48

The European Plastic Pipes Market

premises. Over a period of 25 years, British Gas installed new and replacement services in plastic pipe at a rate of around 500,000 premises per year. During the same period mains were being replaced by MDPE and so the tee connections to the mains became predominantly PE to PE welded joints. In the UK the colour code adopted to identify underground gas pipe is yellow. Some European countries adopt black with yellow stripes. These two options are becoming widely used throughout the world.

3.1.6 Hot Water Systems Hot water piping systems can be identified as a completely separate market to water supply or wastewater disposal because higher temperature applications promote the use of different pipe materials. As a result of differing production routes a separate supply industry has been created. The most widely used pipe polymers, PVC and PE, are unsuitable for use as hot water pipe because mechanical properties deteriorate and ageing processes accelerate. The past failures of plastic materials in higher temperature uses has led to stricter specifications of performance and quality assurance (QA) of prolonged life. These specifications can only be met by high quality products which command a price premium. As a result of the growth of applications and fewer companies able to compete in this technically demanding sector there is a price premium on hot water pipes. As a result this market is far more profitable than that for conventional pipes. This is particularly noticeable in the performance of a company like Uponor where subsidiaries specialising in supplying the hot water pipes sector contribute a greater profitability than higher volume products in the conventional pipes sector. The traditional choice of material for domestic and small commercial transport of hot water has been copper, because of its corrosion resistance and ease of working. Copper is however a relatively expensive material to install and has historically suffered from instability in price and supply. For larger scale transport of hot water and for pressure steam lines steel pipes have been widely adopted. Steel has the advantage of a relatively low initial purchase price for the pipe but installation costs are high and because of corrosion may also have a relatively short lifetime. The life of some district heating systems constructed from insulated steel pipes has been as short as fifteen years. At present, despite the well-established position of plastic pipes for small-scale hot water transport, it is fair to say that there is great scope for the further development of systems for larger scale district heating systems. A large proportion of hot water piping is relatively small diameter (up to 50 mm) for domestic purposes (‘plumbing’ systems) and for under floor heating purposes. The latter has become a major market in Continental Europe but has made no significant in-road into the UK where domestic heating continues to be dominated by steel radiator systems fed by copper pipes. The polymers suitable for hot water pipe applications are PB, PP CPVC and PE-X. PB systems have been developed and marketed for a number of years and have achieved some success in small scale heating schemes where they can be assembled by welding in a similar manner to PE pipe. PB has perhaps suffered because of doubts about its long term reliability after long running legislation disputes in the USA where premature cracking occurred in PB systems exposed to hot chlorinated water. PP is probably the most widely used pipe for general commercial and industrial purposes including use up to 90 °C. It offers good ‘all round’ properties for general purposes at a bulk polymer price structure. It is not widely adopted as a first choice material for heating systems where temperature capability around 100 °C may be specified. CPVC is widely used as industrial pipe-work which may involve aggressive fluids at temperatures up to 100 °C. It has 49

The European Plastic Pipes Market

greater rigidity than PP but lower impact resistance and its use is not advisable for pressurised gases such as steam or air. CPVC is not sufficiently flexible to use from coils. PE-X has the strength and flexibility of conventional HDPE or MDPE but has extremely high toughness and temperature stability. The presence of chemical cross-linkage holds the polymer structure together and prevents the material entering a liquid state at its crystalline melting point. The very successful and growing markets for PE-X piping include hot water plumbing, under floor heating, heating of paved areas such as shopping malls and under soil heating of sports pitches. A disadvantage of PE-X materials is that they are effectively thermosets and cannot at present be recycled by thermoplastic processing. Their lack of melting flow has limited their weldability and necessitated use of expensive brass fittings but the observation that they can be connected by electrofusion fittings has significantly reduced the need for mechanical connectors. The Swedish test house, Studsvik, has extensively researched the degradation of polyolefins (PE, PP, and PB) in hot water conditions. The ultimate failure of materials under low stress, long time, high temperature conditions has been described as a third stage beyond ductile/brittle transitions in stress/failure time plots. The Studsvik data are reported in a series of papers dealing with mechanical property degradation [46] and chemical changes due to antioxidant loss [47]. In Europe, the preferred material for hot water applications has become PE-X. Though even when a plastic material is resistant to long-term corrosion or degradation of its own properties in hot water there can be exaggerated problems with associated metallic equipment. Polymeric pipe materials such as PE-X can allow continuous permeation of atmospheric oxygen into the circulating hot water. This promotes the continuous corrosion of connected equipment such as heat exchangers and boiler components resulting in premature failure. To guard against this it has become common to co-extrude the principal pipe with a barrier layer of less permeable film of a polymer such as ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH). An alternative and perhaps preferable solution is to adopt a policy of all plastic construction using polymeric material in heat exchangers and other susceptible components, then oxygen permeation is no longer a problem. For sustained mechanical strength at even higher temperatures of up to 130 °C, pipes are available in PVDF. This highly crystalline, high-density product is extremely expensive but has superior mechanical, temperature and chemical resistance properties. It also has the advantage of weldability. The market for larger hot water pipes (125 to 250 mm) is probably still in early stages of development and may be capable of much greater exploitation as local power generation and district heating schemes develop in more countries. The pattern of energy supply in Scandinavian countries has involved greater municipal usage of hot water direct from power generating stations and such systems are likely to be more widely adopted for good environmental policy. The efficiency of installation of plastics gives them an advantage even where basic pipe costs may be higher than steel. However there is probably more work to be done to integrate the design of power stations and the pipe systems they feed. The downstream output of some steam turbines is typically at 130 °C and 0.7 MPa pressure which can only be economically transported by insulated steel systems. PVDF pipe-work is the only alternative polymeric system but this is prohibitively expensive for such bulk applications. Development is required in terms of tailoring the pipe performance to the generating plant output and the heat exchange requirements at the consumer end of the pipe-work. Existing technology is aimed towards the pressure and temperature performance that can be obtained with insulated steel networks. This is too demanding a specification for 50

The European Plastic Pipes Market

substitution by lower cost plastic systems. A more integrated design consideration might allow application of a more efficient, plastic-based network in combined heat and power systems. The low cost installation technologies already developed for laying gas and water piping might then be applicable to district heating projects.

3.1.7 Industrial Piping Many process industries such as food, chemical engineering and pharmaceuticals make extensive use of pipe-work and the predominant material continues to be steel. For elevated temperatures and pressures, engineers are more comfortable designing with steel which has well established mechanical properties. The plastic pipe industry has made much progress in presenting design data but many production engineers continue to think in terms of steel pipe with polymeric materials only being considered when corrosion is a major issue. A review of the subject by the Georg Fischer company [48] concluded that only 10% of industrial pipe-work is fabricated from plastics which by comparison with other sectors suggests that the market is a potential target for expansion. Pipe-work selection for industrial purposes uses the same products as discussed earlier for cold and hot water supply, drainage and fuel gases but in addition there are opportunities for more specialised polymer pipe systems to meet special requirements. Unlike many of the underground pipe-work systems discussed earlier much industrial pipe-work is above ground and may be indoors or outdoors. Greater regard must therefore be given to environmental variations and the risk of accidental damage or fire. Exposure outdoors may call for high UV resistant compounds. Temperature variations may require design allowance for expansion and contraction. Pipe-work support systems may also have to be designed and supplied. The overall result is one of great variety in available systems, a generally small scale of project purchases and therefore a higher cost structure than the market in utility materials. As ‘general purpose’ industrial piping PP and ABS both provide great versatility. CPVC and PE-X materials are also directed at this market as well as hot water uses. For very severe environments in terms of high temperature (up to 140 °C), high chemical activity, and pressure, then PVDF provides excellent properties albeit at a high price. Other polymers for specific pipe uses include polyamides, acrylics, and fluorinated polymers. Such pipe types however may have only a very limited range of fittings and complete system construction may not be possible. A special type of pipe for transporting very hazardous fluids is a double containment pipe. These have a spaced twin-walled construction which ensures safe containment if there is leakage or failure of the primary pipe. Double containment pipe systems are available from Georg Fischer and Glynwed. Where properties are required that may not be provided by one type of polymer, it is possible to use multiple pipe wall materials. For example where a hydrocarbon liquid needs to be carried in a tough, flexible pipe the use of PE pipes might be limited by permeation of the fluid and softening of the pipe. Using a more resistant layer of a hydrocarbon resistant plastic (such as polyamide) co-extruded with the PE can create a more appropriate pipe wall structure. Chemical engineering is an area of industry that makes large-scale utilisation of reaction pressure vessels, product storage tanks and interconnecting pipe-work. Other parts of manufacturing industry also make use of pipe-work to transport process gases and liquids. These industrial pipe applications are not typified by the transport of one defined product as is the case for gas and water distributors. Industrial needs and the subsequent selection criteria for pipe materials are many and varied. Pipe wall choice tends to be 51

The European Plastic Pipes Market

governed by resistance to the chemical content of the fluid to be transported as well as its temperature range. Another important difference in the design criteria when compared with the utilities is the usually shorter design life for process plant and above ground installations. Process pipes are usually sited in secure, well maintained locations and so there is low risk of external damage even though the pipes are above ground, nevertheless resistance to weathering and other environmental influences are likely to be design issues. GRP composite pipes are widely used for chemical plant and descriptions of applications have been published by various suppliers and users. Kodak are reported to have selected CPVC as an alternative to stainless steel for a lithographic plant. Shelley of Chevron/Plexco discusses the choice of HDPE pipe for an ethanol production plant [49]. Fluoropolymer linings for metallic pipes carrying aggressive chemicals are described by Buxton and Henthorn of DuPont and Dow Chemicals [50]. The oil industry has an obvious need to transport its products from source to process plants and distributors, the industry also makes considerable use of other fluids. The industry has traditionally used steel pipe for most of its applications because of the common requirement of high-pressure containment and fire resistance. The industry is however becoming increasingly aware of the advantages of corrosion resistance, weight reduction and flexibility of polymeric systems, particularly the use of composite structures and pipes. There appear to be significant opportunities for reinforced composite pipe materials and hose forms of construction if appropriate design codes can be met. For some uses, such as water pipes, the integrity of composite pipes in fire situations has been demonstrated to be as good as, or superior to, metallic alternatives [51]. Although most pipelines are designed to transport fluid products, slurry pipes have to transport solids. In order to utilise a pipeline’s capability for continuous product delivery, for example, coal supply to a power station, the solid is granulated and fluidised with a carrier liquid, usually water. As in sewerage pipe-work it is important to avoid flow restrictions that could cause solids to accumulate and become obstructions. In addition there can be severe abrasion of the pipe walls particularly at points where the direction of flow changes and the momentum of the solid particle impinges on pipe walls. In the past, engineers designing slurry pipes intuitively assumed that hard metal pipes would resist abrasion better than soft plastic materials. This assumption proved to be wrong and metals actually perform poorly in abrasive situations. The essential material property required to resist abrasion is toughness, i.e., to be able to resist multiple micro impacts. PE pipes perform well in resisting abrasion as do tough crosslinked elastomeric materials such as polyurethane. Discussion of the performance of pipe materials in this type of application is included in papers by Jervenkyla of Uponor [52], and by Moore and Evans of BP [53].

3.1.8 Smaller Pipe/Tubing - ‘Plumbing’ and Sanitation The choice of materials for use in smaller pipe indoor systems for heating and sanitation systems (referred to as ‘plumbing’ in the English speaking countries) is dictated by the need to operate at hot water temperatures (see Tables 3.6 and 3.7). Whilst a good proportion of this application may involve only cold-water usage it is generally required to use the same product for both hot and cold supplies. The selected materials must therefore satisfy two stringent requirements - drinking water acceptance and hot water resistance. These requirements limit the market to well proven polymer compounds that have satisfied extensive test programmes. Entry into the market therefore requires a high initial investment in product proving. Standards of acceptance have varied amongst the 52

The European Plastic Pipes Market

European nations and there have been distinctly different national characteristics to penetration of plastics in this market. Some notable features are: the low take up of polymer tubes in the UK, the wide variety of materials in Germany, the leading position of PP in Turkey. The UK market has largely stayed with the traditional metallic materials, using over 75% copper piping and 15% galvanised steel, leaving less than 10% for plastics. PE-X products were introduced to the UK market a number of years ago but did not find favour. A fresh attempt on this market has been initiated by Marley and by John Guest. If these are successful in gaining acceptance then the market may open up to competition. Germany has a large market for plastic sanitation products and whilst copper still dominates with over 40% of the market there is wide acceptance of PE-X at around 25% and significant, but smaller, use of PB, PP, and CPVC as well as small-scale use of stainless steel and galvanised steel. Turkey and Italy traditionally have a notably higher use of galvanised steel and in both these countries PP is the most widely used plastic system. More detailed analysis is given in a paper by authors from Borealis [54]. Table 3.6 Materials Used in Domestic Sanitary and Heating Pipes European Total: 1.6 billion metres Copper (Cu) 44% Galvanised Steel (GSt) 19% Stainless Steel (StSt) 1% PE-X 19% PP-R 9% PE-X/Al 4% PB 3% CPVC 1% Source: R. Bresser, L. Höjer and M. Palmlöf, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipe X Conference, Göteborg, Sweden, 1996, p.121.

Country

Cu

GSt

Italy UK France Turkey Germany

40 75 60 15 46

17 12 17 41 6

Table 3.7 Regional Variations StSt PE-X PPR-R PEX/AL 4

17 7 18 6 25

18 1 38 6

5 7

PB

CPVC

4 5 2 4

1 2 2

Length million metres 210 165 145 145 390

Source: R. Bresser, L. Höjer and M. Palmlöf, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipe X Conference, Göteborg, Sweden, 1996, p.121.

3.1.9 Non-Fluids Pipes - Cable Ducting and Telecommunications The non-fluid, non-critical containment requirements of these products mean that polymer compound costs and production costs can be minimised. Underground cable and telecommunication ducts are produced as variants of minimum mechanical specification drainage pipes. Where high flexibility is required, to allow cabling around tortuous paths in equipment and buildings, then corrugated pipes are used. Since there is no fluid flow

53

The European Plastic Pipes Market

there is no requirement for a smooth inner pipe surface and so corrugations can be left unlined. The rapid growth in demand for cable networks to provide TV, telephone and computer communication links has created a great new investment in underground pipe utilities for this purpose. The dominant material selected for cable ducting has been uPVC. In buildings and transport systems the better fire resistance characteristics of PVC are an advantage but in below ground applications, use of PE and PP materials are growing in importance. The application of no-dig technologies, guided moling on the small scale and micro tunnelling on the larger scale, may offer advantages for cable installation and could create a new and growing market for plastic pipe systems. There is also an increasing interest from the contractual side in the concept of multi-utility installation work. This concept endeavours to reduce the wastage of effort in excavating ground several times to install service pipes and cables separately for the supply of water, gas, drainage, electrical power and telecomunications. There is considerable scope for technological development to enable combined installation of all these services in common accessible ducting in areas of new construction. The pressure to introduce such techniques will increase with the probable development of larger multi-utility companies who may introduce common management of the pipeline and cable services.

3.2 Scales of Demand and Historic Development

3.2.1 Overview - Who Purchases Pipes? The marketing of products must be directed with a view to the primary purchasers and the differing applications of plastic pipe feature differing purchaser responsibilities. Drainage pipe-work is a widely dispersed market. The majority of piping is sold through intermediate stockists and sales outlets for building products. Only the largest construction projects, such as major highways, will purchase from the manufacturer for direct delivery to site. Municipalities generally have their own product storage yards which can purchase directly. Potable water suppliers are increasingly developing as utility companies operating on a large enough scale to trade aggressively with potential suppliers of products. This gives them the ability to place larger orders and drive prices down. In the UK it is quite usual for water companies to purchase the grade of pipe they require and to then issue it for installation to private contracting companies. In sewerage schemes alternative systems apply. The water companies controlling the sewers are less concerned with material selection for sewer pipes and so the contract to install a sewerage scheme will, in general, leave pipe purchasing responsibility with the contractor. It is then far more likely that pipe will be bought with price as the main factor rather than any other specified property. Gas pipe systems are in most countries laid by relatively large companies. An exception is Germany where many gas supply companies are still relatively small, municipally operated companies. Gas companies are therefore often large organisations capable of 54

The European Plastic Pipes Market

contracting to purchase pipe to a specific standard in sufficient quantity to support planned operations for months or years ahead. Hot water systems and sanitary systems within buildings are not generally fitted by very large organisations. Such systems are purchased by relatively small building companies from specialist stockists. There is little scope for long-term contracts and the installer of the pipe-work is usually selecting from a catalogue at a pre-determined price.

3.3 Trends in Demand In Section 2.2.5 the general trends in plastic pipe supply over a long period of growth from the late 1960s, were discussed. No attempt was made to analyse the nature of demand that was generating the market. In the light of the discussion of market sectors, how the applications sectors have determined the materials and products that were successful will now be considered with the intention of perceiving the future trends. The motivating factors that drive demand are both economic and technological. A prolonged period of political stability brought steady economic growth to Western Europe in the second half of the twentieth century. The economic investments and the technologies became global in character and infra-structural improvement was able to follow the general rise in prosperity. Indicators of wealth, such as house building and consumption of energy, create demand for pipeline materials. In addition to creation of new urban systems there is, in the older industrialised countries, a need for reconstruction of ageing and failing municipal facilities. So, if the plastic pipe industry had not existed, we would probably have seen much growth in iron and clay pipes. The achievement of the plastics industry is to have substituted traditional products with lower cost high performance materials that spread the advantages of pipeline facilities to a greater number of people. The sustained growth of PVC has been for the most part associated with non-pressure pipes used in water drainage and sewerage. These construction industry applications are associated with general economic activity which is projected to grow through the expansion of the EU and introduction of more efficient industries in Central and Eastern Europe. Although longerterm limitations may be foreseen in terms of natural resource shortage and pollution problems there appear to be ample resources of energy and materials in the short-term and measures are being introduced to improve environmental protection. The growth in PE pipe usage has been principally associated with pressure pipes for water and natural gas distribution. These sectors appear at present to be set for even faster growth than the general construction sector. This is because of a wave of industrial restructuring which is transferring investment power from national or local authorities to profit motivated private companies. Pipe projects can be sustained in the wealthier nations of Western Europe because investment funds are readily available and returns on investment are guaranteed from water and fuel charges. Conversely, pipe projects are likely to be also favoured in the poorer countries of Central and Eastern Europe because infrastructural modernisation is viewed favourably by the external funding agencies. Only in the UK and The Netherlands has the peak of gas industry plastic pipe use been reached. Practically all other countries are still increasing usage and many are at an early stage of growth. The water industry application of PE for pressure pipes is at an even earlier stage of development than in the gas industries and there is still scope for displacement of iron and steel in many countries. The general rainwater drainage market is already mostly met by PVC products so growth is more likely to be associated with increase in building activity. The large diameter pipe market, associated with sewerage 55

The European Plastic Pipes Market

projects is probably the biggest opportunity for non-pressure pipe. Outside of Scandinavian countries, where large plastic pipes have been extensively used, there is still extensive use of traditional materials. The growth opportunities for plastics in this sector are good because of increased attention to sewer replacement, increased substitution of other materials, and the large diameter products use more material. It is likely that large sewer applications will become an area where technological developments will be sustained by competition between polymer types, pipe wall constructions, and installation techniques. In summary, each of the other application areas identified: irrigation, hot water, sanitation, industrial piping and cable ducting, all seem to offer favourably expanding markets throughout Europe for many years ahead.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

4 PIPE MANUFACTURE AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN

4.1 Production Technologies

4.1.1 Extrusion and its Development Extrusion converts more polymers to practical product than any other plastics processing route; it is responsible for about 40% of total plastics tonnage. Extrusion is suited to the continuous production of articles with a uniform cross section and is most economical when applied to the manufacture of high demand products where long production runs can be maintained. Pipe is therefore an ideal application of the extrusion process. Indeed, as early as 1797 seamless lead pipe was made by ram extrusion. Archimidean screw extrusion was first patented by Gray in 1879 to extrude gutta percha (unvulcanised natural rubber). At that time extrusion technology was being stimulated by the early electricity and telegraph technology that had created requirements for insulated coating of metal wire and cable covering, that has continued to be a major market and a source of extrusion technology improvement. Until the 1930s extrusion was mainly applied to rubber materials, processed at relatively low temperatures with relatively short extrusion screw lengths. With the discovery and development of many of the thermoplastics in the 1930s came recognition of their suitability for extrusion. Much inventiveness at that time, including the concept of twinscrew extruders by Colombo and Pasquettia in Italy, created the characteristics of the modern extruder, and it was natural to link such developments with early work on PVC polymers and to produce PVC pipes. The German company IG Farben, leading producers of PVC also experimented with extrusion and the UK company Francis Shaw developed a special extruder design with longer screw lengths specifically for the new polymer. Interestingly, a major source of inspiration for early German PVC pipe technology was to provide alternative beer pipe systems for breweries and inns [55]. The first large scale extrusion of PVC pipes came during the 2nd World War when IG Farben made extensive use of the process to manufacture piping for their own chemical plants. At the end of the war, the advantages of PVC pipe were recognised in the USA and large scale commercial production began, along with pipe made from the chemically related PVDC. From that time on, developments in the extrusion process became closely associated with polymer production and compounding developments. The first commercial scale extrusion of PE materials took place in the UK around 1947. The primary use of the LDPE produced by the ICI high-pressure process during wartime had been for cable insulation but post war production scale and price reductions created opportunity for the larger scale consumption of polymer in pipe extrusion. Again, this time in Britain, a need for tubing for beer transmission appears to have been an inspiration. The technology of PE pipe extrusion and production control of pipe sizing was demonstrated by the UK company Tenaplas in 1946. By 1947 they were producing 30 cm diameter LDPE pipe. The continued growth of the pipe industry and the demands for higher quality mechanical performance stimulated an increasingly sophisticated extrusion technology. However, it is only in relatively recent years, thanks to computer modelling, that it has been possible to understand, in detail, the complexity of the interaction between polymer flow properties, effect of compounding ingredients, heat transfer, mechanical shear and the geometric design variables of screw and die design. Because of the dominance of just two polymer types, that have quite different melt flow properties, most pipe extrusion design studies have been with either PVC or PE. As a result two differing extrusion technologies have emerged around PVC and the polyolefins. 57

The European Plastic Pipes Market

The melt flow characteristics of PVC are controlled, particularly in the melting and mixing stages by primary particle structure. To obtain optimum properties, the particle structure has to be broken down by the work of shearing and by heat transfer so that polymer chain structures can mingle and entangle. Failure to obtain such mixing (often termed ‘gelation’) results in a less tough product that can fail by cracking through the sintered boundaries of remnant particles. The high temperature and working of the melt necessary to achieve gelation are however critically close to the conditions of ‘overprocessing’, when thermal and oxidative degradation causes breakage of polymer chains, leading to lower molecular weight and inferior properties. This conflict between applying sufficient energy to achieve gelation and generating too much heat and degradation was the main preoccupation of PVC processors as the technology developed. There was less of a problem with plasticised PVC used for flexible tubing. Here the presence of low molecular weight liquid additives reduced effective processing temperatures below degradation onset. Until the 1960s more PVC was used in the plasticised form. The major developments, allowing greater throughput of rigid uPVC, came from a combination of technological improvements. In the USA, which had persevered with single-screw extruders, the developments were in chemical compounding. Stabilising compounds were developed to protect the PVC polymer through processing. In Europe, refinement of the twin-screw extruder technique produced more efficient mixing without prolonged working time that exposed the polymer to more degradation. These technologies merged and both approaches were adopted in order to optimise PVC pipe production efficiency. The extruder screw takes solid-state powder or pellet polymer and additives through a heating and shear-mixing process then drives it through a shaping die in a semi-liquid state. The design of the screw system essentially defines the rate of extrusion and is therefore critical to the process efficiency. The increase of pipe sizes and the competition to reduce product price has continually driven the improvement in rate of throughput, whilst maintaining or improving material quality. Because PE has a well-defined crystal melting region at around 130 °C it is in a more simple liquid state at typical processing temperatures of around 180 °C. It therefore has more controllable flow characteristics than PVC and need not be pushed to degradation limiting temperatures. The flow behaviour of PE at such temperatures is dependent on molecular weight distribution which has also tended to be more widely used as a mechanical property controlling variable. Therefore the selection of extruder design parameters in PE has typically centred on single-screw designs suited to the flow properties of a chosen polymer grade. Extruder designers also utilise parallel grooving of the extruder barrel as an additional mixing variable. Chemical additives are used to a limited extent to stabilise PE at its processing temperature. The effects of molecular weight on PE flow can become extreme in the case of the so called ‘ultra high molecular weight’ materials produced in catalysed reactions that are allowed to run to very long polymer chains of around one million carbon units. These materials feature so much chain entanglement that even in the liquid state at high temperatures they are so viscous that they have high resistance to flow. Thus screw extrusion is unsuitable and they can only be extruded through pipe dies by ram extrusion. Ram extrusion uses a reciprocating hydraulic powered ram to drive the high viscosity melt forward and through the die. An even more critical problem for extrusion is presented by PE-X which can only be extruded just before complete cross-linking or must be crosslinked in a secondary process. Because of the risk of degradation during the heat and work of extrusion, PVC is usually compounded with its additives during the pipe production stage. The extruder is fed with a ‘dry-mix’ of polymer powder within which the stabilisers and any extending fillers have 58

The European Plastic Pipes Market

been intimately dispersed. Full compounding is then achieved during gelation of the polymer. PVC can accept quite high concentrations of cost reducing extending fillers such as calcium carbonate, maintaining product stiffness but losing strength. Where high strength is required, for instance in pressure pipes, extending fillers are not added in quantity. PE materials are usually pre-compounded on a mixing extruder. This is carried out in bulk, on high throughput, e.g., 50 tonnes/hour, machines by the polymer supplier to produce pellets of compounded PE containing the stabilising ingredients and pigments ready for product extrusion. PE because of its non-polar, crystallising nature will not accept significant quantities of filler without severe loss of properties. The use of precompounded granules simplifies product extrusion and assists pipe manufacturers in obtaining consistent quality control. The technology of resin compounding and supply is a significant aspect of the economies of scale that favour high volume production and encourages close relationships between polymer producers and pipe manufacturers. Pipe manufacturers who can secure high volume markets, such as utility networks requiring standardised products or large diameter, thick walled pressure pipes, are able to sustain continuous production and purchase in bulk from the polymer supplier. Such bulk supplies are transported in large tankers and stored in silos for direct feed to the extrusion equipment. Bulk handling also assists with product quality and consistency, since it avoids risk of contamination or introduction of moisture.

Figure 4.1 Cross section of simple ‘spider’ die (Courtesy of Battenfeld) To achieve the cylindrical form of extrudate required for pipe production, the simplest and most generally used die design consisted of a shaping mandrel retained by a ‘spider’ within the die head (Figure 4.1). The ‘spider’ mounting is intended to minimise any disruption to the flow and allow full re-mixing into a uniform pipe wall. Inevitably however, the viscoelastic nature of the polymer melt retains some history of the flow pattern, traceable as molecular orientation in the pipe wall. Such ‘spider lines’ have become associated with deficiencies in the mechanical properties of some grades of PE pipe. This is a particular problem with high throughput linear polyolefin extrusion, where orientation can become locked-in by polymer crystal forces. One solution is to break-up the flow pattern by using a perforated plate after the spider but it is now more common practice to use lattice basket dies or spiral path dies instead of spider mountings for PE and PP 59

The European Plastic Pipes Market

(Figure 4.2). These die forms create a more tortuous flow path which avoids localised orientation by introducing changes in flow direction until the pipe extrudate achieves a uniform, isotropic, microstructure in the pipe wall. PVC and other more amorphous polymers such as ABS, PMMA and PC can still be extruded with the more free-flowing spider mounted dies without creating lines of weakness.

Figure 4.2 Cross section of lattice basket die (Courtesy of Battenfeld)

4.1.2 Co-extrusion and Multi-Wall Pipes Co-extrusion of multi-layered pipe is a topic of increasing technical and commercial interest. Multi-layering creates a more specific design function for the pipe wall and is therefore a means of adding product value whilst retaining the high output nature of extrusion economics. The challenge for manufacturers is to identify market opportunities for these more sophisticated pipe forms. Layers can be added to overcome property deficiencies in the principal pipe wall. For instance, where a PE pipe may be subject to permeation, or softening by a hydrocarbon fluid, a polyamide layer may be used. A commercial example is the ‘petropipe’ manufactured by Glynwed Pipe Systems as a petroleum fuel transport pipe. Where a PE pipe would allow undesirable gas phase permeation, an EVOH or PVDC barrier layer may be added. A successful example is the hot water central heating pipe manufactured by Wirsbo (Uponor) where an EVOH layer is co-extruded on to cross-linked PE to prevent oxygen entering the water and corroding metallic components. Outer PP layers have been added to PE pipe for the purpose of simplifying surface preparation prior to electrofusion welding (see Section 6.2) and as a means of protecting the underlying pipe surface from damage during no-dig installation (see Section 6.1). An example of this approach is the Uponor ‘Profuse’ product. A South African company Mega Pipe has developed a crosshead extrusion technique for coating HDPE pipe with a fire resistant compound so that the pipe can be used in the mining industry. Control of the appearance and surface properties of a pipe by extrusion of an external layer can potentially offer advantages in pipe detection and recognition. The tracing of long-buried pipelines is a perennial problem for pipeline workers. Metallic pipes are detectable by electromagnetic induction but the tracing of plastic pipes has proved 60

The European Plastic Pipes Market

difficult. Extruded surface layers can be used to incorporate electrical conductivity or magnetic properties without affecting the main pipe wall properties. Surface layering can also offer a means of changing pipe colour without wastage of production in the main extruder. Magnetic properties in PE pipes can be achieved by incorporation of small quantities of magnetic material such as strontium ferrite. The Gas Research Institute of the USA has found that passing such a pipe through a magnetic field during extrusion allows encoding of data [56]. Electrically conductive surfaces in GRP pipe has been reported by Louisiana State University [57] who used milled carbon fibre as a filler in a polyester resin coating. More complex examples of co-extrusion technology include foam core pipe extrusion and reinforcement of the pipe wall by fibres or by metallic foil.

Figure 4.3 Cross section of three layer co-extrusion die, as used for foam cured pipes (Courtesy of Battenfeld) The technology for co-extrusion is long established but recent years have seen an increasing level of sophistication in die-head design (Figure 4.3). Much design know-how has come from the extensive use of co-extrusion in blown film processing where it is used to create multi-layer packaging materials. The feed extruder layouts for co-extrusion depend greatly on the relative quantities of material in the different layers. Most generally for pipes, relatively thin layers are being added to a main carrier pipe, the co-extruder will then be small and can be added in parallel above or alongside the main extruder. It may also be sited at right angles, feeding the die as a ‘T’ head.

4.1.3 Conex The ‘Conex’ system is a relatively recent development that has introduced radical new thinking to co-extrusion. The conceptual idea was by Kirjavainen a research worker at VTT, Tampere, Finland, but the system has been developed by a collaborative venture between Uponor, NK Cables and Nextrom [58]. Instead of thinking in terms of separate extruders supplying a multiple die-head, the Conex system integrates the extrusion process and the die-head as a multiple material feed system. 61

The European Plastic Pipes Market

It relies on conical extrusion screws that mesh together to provide a series of separate material flow paths. Each rotating conical core provides two material paths, through screw feeds along the outer and inner surfaces of the core. By adding additional cones in series, additional cylindrical extrudate paths are built up. The thickness of the layers is effectively controlled by the feed rate to each of the rotating cones. The Conex system provides other advantages: it is more compact compared with conventional screw systems, which leads to lower polymer residence time and also to faster changeovers and less scrap when changing product. The Conex system also lends itself to extrusion of special purpose pipe wall materials, such as short-fibre filled polymers, metallic fillers, high heat conductive polymers, electrically conductive (carbon filled) polymers, and high molecular weight materials. Uponor already has pipe products which are produced by co-extrusion and the Conex system promises to increase its market opportunities in this area.

4.1.4 Polymer Orientation Control The influence of polymer orientation on strength is widely recognised in the production of synthetic fibres which gain their high strength by single dimensional highly oriented polymer chains and blown film production which creates two-dimensional orientation. Orientation in two dimensions is also achieved by the stretching of material during blow moulding and accounts for the high-pressure capability of thin walled, blow-moulded bottles. Orientation of polymer molecules in the wall of pipes can be used to add strength in the more highly stressed directions. Burst resistance can be increased by peripheral orientation (hoop direction) and tensile loading resistance in the axial direction can be increased by orientation parallel to the direction of extrusion. The combination of these is beneficial for many pipe applications and is referred to as biaxial orientation. This was recognised relatively early in the development of PE pipe extrusion technology and Hoechst the PE supply company worked with the extruder manufacturer Rieffenhauser on methods of creating biaxial orientation in [59]. A series of papers produced by Leeds University [60] describe the progress made in biaxial orientation of MDPE pipe by a continuous process of stretching and expanding the material over a mandrel, downstream of the extrusion die where the temperature was dropped to the re-crystallisation point. The technology developed at Leeds University is being licensed by the British Technology Group to Japanese companies [61]. A similar process has been developed for PP by Singapore University [62]. PVC pipe orientation can be achieved more easily by an ‘off-line’ process involving a subsidiary process carried out on previously extruded pipe. A straight length of PVC pipe is closed off at both ends, heated, and, in effect, ‘blow moulded ‘ to a larger diameter. This relatively simple process has been used for many years to produce a range of molecularly oriented PVC pipes (MOPVC) that have significantly higher burst strength than conventional pipes. The limitation of that process is the non-continuity of production which adds processing costs. A method of creating biaxial orientation of PVC at the extruder die exit has been achieved by Wavin and a product range has been introduced based on this technology. In addition to superior strength in the axial and hoop directions the pipe has tougher impact character and resists cracking by a laminar failure mode [18]. Biaxial oriented PVC pipe 62

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has also been announced by Uponor using a technology developed in conjunction with Vinadex of Australia [19] (see Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4 Biaxial orientation line Reproduced from P. G. Chapman and L. Ågren, Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, p.167, Figure 3. ©1998, Institute of Materials, UK. These developments are likely to be highly significant for the future direction of PVC pipe technology. They do not counteract the advantages offered by PE pressure pipes in terms of weldability and coilability but they do potentially offer significant reductions in pipe thickness (hence lower material cost) for a given pressure rating. Such products may provide a technological advantage for some pipe manufacturers helping to preserve profitability when in competition with conventional PVC pipe sales.

Figure 4.5 Schematic diagram of the centre section through the SCOREX die assembly used for the production of tube. The features indicated are as follows:

(1) extruder (supply of molten material); (2) heated adapter block; (3) connection bushes; (4) piston chamber (one of four); (5) heated piston manifold block; (6) piston (one of four);(7) molten material being subjected to the shearing action of the pistons; (8) melt-solid interface (the position of this defines the cross-sectional area of (7)); (9) cooling rings (external cooling); (10) circular channels for cooling fluid; (11) cooling die assembly; (12) cooling chamber for core; (13) solid extrudate. Reproduced with permission from P.S. Allan, M.J. Bevis, P. Chuah and C.J. May, Plastics Pipes VIII, Konigshof, The Netherlands, 1992, Paper No. E2/4, Figure 1. © 1992, Institute of Materials, UK. Extrusion technology has become highly refined, particularly with the advent of computer assisted mathematical modelling, which predicts polymer flow interaction with extruder 63

The European Plastic Pipes Market

and die geometry and dynamics. Some fundamentally new approaches are also emerging which attempt to control polymer orientation to provide property advantages such as internal pressure resistance. A good example is the shear controlled orientation extrusion (Scorex) process developed by Brunel University [63] (Figure 4.5). Scorex utilises pistons radial to the die head to create a balancing pressure which locally reduces the screw induced melt pressure and promotes hoop direction orientation. Cooling at the die exit rapidly solidifies the melt, traps the orientation and replaces the normal calibration and cooling baths. At its present stage of development the Scorex process reduces rate of throughput and has not yet proved to be economic for normal pipe extrusion. However the hoop direction orientation increases the pressure capability of the pipe and points the way to achieving a higher strength product from exploitation of polymer structure. Further developments of this technology are die heads that create orientation in short fibre reinforced thermoplastics and a method of forming pipe bends by deflecting the extruded section emerging from the Scorex die [64]. The deflection of the extrudate creates flow pattern changes within the cooling melt-solid interface that increase flow on the outer bend and reduce flow on the inner bend. The net result is a continuously formed bend of any radius or direction that possesses uniform wall thickness.

4.1.5 Structured Pipewalls and Foam Core Walls In many pipe applications the pressure resisting strength of the pipe wall is less important than the ring stiffness of the wall, which confers resistance to external crushing forces. This is the case for example when the function of the pipe is simply to create a ducting, through which fluids may flow under gravity or through which cables or service pipes may be passed. In these circumstances the stiffness of the pipe may be achieved, with less use of material than solid wall pipe, by creating stiffening structures, such as box-section ribbing within the wall. Another form of pipe wall structuring used to create bending flexibility whilst retaining crush resistance is to corrugate the pipe wall in a sinusoidal section. Alternatively it may be observed that resistance to bending occurs by the extension or compression of the outer and inner pipe surfaces whilst the neutral axis of the mid-wall confers little contribution. Therefore the mid-wall material may be replaced by a lower quality polymer or a foamed polymer. All these pipe wall structural forms can be achieved in continuous extrusion by modifications at the die-head and haul-off equipment.

Figure 4.6 Spirally ribbed uPVC pipe Reproduced with permission from P. Böen, Plastics Pipes VIII Conference, Konigshof, The Netherlands, 1992, Paper No. E2/2, Figure 2. © 1992, Institute of Materials, UK. 64

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Rib sections and convolutions may be economically achieved by a post-extrusion die moulding treatment using either internal pressure or external vacuum to force the extrudate into die sections moving with the product. The convolutions or ribbed pipe sections can be internally lined for smoothness or externally covered, by means of a coextruded material (see Figure 4.6). Foam cored pipe is manufactured by a special form of co-extrusion. This type of product has come to dominate the market for non-pressure pipe in France where Alphacan was one of the first companies in Europe to develop suitable equipment and compounds. For a given pipe diameter and stiffness it is estimated that foam core pipe can use around 25% less material than a solid wall, giving about 20% cost saving. Success with such products has created a demand for production equipment and now each of the major extrusion machinery manufacturers can supply new lines or can modify conventional pipe extruders to produce a foam cored extrudate. A general summary of the equipment supply situation in Europe 1997 has been written by Anscombe [65] and a more recent technical description has been given by Polz of Cincinnati Milakron (Austria) [66]. Since the pipe core properties are not critical to lifetime durability and mechanical strength, the foam cored PVC non-pressure pipes are seen as a suitable outlet for recycled polymer. A description of this approach has been published by Potz and Benjamin of the company Pipelife [67]. The UK company Hepworth has developed a sewer re-lining system ‘PSewa’ based on a three layer pipe having a PVC foam core, a tough PVC/PE alloy inner surface and an outer layer of standard uPVC [68]. A very high rate of growth has developed for corrugated pipewall materials and resulted in continued development of the production technology. The Canadian company Corma offers systems capable of producing corrugated pipe in diameters ranging from 1 mm to 3 metres. All the major pipe manufacturers now offer a wide range of corrugated pipewall products. In 1998, the Finland based, but multi-national company Uponor took a controlling interest in the German company Unicor that had proved to be highly successful in the design and manufacture of pipe corrugating machinery. Other European manufacturers are Drossbach of Germany and Corelco of France. There has been a worldwide export market for such equipment with particularly strong growth of 20 to 25% per year in the USA. Structured wall pipes have benefitted from growth in demand for telecommunication cable ducting but, in terms of material conversion tonnages, drainage and sewerage pipes are becoming the major outlets. The structural pipewall products directed at mechanically undemanding ducting purposes have in the past utilised PVC but the technique can be used with any of the pipe polymers and HDPE and PP versions are now finding wide application. The saving in material content for a given pipe size confers a price advantage plus handling advantages in terms of reduced weight for large pipes and coilability through a useful range of sizes. The perforated forms of corrugated pipe are now used for the majority of land drainage work. Road drainage systems and culverts are becoming a successful market for large diameter products. With the development of a capability for making lightweight structured wall pipes in very large diameters (2 m and more) there are growing opportunities throughout Europe to gain a larger share of the sewerage system construction and refurbishment market with these products. Although ribbed or corrugated pipe forms have been directed mainly towards non-pressure ducting, where strength is not critical, there are possibly new markets within the pressure pipe industries in repair and renewal of iron pipe systems. Iron piping that has become unsatisfactory for gas or water distribution because of corrosion induced leakage often has considerable residual strength in the pipewall so lining pipes do not necessarily require high strength. Rehabilitation of iron pipe by insertion of a ribbed, lightweight pipe may be possible using high quality, long-term stress resistant grades of HDPE. The Uponor product ‘Flexoren’ consists of a corrugated HDPE pipe with a lining of thermoplastic elastomer to confer smooth flow. The product has been proposed for slip65

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lining renovation of low pressure pipe systems [69]. In co-operation with BG-Transco, Uponor have developed a highly flexible, convoluted MDPE pipe ‘Serviflex’ for the renovation lining of small diameter gas service pipes [70]. A quite different route to structured pipe walls that is utilised in the production of very large diameter pipes for non-pressure applications is to create a pipe wall by helical winding of extruded HDPE profiles. This type of pipe is used in large diameter sewerage and water drainage since it allows production of pipe of diameters of three meters or more with relatively low tooling costs. Even larger cylindrical structures such as storage tanks and silos can be assembled by this technique. Many pipe wall forms are possible by varying the geometry of the extruded profile that is wound on to the pipe shaping mandrel. The most serious disadvantage of this form of pipe construction, and which effectively limits its use to low internal pressures, is the continuous helical weld line. This inevitably results in a line of real or potential weakness. Whilst faults in this weld line may be minimised by very strict quality control in production it is probably impossible with present technology to remove the effects of microstructural features along the knit line. The German company Bauku specialises in producing these pipes and licenses their manufacture by other companies in many other countries [71].

4.1.6 Composite and Reinforced Pipe Production Techniques 4.1.6.1 Thermosets –‘GRP Pipes’ Although composite forms of pipe may not have reached the same level of growth and widespread application as the commodity thermoplastic pipes, they have penetrated important market sectors and often attain a premium value. Composites can offer high performance for specific requirements. In the case of high pressure applications they are an alternative to steel pipe, especially where corrosion resistance and weight reduction are required. The chemical engineering construction industry with its need for conveyance of various fluids and applications in demanding environments, is a major consumer of composites, particularly fibre reinforced pressure pipes. An extremely versatile form of large diameter pipe can be produced by rotational casting. Chopped fibre is impregnated with low viscosity, high wettability, uncured resins, mainly polyester and epoxy types. Heat curing then bonds a dense fibrous structure within the thermoset resin matrix. The discontinuity of the fibre structure means that the strength of these products is limited by the strength of the resin matrix and the bond it creates between fibres. The presence of the glass or other fibre can have a major effect on modulus and stiffness but is unlikely to significantly improve strength; however, the composite structure has far greater toughness than the relatively brittle thermosetting resins which are rarely utilised in the unreinforced state. Although this type of pipe is only likely to be suitable for low-pressure applications, its versatility in construction and its availability in very large diameters give it advantages for sewerage and high volume-flow drainage applications. Continuous wound fibres held together within a polymer matrix offer structural strength which is determined by the fibre properties rather than by the polymer matrix properties. This is because the major stresses can be accommodated within the fibre axis without transfer through the binding resin. Designs for high strength, cylindrical structures in fibrereinforced plastics (FRP), were originally developed in the aerospace and defence industries for the construction of lightweight rocket motors and aircraft bodies. The filament winding and resin impregnation technologies were subsequently adapted for pipe 66

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production. The high level of technical support given to the development of these ‘advanced materials’ has resulted in many analytical studies of the mechanical strength of composites as well as research into a wide range of fibre and resin combinations. The task for pipe suppliers has been to adapt this technology at a lower cost, higher volume approach whilst still maintaining high standards of quality control. The preferred materials for most reinforced plastic pipe applications are glass fibres and thermosetting polyester or epoxy resins. The advantages of such reinforced thermosets, in terms of high pressure and high temperature performance, has led to their use in some very demanding applications. Most pipe applications require assured performance under continuous service stresses for many years, pipe designers therefore generally regard the availability of long term performance data on a composite material and proven resistance to degradation by stress, heat or chemical action as more important than any small improvements in mechanical properties by changing the fibre or resin components. The physical properties of GRP materials under short and long term stresses have been extensively studied and reported. Failure modes have been investigated and resistance to impact damage characterised. GRP pressure pipes are widely used in above ground chemical plants. Unlike buried utility systems such pipe-work can be readily subjected to inspection and maintenance. Due to its application in chemical engineering plant there have been many studies of the chemical resistance of GRP. Composite structures can have a complex response to chemical attack, it is necessary to consider the behaviour of the fibres, the matrix and the common interface. Where high-pressure gases are being transported it is also necessary to consider the effects of gas permeation on the composite structure. If gas becomes dissolved at pressure it may accumulate and expand destructively within any structural voids or interface gaps when operating pressure is reduced. It is sometimes claimed that GRP pipes cannot fail catastrophically due to the phenomenon of ‘weepage’, prior to fibre fracture. Under conditions of excess internal pressure, the resin matrix suffers a progressive development of micro cracking which eventually permits fluid to permeate between the fibres and appear at the outer surface as weepage. The pipe body remains intact because weepage starts well before the stress at which the fibre failure would occur. If the pressure is further increased, the loss due to weepage eventually becomes so severe that it causes the pressure to decrease and so stresses cannot reach fibre failure levels. Jointing of fibre-reinforced pipes can present difficulties. Welding is not normally feasible since fibre continuity cannot be maintained and so joint strength would be reduced to matrix material strength. Adhesive joints are commonly used and additional strength can be achieved by externally wrapping the joint with resin impregnated tape or fibrous matting. Mechanical connections include screw-threaded joints, conventional flanges and keylock joints.

4.1.6.2 Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes (RTP) Short fibre reinforcement of thermoplastic resins has been widely adopted as a means of increasing product stiffness. Strength gains are usually small and are likely to be at the cost of reduced ductility. If the fibres are very short (less than 1 mm) products can be produced with conventional plastics processing equipment, including extrusion. By aligning the fibres using controlled polymer flow at extrusion die heads it is possible to achieve some increase of strength. Rotating dies can give fibre alignment in the hoop direction of a pipe and hence raise pressure resistance.

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A metal-polymer composite development for small diameter, plumbing applications consists of a PE inner layer and outer layer pipe with an aluminium foil core near the middle of the pipe wall. The aluminium foil serves as a barrier to the permeation of oxygen which could cause corrosion in metal components connected to a hot water system. The presence of the aluminium foil also confers changes to the physical properties of the pipe. The aluminium foil greatly damps and deadens the recovery of the pipe from bending. This is an attractive feature for assembling pipe runs within a building carcass since the pipe will effectively stay in the shape to which it was bent. The aluminium tube is formed by an alternative seam weld and the PE inner and outer layers are formed by co-extrusion. For hot water applications grades of PE-X are used. The product was developed by Kitechnology around 1990 [72]. Bowman has also reported the properties and applications of this material [73]. The patents and licenses have now been taken over by the Uponor-Unicor organisation and developed as a product under the name of ‘Unipipe’ [74]. There is increasing interest in hose forms of construction as a route to manufacturing reinforced thermoplastic pipes (RTP) on a continuous production basis. The most widely used high pressure hoses are composite structures intended to create a flexible, tubular connection within high-pressure fluid systems. The pressure containment is achieved by incorporating textile fibres or steel wires which can carry high stresses whilst the elastomeric or plastic components essentially protect the fibre or wire structures and act as a seal against fluid permeation. Hose technology has been long established for the manufacture of small diameter tubing for hydraulic power applications and can create pressure capabilities in the order of tens of MPa. More recently a market for large diameter hoses has emerged in the offshore oil and gas industry with the increasing use of flexible connecting pipes linking undersea wellheads with surface structures [75]. Such ‘risers’ as they are called, must be able to cope with extreme conditions of both internal and external environments. The fluid being carried may contain a mixture of chemically active hydrocarbons and corrosive gaseous components, at temperatures as high as 200 °C and at pressures up to 10 MPa. The external mechanical stresses can also be high and dynamic, for example as a result of sea movement. Such severe operational requirements are being met by complex forms of construction but the criticality of these items in oil and gas production means that high cost forms of construction can be adopted. Very recently, simpler forms of hose-like construction have been produced as a means of extending the pressure capabilities of thermoplastic pipe materials. For example, a PE pipe containing aramid fibres has been manufactured which permits pressure operations at around ten times the capability of conventional PE pipe. Unlike conventional long fibre reinforced pipe materials, this type of construction does not bind the fibres into the matrix and the high flexibility of the PE pipe is therefore preserved, allowing the major advantage of supply from coil to be retained. The source of increased pressure capability in these types of pipe can be simply appreciated by comparing the equations that describe the burst strength limit of a normal, unreinforced pipe wall with the burst strength of a helically wound, continuous fibre, reinforced pipe wall. The hoop strength of an unreinforced pipe is expressed as: Pb = 2s t d Where 68

Pb s

= =

burst pressure pipe material strength

The European Plastic Pipes Market

t d

= =

wall thickness diameter

The hoop strength of a helically braided hose is given by: Pb = 2NS sin e DL Where

Pb N S e D L

= = = = = =

burst pressure number of fibres single fibre strength winding angle diameter pitch of helical wind

Comparison of these equations illustrates the facts that the pressure containment of a conventional pipe is limited by the mechanical strength of the pipe wall material and its thickness, whereas a filament wound pipe or hose can contain pressure up to a limit determined by the fibre strength and the number of windings. Fibre strengths can be typically around 100 times the strength of an equivalent non-oriented polymer. For highpressure containment, the wall thickness for unreinforced plastics would become uneconomic and unrealistic in engineering terms. The high strengths that are achievable by fibre reinforcement then justify the additional manufacturing costs. To obtain maximum strength and to avoid changes in diameter and length when internal pressure varies, there is a critical winding angle of e = 54°44’, the neutral angle, at which the reinforcing fibres can carry virtually all the pressure generated stresses without any strain on the containing walls. If the angle is larger, pressure will cause the hose to increase in length until the neutral angle is reached. If the angle is lower the hose diameter will increase until the neutral angle is reached. It is therefore normal practice to wind reinforcing fibres or wires at this neutral angle. The pipe strength is then determined by the fibre strength and the geometry and is practically independent of the properties of the plastic pipe wall material. In effect the plastic wall is acting only as a seal to prevent fluid loss. Traditional high-pressure hydraulic hoses are manufactured with a wide variety of braiding forms, using complex production technology. The reinforced thermoplastic PE pipes now being produced by companies including Tubes d’Aquitaine [76], Wellstream [77] and Pipelife [78] use a simpler form of construction, which allows virtually continuous pipe production. This involves co-extrusion of PE over helically wound aramid or glass fibres, plied together in tape form. The use of PE tape as a carrier for multiple fibres greatly simplifies the fibre winding process by comparison with the traditional braiding machines used for hydraulic hose and continuous fibre GRP pipes. These new forms of construction promise to extend the operating pressure of conventional plastic pipes whilst still preserving the significant installation advantages of low cost, coilability, low weight and corrosion resistance. As with all composite forms of pipe structure the means of jointing and the significance of any defects become major issues which determine operational acceptability. The RTP pipes are presently jointed by stainless steel or aluminium screw joints and flanges. Welded jointing would be ideal but the lack of fibre continuity at a butt weld means that strength would be lost. Electrofusion with its large area of weld, subjected only to shearing stress and containing a heating element that acts as reinforcement is a possible method of joining RTP pipe. Information from Wellstream (Haliburton) [79] indicates that jointing be done by a combined butt weld and an electrofusion induction weld where the butt weld serves to seal the fibre structure against fluid ingress at high pressure. A similar technique developed by BG Technology is the

69

The European Plastic Pipes Market

subject of a UK patent [79]. The Pipelife product uses an electrofusion joint reinforced by glass fibre. At present the use of RTP is being directed at applications associated with oilfields but other uses involving high water pressures such as deep wells or supply in mountainous regions involving high-pressure head can be envisaged.

4.1.7 Extruder Equipment Supply The prolonged and continuous growth of the pipe supply industry has meant a good market for processing equipment. The nature of the growth has meant success for those companies capable of supplying large-scale production plant and investing in the tooling associated with ever increasing throughput. Therefore, although there has been continued demand for equipment, there has been a competitive situation amongst suppliers, with only a few successful companies able to sustain the high investment levels necessary to maintain this business. The European pipe extrusion plant suppliers are now concentrated in Germany. One of the oldest established companies Rieffenhauser has recently sold off its extrusion interests to Weber Maschinenfabrik. The two largest European suppliers are Krauss-Maffei and Battenfeld. Krauss-Maffei has an annual turnover of about $750m, of which only 14% is in extrusion equipment and 70% is in injection moulding machines. Battenfeld has a turnover of around $500m, of which 50% is in injection moulding plant. Battenfeld is therefore probably the largest supplier of extrusion plant and they have been particularly successful in the rapidly growing sector of PE pressure pipe extrusion. The Krauss-Maffei extrusion equipment company operates as part of Mannesmann Plastics Machinery (MPM) formed in 1998 to consolidate a group consisting also of Berstorff (Germany), Billion (France) and Netstal (Switzerland). The MPM group was itself held within the wider engineering interests of Mannesman AG and known as AtecsMannesmann AG. The wider group has now been divested from Mannesmann to a Bosch-Siemens consortium where it will possibly trade as ‘Atecs’. Battenfeld is a subsidiary of the engineering group SMS AG which has also acquired the European and Asian interests of Cincinnati Milacron. Operating independently as Cincinnati Extrusion GmbH, this company, together with Battenfeld, forms a plastics machinery division of SMS. Interestingly, the metallurgical engineering interests of SMS, operating as SMSDegussa, have merged within Mannesmann and form part of the Atecs deal. The USA division of Cincinnati Milacron continues in business, trading as ‘Milacron’. Another American extrusion equipment manufacturer with European sales interests is DavisStandard which has an extensive network of representation. Increasingly effective in the market for pipe extrusion equipment is Nextrom, based in Switzerland. This company, formerly trading as ‘Nokia-Maillfer’ had its major market in cable extrusion systems but the pipe production sector represents an opportunity for it to expand on the basis of technological advances.

4.1.8 Associated Production Equipment In addition to the precision tooling markets for extrusion screws and dies there is a large amount of associated equipment to complete an extrusion line. As throughput and pipe sizes have increased, the capability of this downstream equipment has also had to improve and make its contribution to high quality output.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

Immediately downstream of the extruder is the calibration/sizing set up that is crucial to pipe quality and production efficiency. Plastic pipes are now mostly specified in terms of outer diameter and wall thickness. Wall thickness is essentially controlled as throughput rate at the die-head. The diameter control is the function of the calibrating die and sizing rings within the first stage water cooling tank. The calibrating die is a high thermal conductivity metal sleeve. In early extrusion equipment the extruding tube was kept internally pressurised (there was a downstream ‘floating’ plug retained back to the diehead), to force the extrudate up against the calibrator sleeve. Modern extrusion lines normally adopt vacuum sizing. The calibrator tube is slotted and enclosed with a tank kept at partial vacuum. Atmospheric pressure inside the extruded pipe then keeps it against the sleeve whilst cooling water is sprayed within the tank. Vacuum is then maintained for a longer cooling run of typically 10 m length where the pipe diameter is maintained by a succession of sizing rings. At the end of the sizing both the pipe dimensions (diameter and thickness) are stabilised but further cooling within a long water spray bath is required. The length of cooling bath is determined by the haul-off rate, the wall thickness and the thermal capacity of the polymer. Material changes, such as a change from MDPE to HDPE, which has higher crystallinity and hence higher latent heat, means that more heat has to be put into melting the polymer in the extruder and as a result, more cooling must be applied to remove the heat. Cooling rate can be a critical parameter in determining some of the physical properties of semi-crystalline polymers such as the polyolefins. A fast cooling that quenches the outside of the pipe whilst the interior cools slowly will set up variations in degree of crystallinity and creating internal stresses that may show as sites for slow crack growth in long-term usage. The pipe manufacturers and extrusion equipment suppliers have therefore expended considerable efforts over the years to control cooling conditions downstream of the extrusion die. Internal and external cooling techniques have both been used. The most recent innovation, announced by Krauss-Maffei, features a cooling mandrel at the die exit. The mandrel (itself water-cooled) is used to blow cooling air on to the inner surface of the extrudate. Krauss-Maffei claim the device reduces ‘sag’ in large diameter, thick-walled pipes and increases throughput rate. Similar concepts have been used by Cable d'Eupen in Belgium and their patents have been acquired by Riefenhauser. Pipe haul-off units form a key part of the extrusion process since they have the function of exerting a steady, uniform pull back through the cooling and calibration zones to supplement the extrusion pressure at the die head. The haul-off unit effectively creates a tensile stress in the solid material that balances the hydrostatic and viscous forces in the liquid state of the extrudate and overcomes the resistance of external friction. Haul-off units may be belt driven or multi-pad ‘caterpillar’ systems. Large diameter pipes require multiple caterpillar units and thin wall pipe also require more units to avoid distortion. To obtain pipe cut to length without interfering with continuous extrusion, it is necessary to cut the pipe with a travelling saw. Diameters up to 200 mm can be cut with a radial saw blade but larger diameters require a planetary action saw that travels around the circumference whilst moving parallel to the pipe at the haul-off rate. Pipe lengths are usually standardised to market requirements. Pressure pipe is normally supplied in 6 m units. Avoidance of jointing costs has dictated a requirement for progressively longer lengths where they can be stored at site and transported by road. Pipe lengths of 12 m or 18 m are then economic and even 24 m lengths are occasionally used. The alternative to pipe cutting is pipe coiling. This was originally only adopted for small diameter tubing but has now become an important aspect of PE pipe installation 71

The European Plastic Pipes Market

techniques. The coil must be wound to a diameter that does not induce buckling of the pipe and is determined by a relationship between coil diameter and the pipe geometry and modulus. In practice, supply as coil or on drums is limited to a maximum pipe diameter of 180 mm. At larger pipe sizes the coil diameter would be too big to transport by road. Perhaps the greatest contribution to extrusion efficiency in recent years has been in the area of process measurement and control. Success in extrusion requires the maintenance of pipe quality and dimensions within specification throughout long production runs. If dimensions can be kept close to specified minimum tolerance then wastage by excess wall thickness or scrapping of low thickness product is avoided. The most widely applied techniques use ultrasonic, on-line measurement to provide continuous assessment of pipe diameter and wall thickness. Originally such systems required manual control of extrusion conditions to maintain tolerances but increasingly automatic feedback is used to maintain dimensions by control of melt pressure and die head geometry. Production experience and considerable investment in accelerated testing are necessary to determine the maximum acceptable production rates for any given polymer and pipe size. This is one of the main causes of the high production costs in obtaining high performance pressure pipes to meet strict quality specifications.

4.2 The Pipe Manufacturers

4.2.1 Present Situation - Major Companies in Europe A relatively small group of European companies are beginning to establish themselves as major players on a world scale by building from their technological and market strength in Europe. A number of these companies have traditionally had close financial or trading connections with polymer suppliers. Wavin (Netherlands) who are generally regarded as the largest pipe supplier in Europe in volume terms were, until recently, half-owned by Shell. Uponor (Finland) are now probably equivalent in turnover to Wavin and larger on a worldwide basis. Uponor ownership originally involved the Neste (now Borealis) petrochemical group. Alphacan (France) is a subsidiary company of Elf-Atochem-Fina (Atofina). Pipelife (Austria and Netherlands) is half-owned by Solvay. The Dyka and Sotra-Seperef pipe companies are subsidiaries of the chemical group EMC-Tessenderlo which also has the PVC maker LVM as a subsidiary. The integration of pipe makers with polymer suppliers may appear convenient for product flow and conversion but can limit commercial activity and response to competitive forces. It is probably significant that two of the largest and most successful pipe producers (Wavin and Uponor) have separated from petrochemical companies in recent years. The most significant pipe company with no apparent background in the petrochemical industry is Glynwed Pipe Systems (UK) who have become the largest plastic pipe supplier in global terms by virtue of their recent acquisition of the Canadian pipe company Ipex. This gives the Glynwed group the largest worldwide output, of the European pipe companies, although they are not a very large volume manufacturer in Europe. The Glynwed pipe interests grew originally from steel and metals fabrication. Historically, the UK group, IMI, developed plastic pipe interests from metallic products and has now returned to the plastic pipe market by acquisition of Polypipe. Some pipe companies have grown from the building and construction industries and retain connections with other types of pipe material such as clay and concrete systems. Two examples are Hepworth a 72

The European Plastic Pipes Market

subsidiary of Hepworth Building Products of the UK and Nicoll (France) and Marley (UK) who are subsidiaries of Etex of Belgium. As this report goes to press there is news that the Etex company has now also acquired the pipe production and pipe systems interests of the Glynwed Group. Etex have worldwide operations with a turnover of around $2.5 billion in building materials and this will, in future, include a significant share of the plastic pipes market. Some of the other large pipe makers remain in private ownership - notably Frankische Rohrwerke (Germany), Agru (Austria), KWH (Finland), Aquatherm, (Germany), Rehau (Germany), Simona (Germany). The Swiss company Geberit, which has strengths in domestic and sanitary pipework has recently become a publicly quoted company and established a UK operation by acquisition of the ‘Terrain’ pipe interests from Caradon. Many of the pipe companies also have associated companies producing pipe fittings and pipe related products. The Glynwed group has a particularly large portfolio of such interests which are being integrated into a ‘pipe systems’ approach. These companies and other major suppliers to the European market are shown in Table 4.1. All numerical details are estimates to give some indication of scale of operation and current details should be checked with companies concerned before making comparisons. Table 4.1 Major Pipe Suppliers in the European Market Trade Name

Ownership

Agri Kunstofftechnick GmbH

Privately Owned (Germany) Atofina Subsidiary (France) Privately Owned (Germany) Subsidiary of EMC – Tessenderlo (Belgium) Privately Owned (Germany) Publicly Owned Geberit Intl. AG (Switzerland) Publicly Owned Hepworth Building Products (UK) Publicly Owned Glynwed International Plc (UK) Privately Owned (Finland) Subsidiary of Etex Group (Belgium)

Alphacan SA Aquatherm GmbH DYKA, Sotra-Seperef Frankishe Rohrwerke GmbH Geberit Intl AG Geberit-Terrain Hepworth -Plumbing -Drainage Glynwed Pipe Systems

KWH Pipe Ltd Nicoll Marley

Turnover Million $

Employees

PE/PP/PVDF

90

280

Utility, Heating Agriculture,

uPVC/PE/PE-X

350

1500

Industrial, Domestic, Water, Heating

PP

65

290

Utility, Drainage, Sewerage

uPVC/PE

350

1000

Utility, Drainage, Ducts, Heating Automotive

uPVC/PE/PA/PV DF PE-X/EVA

350

1300

Drainage, Sanitation, Water

PE/PP/PEX-Al

600 (Group)

3500 (Group)

Utility, Drainage, Ducts, Domestic

uPVC + Blend/PE/PB

120

400

900 (Global)

3,500 (Group)

Interests

Products

Utility, Industrial, Heating

Utilities, Industrial Ducting

uPVC/PE/PP/ ABS/PVDF

Utility, Sewerage, Ducts, Heating

uPVC/PE/PP/ PE-X

150

1200

Water, Drainage, Sanitation

uPVC/CPVC/PE/ ABS

400

1000

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

Table 4.1 continued… Trade Name

Ownership

Interests

Products

Subsidiary of Solvay and Water, Drainage, Wienerberger Pipelife uPVC/PE/PP/PB Sanitation, Heat (Austria, International Belgium, Netherlands) Polypipe Subsidiary of Utility, Drainage, uPVC/PE/PB Effast IMI Group (UK) Duct, Heating Privately Utility, Industrial, uPVC/PE/PP/ Rehau AG Owned Ducts, Heating PEX (Germany) Publicly Owned Industrial, Chemical, uPVC/PE/PP/ Simona AG (Germany) Heating, Pharm. PVDF Subsidiary of Uponor Oy Utility, Drainage, uPVC/PE/PE-X/ (Formerly Asko Uponor, Unicor Ducts, Heating PE-Al Oy) and Wirsbo Finance Group (Finland) Publicly Owned, Uralita SA Utility, Drainage uPVC/PE (Spain) Subsidiary of Utility, Drainage, WMO and uPVC/PE/PET/PB Wavin BV Financial Group Ducts, Linings (Netherlands) Glynwed Pipe Systems subject to acquisition by Etex (Belgium)

Turnover Million $

Employees

650

2000

350

1700

250

1000

70

900

750

4000

200

5000 (Group)

750

4250

4.2.2 Globalisation and Consolidation To develop an understanding of the current market it is necessary to look at historic growth. This dominance of the market by a few polymer types and a relatively small group of major producers is to a great extent self sustaining. The pipes market consumes vast quantities of polymer and demands product consistency at a commodity price rather than subtle property improvements to justify higher prices. Thus the pipes market acts as a natural extension to the bulk production of petrochemicals. The major driving force is to take advantage of the economies of scale, increasing the throughput and minimising costs. The extrusion process lends itself to continuous production and pipes represent the simplest of geometries for continuous extrusion of high product volume. Although small diameter pipe production can be set up with relatively low investment to meet the initial demands for water supply and drainage in any individual country, the economics of larger scale production and the extension of pipe usage to larger sizes and higher pressures, favours progressively bigger scales of production. The pipe production industry has become typified by consolidation into larger units controlled by multi-national companies operating on a global scale. Again this mirrors the polymer supply industry where the picture is one of fewer, bigger players. Within this broad overall picture there can be differing emphasis on market specialities. The process of consolidation into larger units, of production infers a stable growth pattern because large investments need to be justified over long periods. Change, even for the sake of product improvement, becomes difficult to justify and competition from new entrants can become stifled. It is a lesson of history, however, that industries complacently dependent on maintaining market dominance through size alone are open to a rapid ‘dinosaur-like’ decline. In particular the PVC manufacturers and pipe producers specialising in PVC extrusion have to be aware 74

The European Plastic Pipes Market

that their product may not continue to maintain its optimum combination of price and properties. As the pipe market matures and as long term experience provides evidence of product durability other materials may prove to have superior whole life costs. PVC may be perceived as the best option when directly replacing metallic and ceramic competitors but where comparison is made with other plastics, cost reducing advantages may preclude PVC even though it may be of lower cost on a pipe-to-pipe basis. For instance, the more flexible HDPE materials offer alternatives with lower pipe laying costs because of the ability to install from coils and to make use of trenchless technologies. As PP pipe materials improve they can offer wider temperature range and a mechanical combination of stiffness and strength at a very competitive price. PVC pipe suppliers must find some answers to these challenges or they may find their product viewed less favourably. Alloying and blending appears to offer some routes to extending the scope of PVC. Additionally the ‘smart processing techniques’ which confer polymer orientation into preferred hoop and axial directions can provide a better performing pipe from a given mass of polymer.

4.3 Economic Trends in Supply

4.3.1 Description of Supply Chain Patterns The economics of pipe supply are ruled by scale and continuity of production and by delivery logistics, that is stocking, transport and handling at site of use. For the bulk usage materials in the more competitive markets, production costs must be tightly controlled and profit margins are low. The geometry of pipe, with high volume and low mass is inherently inefficient for long distance transport. Thus there is always a clash of interest between minimising production costs by centralising on large scale production sources and minimising transport costs by distributed production sites closer to applications. Generally, the pattern of pipe supply is to keep production and transport within national or state boundaries. This is not the case with pipe fittings, which having higher value per mass unit, can be transported without adverse costs. Fittings are therefore often the subject of export/import trading arrangements. The higher bulk density of the polymer and additive raw materials used in pipe manufacture also justifies larger distance transport and international trade in bulk resins from large scale polymerisation plants. Pipe purchase dealing patterns depend on the quantities of pipe required. The lowest pipe prices per unit length can be negotiated by long-term supply contracts if the purchaser has sufficient long-term demand. This is the case for large pipeline utilities, particularly water and gas distribution companies utilising thick walled pressure pipes. They have predictable long-term pipe demands based upon network expansion and replacement plans. Their needs, expressed through long-term contracts can be factored into the production and transport logistics of the pipe company fulfilling the contract. The next most efficient form of purchase is the direct order or short-term supply contract, negotiated between a large-scale pipe user and the pipe manufacturer. If the demand is large enough orders may justify individual pipe production runs, or if of similar scale and for a standard product size, the order may be met from stock. This type of order derives from smaller utilities or larger organisations undertaking a specific development project. In countries where there are many small pipeline companies the pipe maker estimates industry wide usage in order to obtain a smoother, more predictable supply pattern. Pipe using companies who install pipes on a project by project basis, where each project has to be won competitively, are unable to order pipe with any long-term continuity. If 75

The European Plastic Pipes Market

quantities are not large enough to deal directly with manufacturers then the purchase can be via intermediate ‘wholesale’ pipe stockists. The smaller scales of demand are associated with the building and construction industry where pipe installations are just one element within a project. Such orders, for example for water drainage pipe, or small diameter water pipe, can be placed with general building products stockists. Pressure pipes, large diameter pipes, and speciality materials such as chemically resistant products are not normally available from the building industry suppliers.

4.3.2 Supply Chain Practicalities In addition to the basic negotiation of costs and quantities of pipe to be supplied, the relationship between pipe maker and pipe user may involve other market related factors. Technical support may be required in terms of material selection, application of technical standards and provision of quality control test services. Transport to the site of use may involve restrictions in terms of vehicle size or times of delivery. This is particularly so when pipes are being laid below busy city streets or in remote rural locations. Pipe storage areas near the site may be limited and this then implies smaller, more frequent deliveries. Such practical considerations may have a significant bearing on the delivery price of pipe.

4.3.3 Future Development Possibilities There are many changes currently working through the European business markets as a result of the increasing influence of the single market within the EU and the liberalisation of the former Soviet Bloc economies. Most of these changes have the effect of increasing competition, removing national preferences, and stimulating new, international trading relationships. In addition to these politically driven changes there are technological factors forcing commercial change. The break-up of nationalised industries to create private companies causes some fragmentation of the product demand but this is countered by the trend of small utilities and municipal based companies to merge into larger units to gain large-scale purchase economies. Other, looser arrangements of smaller companies into purchasing ‘clubs’ or confederations are becoming organised in some countries. The more advanced companies are investigating systems of purchase and supply that utilise business-to-business computer assisted commerce. Modern logistic control systems can adapt to rapid Internet communication, permitting pipe makers and suppliers to coordinate control of stock, production and raw material input in response to demand patterns. Another modern trend that may well have an impact on the pattern of pipe supply and trade is the move towards ‘multi-utility’ companies. Electricity, gas and water companies are beginning to consolidate their customer service and billing arrangements and in the practical world of pipe and duct laying, there may be economies to be gained from common installation practice. It seems likely that new building sites will increasingly involve the co-ordinated installation of all underground services by a single contractor responsible for all pipe purchases. This will inevitably affect the relationships between purchaser and provider, and the pipe delivery requirements.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

5 PIPE FITTINGS MARKET

5.1 Introduction The construction of a complete pipe network requires far more than just the ready availability of a suitable pipe material in a range of sizes. A range of associated fittings such as bends, tees, branches and service connectors are also required, together with components to provide fluid control, such as stop valves and pressure regulators. Ideally all of these should provide continuity of pipe material properties and be designed for similar life expectations. The provision of extrusion facilities to provide pipe therefore must be echoed by an equivalent provision of moulding capability, in order to manufacture the associated fittings. Many surveys of the market for plastic pipes completely neglect the important subject of pipe fittings. The term ‘pipe fitting’ is a generic description for all those components that are required, in addition to the pipe itself, in order to construct a complete pipe system. Most obviously a sequence of pipes, if they are not to be welded end to end, will require connecting pieces or mechanical connectors. Changes in direction may require bends of various angles. If the pipes are to be assembled as a reticulated system (a pipe network) of large pipes branching to successively small pipes then size reducing connectors and pipe branches are required. Where a main utility pipe such as water, gas or sewerage has to be connected to a customer service pipe then a ‘service connector’ is required. Pipes also require flow control elements - valves, of various forms. Where a pipe of one material, e.g., plastic, has to connect to a pipe of different material, e.g., steel, then a ‘transition fitting’ is required. In the case of rainwater drainage pipe-work there is a large number of fittings associated with water collection. Many of these products can be fabricated from plastics similar to their associated pipe. There are two very important reasons for discussing pipe fittings alongside plastic pipes. Firstly, the availability of an appropriate range of fittings can be crucial to the selection of plastics for a project. Generally, in the history of pipe product development, new pipe types (which might be ‘new’ in terms of material or size range) were often marketed before a range of corresponding fitting types. In such circumstances it became clear that pipe sales only became substantial after suitable fittings were also made available. The lesson is that plastic pipe markets really require complete systems. Whilst the bulk product is extruded pipes these can only be effectively marketed if there has been a parallel investment in producing a matching range of fittings, appropriate to the application. The second reason for reviewing the fittings market is that it constitutes a very large industry in its own right. Although the quantity of polymer processed is much smaller than that consumed in the extrusion of pipes, fittings have a more complex geometry and are made by more individual batch processing steps (such as injection moulding). As a result, the fittings carry a far higher price per tonne of product when compared with similar extruded pipe materials. Expenditure on the fittings within a pipe system can be a significant proportion of pipe materials cost. A consequence of the higher price per mass of fittings compared with pipe is that for some market situations (particularly when plastics are newly introduced) it may be cost effective to transport (or import) fittings from a distant producer whilst manufacturing the pipe locally. Although pipes and fittings have this close market relationship, and are often, but not exclusively, produced by the same manufacturer, they do in fact constitute quite dissimilar 77

The European Plastic Pipes Market

industries deriving from totally different technologies. With few exceptions, fittings are produced by moulding processes, particularly injection moulding and this may affect the materials selection and compounding specification even when pipe and fittings are nominally made of the same polymer. Although pipe and fittings may appear in the same catalogue, it is likely that they have been produced in different factories, operating with different technology and design and requiring different investment strategies.

5.2 Technologies and Production Routes The majority of plastic fittings such as bends, tees, branches and service connectors are injection moulded. For relatively small tubing and pipe sizes up to, say, 125 mm diameter the wall thickness and fitting geometry requires an injection moulding shot weight that is within the familiar range of typical moulded products. However for large pipe sizes and their correspondingly thicker walls the technology of injection moulding becomes more challenging and much more expensive in tool design and construction. At pipe diameters of 250 mm and above, fittings require the use of the largest injection moulding machines and very high cost mould tools. At pipe sizes of 500 mm or greater the moulding of fittings becomes prohibitively expensive because costs are very high but product numbers are low. It is then necessary to seek alternative methods of manufacturing fittings. Even for thinner walled, non-pressure piping, such as water drainage, some types of fitting such as expansion chambers and multiple inlet pipe manifolds may be too large to injection mould. In such cases rotational moulding is gaining favour or assemblies may be welded together from smaller components or pipe sections. Given adequate quality control, it is possible to fabricate fittings for PE, such as bends and tees, by welding pipe sections. Allowance must be made for stress concentrations at the welds and such constructions should be down rated from plain pipe pressure ratings. Some success has been demonstrated by research at Queens University, Belfast using rotational moulding for small production runs of large thick walled pressure pipefittings [80]. The advantage of this process is that it does not have the high tooling costs of injection moulding. If appropriate fittings are not available in the same material as the pipe it then becomes necessary to use fittings in an alternative material and then some care must be exercised in the design of transition connection. For example, before plastic valves which could be welded to PE pipes became available it was necessary to employ metal valves with a mechanical connecting joint. For PE, PP and PB pipe-work, a fitting type of growing importance is the electrofusion welding connector. The function of this type of fitting is described more fully in Section 6.2. At this point it is sufficient to say that these fittings, with their embedded heating elements have developed into a new market sector with an increasing range of profitable new products based on much technical development work in design of fitting and production engineering development. PVC pipes can be solvent welded but mostly they are joined by mechanical compression or ‘push-fit’ connectors. Various designs exist and the most successful are capable of connecting any type of pipe within specified diameter range. Some mechanical fittings for softer materials such as PE use compression of the pipe wall into grooves as a means of sealing the joint. This technique is unsuited to harder plastics such as PVC. The multiple application connectors rely upon compression of a separate elastomeric seal. 78

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Mechanical connections for smaller pipe sizes, which are used in large numbers are predominantly produced from moulded plastic components but in larger sizes, of 125 mm and above, it is usual to use metallic connectors. Mechanical connectors require a combination of long term stiffness and strength, avoiding creep of plastic components that could give rise to geometrical instability resulting eventually in leakage. The growing demand for large size couplers is likely to motivate the development of mouldable fittings, perhaps creating a market for engineering plastic components in place of machined metals. An important feature of many types of mechanical connector is the elastomeric sealing ring between the pipe and connector body. Such rings are a potential source of leakage in long-term usage and can be the weakest element of a pipeline. The sealing function depends on the elastomer maintaining its reaction to the applied sealing force. After many years of use the elastomer may chemically or biologically degrade or simply lose its reaction by the viscoelastic process of stress relaxation. This has been a somewhat neglected topic but has now been addressed by European Standardisation to improve the life of commercial products.

5.3 Scale of Industry and Major Suppliers Despite its size and importance the pipe fittings industry has been the subject of relatively few publications and market surveys. Consumption of polymer is of course only a fraction of that used in pipes themselves but with some sort of joint or fitting being placed every few metres within all pipe systems then component numbers are very high and a glance at the catalogue of any fittings supplier will indicate the vast range of fitting types and sizes that are supported. The expenditure by the manufacturers on production equipment and tooling means that pipe fittings are an important sector of the moulding industry for the major pipe polymers. The actual value of the fittings industry, expressed as turnover is difficult to gauge because of the disparity of product forms and sometimes data combines the turnover of companies who manufacture both pipe and fittings. Some judgment can be obtained from observations that pipeline installation requires a high fraction of the pipe cost to be expended on fittings. The ratio of fitting to pipe costs may be around one third to one half. This suggests that the European market turnover on plastic pipe fittings may be around $1 billion. For the most part, the fittings supply industry is closely associated with the pipe supply industry but there have been at least two major exceptions in Europe where large companies have developed from the strength of their fittings supply rather than bulk supply of pipes. Georg Fischer of Switzerland supplies specialist and high value niche market pipes but also provides a wide range of fittings and connectors to the utility markets. The Fusion Group originally started as a supplier of PE welding equipment but later became a major manufacturer of electrofusion components from which a wider market in fittings has been developed. Georg Fischer has latterly merged the fittings business of Wavin into its own. One of the largest suppliers of mechanical connectors for pipes is Plasson a company based in Israel but exporting much of its production into Europe. The Australian company, Plexco has been successful in licensing its pipe connection fittings for European production and has become part of the Glynwed Pipesystems Group.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

80

The European Plastic Pipes Market

6 PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION

6.1 Installation Technologies Installation is the final and most costly stage of manufacturing an operational pipeline. It is also the most difficult stage at which to maintain and control the quality of the finished product. The pipeline constructor can specify by contract the quality of materials and production standards to ensure that a high quality product is delivered for installation. Installation however does not have the same opportunities for control of the production environment that is available in factory operations. Together with the pipe jointing operation, the overall cost and quality of a pipeline installation depends upon labour available at the construction site. The local cost and ability of the labour force can be an important factor in determining the choice of installation method. If labour costs are low then manual excavation and manual pipe handling operations may suffice. However if labour costs are high, as in the developed economies, and skilled labour is available, then mechanised methods may be more appropriate. The implication of such decisions even needs to be considered when selecting the pipe materials. Due regard to the installation technology to be employed must be taken at the earliest stages of the design process so that appropriate pipe materials are chosen. Perhaps the most significant decision factor influencing the choice of installation strategy is whether the pipe route is new or is a replacement of an existing pipeline. Replacement implies that there is an inherited performance specification in terms of flow capacity and may also mean that an old pipe can provide a potential route for the new pipe. Pipe installation technologies originally evolved from the methods adopted for the heavy, rigid materials such as iron, steel and clay, which were laid by complete excavation. Newer technologies now frequently utilise the lightweight and flexible nature of plastics in novel ways that avoid the need for costly and disruptive excavation. Semi-rigid materials, such as PVC, which cannot be coiled, must still be laid by open cut excavation methods. The more flexible PE material is more adaptable to the new techniques. Some ‘no-dig’ technologies require severe distortion and recovery of the plastic pipe which further enhances the attraction of very tough and flexible PE materials. The simplest form of installation is to create an open trench joint and lay the plastic pipe string alongside it. The base of the trench is filled with fine structured material to form a load spreading pipe bed. The pipe can then be laid, followed by well compacted side filling that gives lateral support, then appropriate backfill materials followed by overlay materials and surface re-instatement. In terms of plastic pipe technology, the most important aspect of this operation is the bedding and backfill material immediately surrounding the pipe. These materials must be able to prevent the very localised stresses caused by sharp corners of rock or rubble impinging on the plastic surface. Whilst most stress crack resistant grades of PE materials can now sustain such loadings for design lives in excess of 50 years, there is a history of premature failures caused by laying pipe on to stony beds or backfilling with coarse hard-core materials. With flexible pipe materials the backfill further provides a surrounding supportive structure to resist pipe collapse from ground loading due to vehicle axle loads for example. Properly selected trench filling is therefore able to permit thinner wall pipe materials to be used as well as providing the ground support for permanent reinstatement of road surfaces. Clearly there is a potential trade-off between pipe cost and re-instatement cost. It may be more acceptable to use a thick wall, tough pipe grade at higher cost if backfill requirements are then not so crucial and costly. 81

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The technology of trench design has developed increasingly towards narrow trenching methods. This has arisen from the realisation that the cost of excavation and reinstatement may be greatly reduced if trench sizes can be minimised. Techniques have therefore been developed for slitting roadway surfaces and for mechanical excavations of a trench only a little wider than the pipe. This in turn placed restrictions on the types of pipe and methods of jointing. Availability of coiled pipe with electrofusion joints which can be pre-assembled and requires no pipe movement during welding has favoured the use of PE pipe for use in narrow trenching. Where a plastic pipe is required to replace an existing pipe there is an opportunity to avoid excavation altogether, with a considerable cost saving and very little disruption to urban traffic. Several so-called no-dig technologies have developed, some of which utilise the ability of flexible PE pipes to accept and recover from severe distortion. Slip lining insertion replacement has been used for many years. This technique involves simply sliding a smaller diameter plastic pipe through the old pipe. The reduction of diameter implies a lower carrying capacity but this can often be offset, as in the case of gas pipes, by operating at a higher pressure. Where it is necessary to maximise the carrying capacity of the new pipe, close-fit lining can be used, though at a greater cost. Close-fit lining techniques have developed in recent years and depend upon pretreatment of the plastic pipe, usually MDPE or HDPE, to temporarily reduce its diameter during insertion. Swagelining, a proprietary technique developed and licensed by British Gas [81], relies on drawing the pipe through a reducing die placed before the reception pipe. When the pipe has been fully hauled through, the towing force is released and this action then allows recovery of the diameter to occur inside the old pipe. Roll-down, from S&L Plastics and Subterra [82], utilises multiple rollers in the form of a pipe rolling mill prior to the reception pipe to reduce the diameter of the PE pipe. After insertion the plastic pipe diameter is recovered by internal pressurisation with water. Other techniques, such as Compact Pipe [83] and U-Liner, utilise a PE pipe buckled and collapsed into a shape that can be slip lined before being recovered by internal pressure. If lining to the full diameter of the old pipe will still leave inadequate pipe capacity it is still possible to use the route of the original pipe by breaking it open and installing a larger diameter replacement pipe. Special moling tools with cutting and breaking heads or hydraulic expanders, can be driven through the original pipe to open a larger diameter route. The same tool then draws behind it a PE replacement pipe. No-dig techniques are not restricted to just the replacement of the existing pipe. Moling or microtunnelling can be used as an alternative to open cut trenching and is very attractive for short but difficult situations such as road or river crossings. The technique has been greatly improved by the introduction of moling head guidance methods that allow the boring device to be steered from the surface. Mechanisation of trenching techniques has greatly increased the rate at which pipes can be laid and has reduced costs where manual labour rates are high. For cross-country pipelines mole-ploughing methods are used. The technique was developed for land drainage but has also become applicable to pressure pipe laying. A coiled or butt-jointed pipe is drawn below the ground surface behind a ploughing tool, which cuts the ground to the correct burial depth and then covers the pipe in one continuous operation. For burial below paved roadways, there is rock wheel equipment that will continuously cut a narrow trench and lay a pipe whilst following equipment backfills and re-instates the roadway surface. Such methods can lay plastic pipes at rates of over 1 km per day. The transport of pipe to its point of usage can be a major cost and can influence selection of installation technology. The size of a PE pipe coil is determined by a minimum bending 82

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radius to avoid pipe wall collapse. In practice this has set a practical pipe diameter limit of about 180 mm to pipe coils that can be transported by road. Very large pipes, for example, pipes over one metre diameter to be used in sewerage schemes become too bulky for practical road transport. Where large pipes are required for coastal sewers there is now an increasing use of sea transport for pipes. The pipes can be manufactured in pipe factories extruding into the sea then bundled together in lengths of around 500 metres and towed by ship to remote coastal locations. In order to avoid all the costs of cutting, storing, transporting and rejoining lengths of pipe fabricated at a remote factory, it is sometimes arranged for mobile extrusion plants to manufacture pipes as needed at the point of installation. This can be done where there are no space limitations, such as for sea outfall pipes. Only a few practical examples of mobile extrusion have ever been developed but one of the first attempts was reported as early as 1954 [85]. The Frankircher Rohwerke company has created mobile pipe production plant that can be carried by helicopter to remote areas. It is sometimes economic to sell the ‘mobile’ plant to become a fixed production factory in the host country [86].

6.1.2 Pressure Testing One important aspect of plastic pipe installation that causes some confusion is pressure testing as a means of proof of quality or of locating leaks. With conventional metal pipe systems it became established practice to check for leakage by conducting a pressure test in the final stages of installation. If fluid had to be added to maintain pressure this was an indication of leakage. With plastic systems creep necessitates continuous addition of fluid to maintain pressure even in the absence of any leak. By careful monitoring of the profile of the fluid top-up to counteract pressure decay, and comparing with expected volume creep, it has been found possible to create practical pressure testing regimes that can distinguish leakage loss.

6.1.3 Linings for Steel Pipe The success of the trenchless technologies for inserting pipes into old iron and steel mains has raised interest in the potential of utilising such approaches for applying corrosion resistant linings in new pipe systems. One example of using HDPE close fit lining for corrosion protection in a 5 km sub-sea steel pipe is reported in the reference [87]. The theoretical analysis of plastic pipe properties in lined systems has been studied at Bradford University by Boot [88]. One form of composite structure that promises early exploitation is an optimal marriage of two pipe forms. Tight fit linings, using the BG Technology swagelining process for example, can be placed inside steel pipes to provide a combination of high strength, provided by the steel and high corrosion resistance, provided by the plastic. Such systems have been proven very successful in simulated sour gas conditions and assembly and pipe laying techniques have been pioneered in sub-sea applications in the North Sea [89]. The principal threat to inadequately designed lined pipe systems is permeation through the polymer liner eventually causing buckling collapse by pressure build-up in any annular gaps. In the chemical engineering industry lined pipe technology has been developed for the handling of highly corrosive fluids at high temperature and pressure. Buxton and Henthorn [53] have reported on the development of fluoropolymer-lined stainless steel and the effects of gaseous permeation. These methods are likely to be joined by yet another technique jointly developed by BG Technology and Uponor that utilise a PE-X pipe. This makes use of the high elastic 83

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memory that can be built into PE-X pipe. The pipe is supplied with memory of a larger diameter that can be released by heating to near its crystalline melting condition, permissible in PE-X without risking collapse. In practice the pipe can be easily slip-lined and then reverted by a heating unit. The technique is particularly suited to small diameter pipe with internal plug projections that render other close-fit methods uneconomic. The PE-X pipe will slip by the projections and the impingement of the plug on the reverted pipe causes no stress cracking because the PE-X pipe is so resistant to crack and cut growth. For still smaller service pipes, insertion is also well accepted as a cost-effective replacement technique. The problems remaining are associated with guiding the new pipe around tight bends and effecting a joint to a main pipe preferably without excavation. A number of techniques are being offered for lining water service pipes made of lead in order to prevent lead levels in water rising above EC requirements.

6.2 On-Site Jointing Technologies The complete system of pipe and fittings inevitably involves many connecting joints. The costs involved in manufacturing joints is a major aspect of the total construction costs and the long term reliability of joints is likely to be a determining factor in the overall lifetime of a pipe system. Therefore the selection of a jointing system and the control of quality during field assembly operations should be viewed as being comparable with the choice of pipe material and the control of quality within pipe production. The ideal pipe joint would require only a simple, low cost on-site operation and would maintain pipeline integrity for the lifetime of the pipe material. In practice there is no ideal system and all jointing of pipes involves a design compromise between quality, simplicity and cost. For this reason there is considerable advantage in minimising the number of joints wherever possible by using pipe coils or the longest transportable straight lengths. Selection of a type of jointing system is guided by consideration of the pipe material type, the operating pressure range, the fluid carried by the pipe, and the consequences of failure. Given the generally high quality of materials and quality control in production, the premature failure of pipewalls is comparatively rare. The most common source of operating failure, other than accidental damage, is failure at a joint. Pipe joints can literally be the weak link of any pipeline system. The pipeline designer must choose a jointing system according to whether the pipe is PVC, PE or another polymer, high pressure or low pressure, water, gas or hazardous chemical. The greater the risk of environmental damage, personal injury or other hazardous consequences of failure, the greater is the justification for highly secure, but more costly, jointing techniques. Where cost is secondary to safety considerations, then welded joints offer the greatest level of security, provided high quality welding techniques are adopted and are supported by quality assurance procedures. Fusion welded joints offer continuity of the pipewall material without introducing mechanical components, elastomeric seals, adhesives or any other material that might have a life shorter than the pipe itself. The disadvantage of welded joints is that to be entirely successful they must be prepared by suitably trained personnel using more costly equipment and procedures than is necessary with simple mechanical fittings. The lowest cost form of joint is achieved with simple, quick connections that do not require special skills. The concept of ‘push-fit’ connections has become well developed by various connector manufacturers for smaller diameter pipe systems. The simplest of all are slide-in connections for gravity flow water drainpipes. Pipe-to-pipe connections are made by expansion (‘belling’) of one pipe end, at the pipe factory, so that the next pipe can be pushed into it with a snug fit. The same form of joint 84

The European Plastic Pipes Market

can be used for associated fittings such as bends, tees, or straight connectors. Such simple joints are widely used in rainwater goods for above ground use, where pull-outs can be seen and easily repaired. Push-fit connectors with an elastomeric (O-ring) seal offer positive sealing against leakage and some resistance to pull-out, particularly where compression of the seal is achieved by a screwed collar. Such joints are adopted for dirty water drainage and small sewerage connections. For higher pressure water, such as potable water supplies and underground connections, that need to be more secure and pull-out resistant, then push-fit connections can be made using fittings that incorporate both elastomer seals and one-way collars that bite into the pipe surface if pull-out is attempted. In more secure designs, the compression of the seal and the anti-pull-out collar may involve tightening rings. The sealing action and pull-out resisting action of these types of fitting are usually dependent on the maintenance of some degree of positive internal pressure. Therefore if there is a possibility of partial vacuum conditions or the external pressure could rise above the internal pressure then it will be necessary to consider other designs. For very long-term service conditions, such as below ground utility pipes, elastomeric seals must have excellent resistance to stress relaxation and resistance to chemical or biological degradation in their service environment. A type of mechanical fitting that is widely adopted for high performance joints in applications, such as gas distribution, depends on mechanical compression of the PE pressure pipe wall into a grooved metallic pipe insert so no other seal is needed. An example is the ‘Pecat’ design supplied by Glynwed pipe systems. To obtain maximum pipeline integrity and match joint life to pipe material life, welded construction, free of mechanical connections and involving no intermediary materials such as seals or adhesives, is the preference of pipeline engineers. The ability to construct an all-welded pipeline network, using heat fusion, is one of the major advantages offered by PE to gas and water distribution applications. Various theories and rules for optimising the quality of fusion welds in plastics have been published but the subject has not been studied as intensively as metallic welding and despite its industrial importance the technology is generally not well understood. A basic understanding can be gained by appreciating that the formation of a weld requires the interfacial diffusion of polymer structures from two surfaces in the melt state, i.e., above the Tm. Crystalline polymers with a well defined melting range appear to weld more easily than glassy polymers with their ill defined softening to melt condition. Polymers which have low melt viscosity, high melt flow index, weld most satisfactorily. One of the most important requirements for good weld properties is to start with clean, freshly cut surfaces. The need for surface preparation is generally well appreciated for metallic soldering, brazing and welding but in plastics welding, surface cleaning is sometimes neglected, which results in poor joint quality. The polyolefins, PE, PP and PB, have proved suitable for fusion welding in pipe form. The widespread adoption of MDPE and HDPE for gas and water distribution pipe has meant that fusion welded jointing procedures and equipment have become highly developed for these polymers. The simplest and most economical form of pipe weld is the end-to-end butt joint, formed using a flat hot plate. For MDPE and HDPE hotplate temperatures of over 200 °C are usual and are becoming standardised at around 230 °C. A clean, usually PTFE coated hotplate, is placed between two trimmed and squared pipe ends. The trimming preparation is important as it creates the fresh surfaces and ensures good immediate contact between the hotplate and the complete pipe end surface. After a sufficient time to create a few millimetres of melt depth at the pipe ends the hotplate is removed and both ends are brought together before the melt surfaces can cool back to recrystallising temperature. Hydraulically activated equipment, designed to provide the necessary clamping, pipe end preparation, heating and interface pressure control has 85

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been developed in step with the introduction of larger pipe sizes. In recent years, automatic welding has been widely introduced in the gas and water pipe construction industry. The introduction of PE100 HDPE resins and the development of very large diameter PE pipes with thick walls has created particular challenges for the design of welding equipment and selection of welding conditions. An alternative form of welded connection for smaller pipes is the socket joint. This is formed by linking two pipe ends via an external socket fitting. The inside surface of the socket and the external surface of the pipe are heated by a PTFE coated hot ‘iron’ tool (in practice aluminium is preferred for lightness and thermal conductivity). When the surfaces are molten, the tool is removed and the pipe and socket mated. The hot iron socket joint has now become displaced by a more controlled form of socket welding called electrofusion. This technology uses sockets which contain a permanently embedded electric heating element. The pipe can be pre-assembled in the socket and, because there is no hot tool to remove, there is no pipe movement required during the process. These advantages facilitate pipe repair or work in narrow trenches or restricted urban conditions. After assembly in the cold state, an electric current is passed through the heating element for sufficient time to melt the socket inner surface and the pipe outer surface. This interfacial melt-mixing zone between the socket and the two pipe surfaces cools to form the welded joint between the two pipes. Avoiding exposure to the air reduces the effects of cooling and contamination and therefore improves the joint quality. Recently, electrofusion fittings have been made available for large pipe sizes, up to 500 mm notably by Friatec, now part of the Glynwed group. Their use for routine jointing is unlikely because of the much lower cost of butt welding large pipes. Nevertheless it is expected that they will find a market in tying-in long lengths of butt welded pipe, for making difficult in-trench joints and for repairs. The other popular type of electrofusion joint is the service saddle joint. This is used to make tee connections between a small diameter service and a larger diameter main pipe. These were also originally heated tool type welds but electrofusion reduces operative involvement and provides a greater level of control in fusion conditions. The technology has also been extended to larger size saddle connections that produce pipe branches that can be made whilst the main pipe is still under pressure. Electrofusion technology for PE joint connections is essentially common to gas, water and industrial applications of MDPE and HDPE pipes and, because the coupler does not require direct pipe to pipe welding, the method can be used to join PE pipes with dissimilar melt flow characteristics. Where pipework of mixed history may occur this is a considerable advantage over butt welding. Similarly pipes of the same outer diameter but differing thickness, which cannot be securely butt welded, may be electrofused. Electrofusion couplers have also been made for PP and PB industrial and heating pipe systems. PVC pipework is not normally heat fusion welded. The quality of weld achieved with PVC is often unreliable because, at the temperatures required to properly melt the material, degradation can occur, resulting in interfacial defects. PVC pipes also contain low molecular weight additives that may out-gas at welding temperatures and interfere with weld line quality. PVC pipes can however be ‘solvent welded’. Polar solvents, such as methyl ethyl ketone, create molecular mobility at the surface, causing similar effects to an increase in the surface temperature. Coating the inside of a socket and the outside of the pipe with solvent promotes polymer diffusion and structural entanglements that lock the surfaces as a weld when the solvent diffuses away. This type of joint is not suitable for butt joints, which carry full pipe wall stresses, as the joint will not have the same strength 86

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as the parent pipe. There is however sufficient strength for use in the form of socket joints, which have a large surface area and are not required to carry the pipe stresses. Solvent welding is not used for PE pipes due to the chemically inert nature of the PE surface but it is adopted for jointing ABS which, like PVC, has an amorphous microstructure.

6.3 Equipment Suppliers The technology of plastic pipeline construction has become increasingly sophisticated. In particular, the increasing use of PE pressure pipes laid by ‘no-dig’ methods and joined by fusion welds has stimulated an innovative approach and a wide range of companies is involved in providing specialist services. Some of these companies are associated with the pipe or fittings suppliers, others are relatively small companies that have developed around specific products. Equipment requirements include mechanical construction tools for trenching or tunnelling, pipe handing equipment (for coils or large pipes), and pipe jointing equipment. Since most of the work of installing pipelines is governed by short-term contracts, it is common practice to hire pipe laying equipment from the equipment suppliers or specialised hire services. The supply industry therefore operates on a regional basis with equipment storage and supply depots widely dispersed to avoid high transport charges.

6.4 Construction Industry Based on turnover value, the largest part of the plastic pipe industry is probably that part concerned with placing the pipes in their position of usage, above or below ground. But this is a very diverse industry and its pipe laying activities cannot be separated from other aspects of civil engineering and building construction. Whilst for some companies pipework may be a trivial proportion of their construction activities, for others it may be their main specialisation. As with the equipment supply industry there is general growth in the areas of construction associated with more specialised technology. In one sense this favours the establishment of small, specialised companies who can adapt to and apply innovative techniques. Counter to this however is the trend towards techniques that utilise larger, more sophisticated machines and more expensive control equipment. Such trends favour companies with greater investment capability. The result in the UK has been a consolidation of the pipe construction companies into fewer, larger units, with many becoming subsidiary operations of larger utility supply groups. This trend is being driven further by convergence of gas, water and electricity providers into ‘multi-utility’ companies. At the ‘street-level’ there is a parallel trend for services to be installed by companies that can provide a multi-utility capability.

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7 QUALITY CONTROL AND RESEARCH

7.1 Plastics Pipe Supply The preponderance of contractual relationships means that the various responsibilities for the final installed quality of a pipe system can sometimes be obscured. Quality is far more easy to assure in the factory situations of polymer and pipe production than it is in the remote and constantly changing situation of site work. Responsibilities for quality can only be assigned by careful contract preparation, cascaded through all stages of the supply chain. Good practice requires the existence of appropriate specifications and standards and the testing and inspection services to implement them. Practical experience dictates that only the acceptance of formalised, strictly applied, QA procedures can ensure that quality standards survive in a cost competitive market. There have been two different but equally successful precedents for implementing quality assurance in Europe. In the UK and France, large gas and water utilities were able to create corporate standards to apply through purchase and supply contracts within a customer/contractor relationship with pipe suppliers. In Germany, the proliferation of local authority owned gas and water utilities meant they were too small to impose corporate standards. Instead, the contractual relationship with the larger pipe supply companies was maintained by standards set by third parties such as the German DVGW, supported by independent test houses. These patterns of trade are now being changed by the market liberalisation brought about by the EU. National monopolies are fracturing into competitive, free-market owned companies and local authority ownership is giving way to larger scale free-market companies. At the same time the corporate and national standards that have served trading relationships are being superseded by European (CEN) standards and EU directives. At the time of writing these changes are still in progress and the relationships between purchase and supply contracts and QA procedures retain some hybrid characteristics of the old and new systems. It does seem probable however that a combination of CEN standards and ISO standards, when fully established, will provide a strong basis for fair trade and settlement of disputes. Assessment of the long term durability of PE pipe by testing in accordance with reputable standards is an essential part of any quality assurance programme. Cost minimising practices in pipe production, such as introducing lower priced base resins and extruding pipe at excessively high rate, can deliver pipe with ostensibly correct dimensions and good strength and stiffness but, less obviously, with poor resistance to slow crack growth and susceptibility to rapid crack propagation. Whilst the pipe may have good short-term mechanical properties it could carry considerable risk of premature failure. Therefore, in the interests of the pipeline investors and operators, and to protect good quality pipe suppliers from lower cost but unfair competition, QA regimes need to be set up and maintained throughout a pipe supply contract. At the core of such QA schemes is the pipe test schedule that qualifies the pipe and maintains production quality. A number of different standards setting bodies have addressed these requirements and a broad consensus is now emerging. Routine testing, for production control, is normally conducted in the pipe suppliers’ own laboratories, but such testing and the initial qualification testing, should be backed by additional assessments in an outside, independent test house. In addition to possessing appropriate personnel and equipment, it is important that the test house should work to appropriate quality standards in their own activities. This means regular maintenance and calibration of test equipment, preferably to an independently 89

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assessed schedule and working in co-ordination with clients to implement quality control to ISO 9000 standards. Even after production, transport and delivery to site there is a responsibility to maintain quality and this applies to the more difficult to supervise tasks of pipe jointing, bedding and backfilling. Site procedures need to follow agreed schedules, using approved equipment and conscientious, trained labour.

7.2 Governing Standards and Authorities Much of the application and installation technology of the plastic pipe industry is described by an extensive literature of standards and specifications. The availability of appropriate specifications of quality of materials and construction is an important aspect of the contractual obligations and trading relationship between purchasers and providers. Standards also promote the interchangeability and compatibility of products from different sources, a particularly important matter when pipes may require extension or modification many years after installation. The importance of standards in trading relationships was recognised within the European Union (EU) by the foundation of a Centre for European Normalisation (CEN) charged with replacing the great variety of national and company standards with a unified, Europe-wide body of standards. This initiative has also been coupled with an even more ambitious target of improving and unifying the technical output of the International Standards Organisation (ISO). At the time of writing the CEN documents and ISO revisions applying to plastic pipes are still being developed. They have however reached a level of importance and ‘usability’ that generally allows them to replace most of the existing national or company standards. Therefore it seems pertinent to provide here only the CEN and ISO listings. Many of these, as is evident from their titles, are being developed as equivalents. The ISO documents include some older titles prior to the period of co-operation.

7.2.2 European (CEN) Pipe Standards Plastics Piping (and Ducting) Systems EN 496 Plastics pipes and fittings - measurements of dimensions and visual inspection of surfaces. EN 578 Plastics pipes and fittings - determination of the opacity. EN 579 Crosslinked polyethylene (PE-X) pipes - determination of degree of crosslinking by solvent extraction. EN 580 Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) pipes - test method for the resistance to dichloromethane at a specified temperature (DCMT). EN 637 Glass-reinforced plastics components - determination of the amounts of constituents using the gravimetric method. EN 638 Thermoplastics pipes - determination of tensile properties.

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EN 705 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings - methods for regression analyses and their use. EN 712 End-load bearing mechanical joints between pressure pipes and fittings - test method for resistance to pull-out under constant longitudinal force. EN 713 Mechanical joints between fittings and polyolefin pressure pipes - test method for leaktightness under internal pressure of assemblies subjected to bending. EN 715 End-load-bearing joints between small diameter pressure pipes and fittings - test method for leaktightness under internal water pressure, including end thrust. EN 727 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - determination of Vicat softening temperature (VST). EN 728 Polyolefin pipes and fittings - determination of oxidation induction time. EN 743 Thermoplastics pipes - determination of the longitudinal reversion. EN 744 Thermoplastics pipes - test method for resistance to external blows by the roundthe-clock method. EN 761 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - determination of the creep factor under dry conditions. EN 762 Joints with elastomeric seals - test method for retention of, and damage to sealing rings. EN 763 Injection-moulded thermoplastics fittings - test method for visually assessing effects of heating. EN 802 Injection-moulded thermoplastics fittings for pressure piping systems - test method for maximum deformation by crushing. EN 803 Injection-moulded thermoplastics fittings for elastic sealing ring type joints for pressure piping - test method for resistance to a short-term internal pressure without end thrust. EN 804 Injection-moulded socket fittings for solvent cemented joints for pressure piping test method for resistance to a short-term internal hydrostatic pressure. EN 852 Part 1 Plastics pipes for the transport of water intended for human consumption migration assessment – Determination of migration values of plastics pipes. EN 911 Elastomeric sealing ring type joints and mechanical joints for thermoplastics pressure piping - test method for leaktightness under external hydrostatic pressure. EN 917 Thermoplastics valves - test methods for resistance to internal pressure and leaktightness. EN 921 Thermoplastics pipes - determination of resistance to internal pressure at constant temperature.

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EN 922 Pipes and fittings of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) - specimen preparation for determination of the viscosity number and calculation of the K-value. EN 987 Injection-moulded fittings - determination of the Charpy impact strength. EN 1016 Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) end-load bearing double socket joints test method for leaktightness and strength while subjected to bending and internal pressure. EN 1042 Fusion joints between polyolefin pipes and/or fittings - determination of resistance to internal pressure at constant temperature. EN 1046 Plastics systems outside building structures - recommended practice for installation above and below ground. EN 1056 Thermoplastics pipes, fittings and valves – plastics piping and ducting systems – plastics pipes and fittings - method for resistance to direct (natural) weathering. EN 1115 Parts 1-7 Plastics piping systems for underground drainage and sewerage under pressure - glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) based on unsaturated polyester resin (UP). EN 1119 Reinforced plastics pipes, fittings and valves - plastics piping systems - joints for glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings - test methods for leaktightness and resistance to damage of flexible and reduced-articulation joints. EN 1120 Reinforced plastics pipes, fittings and valves - plastics piping systems - glassreinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings - determination of the resistance to chemical attack from the inside of a section in a deflected condition. EN 1225 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - determination of the creep factor of the long-term specific ring stiffness. EN 1226 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - test method to prove the resistance to initial ring deflection. EN 1227 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - determination of the longterm ultimate relative ring deflection under wet conditions. EN 1228 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fitting - determination of initial specific ring stiffness. EN 1229 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings - test methods to prove the leaktightness of the wall under short-term internal pressure. EN 1336 End-load-bearing and non-end-load-bearing assemblies and joints for thermoplastics pressure piping - test method for long-term leaktightness under internal water pressure. EN 1393 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - determination of initial longitudinal tensile properties. EN 1394 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - determination of the apparent initial circumferential tensile strength. 92

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EN 1411 Thermoplastics pipes - determination of resistance to external blows by the staircase method. EN 1446 Thermoplastics pipes - determination of ring flexibility. EN 1447 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - determination of longterm resistance to internal pressure. EN 1448 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) components - test methods to prove the design of rigid locked socket-and-spigot joints with elastomeric seals. EN 1449 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) components - test methods to prove the design of cemented socket-and-spigot joints. EN 1450 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) components - test methods to prove the design of bolted flange joints. EN 1452 Parts 1 to 7 Plastics piping systems for water supply - unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC). EN 1456 Parts 1 to 7 Plastics piping systems for underground drainage and sewerage under pressure - unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC). EN 1555 Parts 1 to 7 Plastics piping systems for gaseous fuels supply - polyethylene (PE). EN 1638 Plastics piping systems - glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes test method for the effects of cyclic internal pressure. EN 1680 Valves for polyethylene (PE) piping systems - test method for leaktightness under and after bending applied to the operating mechanisms. EN 1704 Thermoplastics valves - test method for the integrity of a valve after temperature cycling under bending. EN 1705 Thermoplastics valves - test method for the integrity of a valve after an external blow. EN 1716 Polyethylene (PE) tapping tees - test method for impact resistance of an assembled tapping tee. EN 1796 Parts 1 to 6 Plastics piping systems for water supply with or without pressure glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) based on polyester resin (UP). EN 1905 Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) pipes, fittings and material - method for assessment of the PVC content based on total chlorine content. EN 12061 Thermoplastics fittings - test method for impact resistance. EN 12099 Polyethylene piping materials and components - determination of volatile content. EN 12100 Polyethylene (PE) valves - test method for resistance to bending between supports. 93

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EN 12106 Polyethylene (PE) pipes - test method for the resistance to internal pressure after application of squeeze-off. EN 12107 Injection moulded thermoplastics fittings, valves and ancillary equipment determination of the long-term hydrostatic strength of thermoplastics materials for injection moulding of piping components. EN 12117 Fittings, valves and ancillaries - determination of gaseous flow rate/pressure drop relationships. EN 12118 Determination of moisture content in thermoplastics by coulometry. EN 12119 Polyethylene (PE) valves - test method for resistance to thermal cycling. EN 12201 Parts 1 to 5 and 7 Plastics piping systems for water supply- polyethylene (PE). EN 12202 Parts 1 to 3 and 5 and 7 Plastics piping systems for hot and cold water polypropylene (PP). EN 12256 Plastics piping systems - thermoplastics fittings - test method for mechanical strength or flexibility of fabricated fittings. EN 12293 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings for hot and cold water - test method for the resistance of mounted assemblies to temperature cycling. EN 12294 Systems for hot and cold water - test methods for leaktightness under vacuum. EN 12295 Thermoplastics pipes and associated fittings for hot and cold water - test methods for resistance of joints to pressure cycling. EN 12318 Parts 1 to 3 and 5 and 7 Plastics piping systems for hot and cold water crosslinked polyethylene (PE-X). EN 12319 Parts 1 to 3 and 5 and 7 Plastics piping systems for hot and cold water polybutylene (PB). EN 12731 Parts 1 to 3 and 5 and 7 Plastics piping systems for hot and cold water chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC). EN 13760 Plastic pipes for the conveyance of fluids under pressure - miner’s rule calculation method for cumulative damage. Miscellaneous EN 681 Part 1 Elastomeric seals - materials requirements for pipe joint seals used in water and drainage applications - vulcanised rubber. EN 681 Part 2 Thermoplastic elastomers - materials requirements for pipe joint seals used in water and drainage applications - vulcanised rubber. EN 10284 Malleable cast iron fittings with compression ends for polyethylene (PE) piping systems.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

EN 12613 Plastics warning devices for underground cables and pipelines – specification Part 1: warning devices with visual characteristics (type A).

7.2.3 International (ISO) Pipe Standards ISO Standards for Plastics Pipes in General ISO 161-1:1996 Thermoplastics pipes for the conveyance of fluids - Nominal outside diameters and nominal pressures - Part 1: Metric series. ISO 161-2:1996 Thermoplastics pipes for the conveyance of fluids - Nominal outside diameters and nominal pressures - Part 2: Inch series. ISO 1167:1996 Plastics pipes for the conveyance of fluids - Resistance to internal pressure – Test method. ISO 3126:1974 Plastics pipes - Measurement of dimensions. ISO 4065:1996 Thermoplastic pipes - Universal wall thickness table. ISO 4433-4:1997 Thermoplastics pipes - Resistance to liquid chemicals – classification – poly(vinylidene fluoride) pipes. ISO 6259-3:1997 Thermoplastics pipes - Determination of tensile properties - Part 3: Polyolefin pipes. ISO/TR 7074:1986 Performance requirements for plastics pipes and fittings for use in underground drainage and sewage. ISO 7349:1983 Thermoplastics valves - Connection references. ISO 8233:1988 Thermoplastics valves - Torque - Test method. ISO 8361-1:1991 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - Water absorption - Part 1: General test method. ISO/TR 8584-2:1993 Thermoplastics pipes for industrial applications under pressure Determination of the chemical resistance factor and of the basic stress - Part 2: Pipes made of halogenated polymers. ISO 8659:1989 Thermoplastics valves - Fatigue strength - Test method. ISO/TR 9080:1992 Thermoplastics pipes for the transport of fluids - Methods of extrapolation of hydrostatic stress rupture data to determine the long-term hydrostatic strength of thermoplastics pipe materials. ISO 9624:1997 Thermoplastics pipes for fluids under pressure - Mating dimensions of flange adapters and loose backing flanges. ISO 9854-1:1994 Thermoplastics pipes for the transport of fluids - Determination of pendulum impact strength by the Charpy method - Part 1: General test method.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

ISO 9854-2:1994 Thermoplastics pipes for the transport of fluids - Determination of pendulum impact strength by the Charpy method - Part 2: Test conditions for pipes of various materials. ISO 9967:1994 Thermoplastics pipes - Determination of creep ratio. ISO 9969:1994 Thermoplastics pipes - Determination of ring stiffness. ISO/TR 10501:1993 Thermoplastics pipes for the transport of liquids under pressure Calculation of head losses. ISO 10508:1995 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings for hot and cold water systems. ISO 11173:1994 Thermoplastics pipes - Determination of resistance to external blows Staircase method. ISO 11922-1:1997 Thermoplastics pipes for the conveyance of fluids - Dimensions and tolerances - Part 1: Metric series. ISO 11922-2:1997 Thermoplasties pipes for the conveyance of fluids - Dimensions and tolerances - Part 2: Inch-based series. ISO 12091:1995 Structured-wall thermoplastics pipes - Oven test. ISO 12162:1995 Thermoplastics materials for pipes and fittings for pressure applications Classification and designation - Overall service (design) coefficient. ISO 13477:1997 Thermoplastics pipes for the conveyance of fluids - Determination of resistance to rapid crack propagation (RCP) - Small-scale steady-state test (S4 test). ISO 13478:1997 Thermoplastics pipes for the conveyance of fluids - Determination of resistance to rapid crack propagation (RCP) - Full-scale test (FST). ISO 13966:1998 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - Nominal ring stiffnesses. ISO 13968:1997 Plastics piping and ducting systems - Thermoplastics pipes Determination of ring flexibility. ISO Standards for uPVC Pipe and Fittings ISO 264:1976 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) fittings with plain sockets for pipes under pressure - Laying lengths - Metric series. ISO 265-1:1988 Pipes and fittings of plastics materials - Fittings for domestic and industrial waste pipes - Basic dimensions : Metric series - Part 1: Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC). ISO 580:1990 Injection-moulded unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) - Fittings Oven test – Test method and basic specifications. ISO 727:1985 Fittings of unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) or acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS) with plain sockets for pipes under pressure - Dimensions of sockets - Metric series. 96

The European Plastic Pipes Market

ISO 1060-1:1998 Plastics - Homopolymer and copolymer resins of vinyl chloride - Part 1: Designation system and basis for specifications. ISO 11922-1:1997 Thermoplastics pipes for the conveyance of fluids – dimensions and tolerances – metric series. ISO 11922-2:1997 Thermoplastics pipes for the conveyance of fluids – dimensions and tolerances – inch-based series. ISO 2035:1974 Injection-moulded unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) – oven test method – test method and basic specifications. ISO 580:1990 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) moulded fittings for elastic sealing ring type joints for use under pressure - Oven test. ISO 2044:1974 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) injection-moulded solvent-welded socket fittings for use with pressure pipe - Hydraulic internal pressure test. ISO 2045:1988 Single sockets for unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) and chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) pressure pipes with elastic sealing ring type joints - Minimum depths of engagement. ISO 2048:1990 Double-socket fittings for unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) pressure pipes with elastic sealing ring type joints - Minimum depths of engagement. ISO 2505-1:1994 Thermoplastics pipes - Longitudinal reversion - Test determination methods. ISO 2502:1994 Thermoplastics pipes - Longitudinal reversion – Determination parameters. ISO 2507-2:1995 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - Vicat softening temperature - Part 2: Test conditions for unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) or chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) pipes and fittings and for high impact resistance poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-HI) pipes. ISO 2536:1974 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pressure pipes and fittings, metric series - Dimensions of flanges. ISO 3114:1977 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pipes for potable water supply Extractability of lead and tin - Test method. ISO 3127:1994 Thermoplastics pipes - Determination of resistance to external blows – Round-the-clock method. ISO 3460:1975 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pressures pipes - Metric series Dimensions of adapter for backing flange. ISO 3472:1975 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes - Specification and determination of resistance to acetone. ISO 3514:1976 Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) pipes and fittings - Specification and determination of density.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

ISO 3603:1977 Fittings for unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pressure pipes with elastic sealing ring type joints - Pressure test for leakproofness. ISO 3604:1976 Fittings for unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pressure pipes with elastic sealing ring type joints - Pressure test for leakproofness under conditions of external hydraulic pressure. ISO 3633:1991 Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) pipes and fittings for soil and waste discharge (low and high temperature) systems inside buildings - Specifications. ISO 4132:1979 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) and metal adaptor fittings for pipes under pressure - Laying lengths and size of threads - Metric series. ISO/TR 4191:1989 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pipes for water supply Recommended practice for laying. ISO 4422-1:1996 Pipes and fittings made of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) for water supply - Specifications - Part 1: General. ISO 4422-2:1996 Pipes and fittings made of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) for water supply - Specifications - Part 2: Pipes (with or without integral sockets). ISO 4422-3:1996 Pipes and fittings made of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) for water supply - Specifications - Part 3: Fittings and joints. ISO 4422-4:1997 Pipes and fittings made of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) for water supply - Specifications - Part 4: Valves and ancillary equipment. ISO 4442-5:1997 Pipes and fittings made of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) for water supply - Specifications - Part 5: Fitness for purpose of the system. ISO 4433-3:1997 Thermoplastics pipes - Resistance to liquid chemicals - Classification Part 3: Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride) (uPVC), high-impact poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC-HI) and chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) pipes. ISO 4434:1977 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) adapter fittings for pipes under pressure - Laying length and size of threads - Metric series. ISO 4435:1991 Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) pipes and fittings for buried drainage and sewerage systems - Specifications. ISO 4439:1979 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pipes and fittings - Determination and specification of density. ISO 6259-2:1997 Thermoplastics pipes - Determination of tensile properties - Part 2: Pipes made of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC), chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) and high-impact poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-HI). ISO 6455:1983 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) fittings with elastic sealing ring type joints for pipes under pressure - Dimensions of laying lengths - Metric series. ISO 6992:1986 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pipes for drinking water supply Extractability of cadmium and mercury occurring as impurities.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

ISO 6993:1990 Buried, high-impact polyvinyl chloride (PVC-HI) pipes for the supply of gaseous fuels – Specification. ISO/TR 7024:1985 Above-ground drainage - Recommended practice and techniques for the installation of unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) sanitary pipework for aboveground systems inside buildings. ISO/TR 7073:1988 Recommended techniques for the installation of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) buried drains and sewers. ISO 7387-1:1983 Adhesives with solvents for assembly of uPVC pipe elements Characterization - Part 1: Basic test methods. ISO 7508:1985 Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) valves for pipes under pressure Basic dimensions - Metric series. ISO 7675:1991 Chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) pipes and fittings for soil and waste discharge (low and high temperature) systems inside buildings - Specifications. ISO 7676:1990 Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) pipes - Dichloromethane test. ISO 8283-1:1991 Plastics pipes and fittings - Dimensions of sockets and spigots for discharge systems inside buildings - Part 1: Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) and chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC). ISO 8361-2:1991 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - Water absorption - Part 2: Test conditions for unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) pipes and fittings. ISO 9852:1995 Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) pipes - Dichloromethane resistance at specified temperature (DCMT) - Test method. ISO 9853:1991 Injection-moulded unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) fittings for pressure pipe systems - Crushing test. ISO/TR 10358:1993 Plastics pipes and fittings – combined chemical resistance classification table. ISO 12092:2000 Fittings, valves and other piping system components made of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC), chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylester (ASA) for pipes under pressure - Resistance to internal pressure - Test method. ISO 13783:1997 Plastics piping systems - Unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) endload-bearing double-socket joints - Test method for leaktightness and strength while subjected to bending and internal pressure. ISO 13844:2000 Plastics piping systems - Elastomeric-sealing-ring-type socket joints of unplasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) for use with uPVC pipes - Test method for leaktightness under negative pressure. ISO 13845:2000 Plastics piping systems - Elastomeric sealing-ring type socket joints for use with unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pipes - Test method for leaktightness under internal pressure and with angular deflection.

99

The European Plastic Pipes Market

ISO Standards for Polyethylene (PE) Pipes ISO 1872-1:1993 Plastics - Polyethylene (PE) moulding and extrusion materials - Part 1: Designation system and basis for specifications. ISO 2505-1:1994 Thermoplastics pipes - Longitudinal reversion - Determination methods. ISO 2505-2:1994 Thermoplastics pipes - Longitudinal reversion - Determination parameters. ISO 3458:1976 Assembled joints between fittings and polyethylene (PE) pressure pipes Test of leakproofness under internal pressure. ISO 3459:1976 Polyethylene (PE) pressure pipes - Joints assembled with mechanical fittings - Internal under-pressure test method and requirement. ISO 3501:1976 Assembled joints between fittings and polyethylene (PE) pressure pipes Test of resistance to pull out. ISO 3503:1976 Assembled joints between fittings and polyethylene (PE) pressure pipes Test of leakproofness under internal pressure when subjected to bending. ISO 3663:1976 Polyethylene (PE) pressure pipes and fittings, metric series - Dimensions of flanges. ISO 12162:1995 Thermoplastics materials for pipes and fittings for pressure applications – Classification and designation – overall service (design) coefficient. ISO 4059:1978 Polyethylene (PE) pipes - Pressure drop in mechanical pipe-jointing systems - Method of test and requirements. ISO 4427:1996 Polyethylene (PE) pipes for water supply - Specifications. ISO 4433:1984 Polyolefin pipes - Resistance to chemical fluids - Immersion test method System for preliminary classification. ISO 4437:1997 Buried polyethylene (PE) pipes for the supply of gaseous fuels - Metric series - Specifications. ISO 4440-1:1994 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - determination of melt-flow rate – test method. ISO 4440-2:1994 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - determination of melt mass-flow rate – test conditions. ISO 4451:1980 Polyethylene (PE) pipes and fittings - Determination of reference density of uncoloured and black polyethylenes. ISO 6964:1986 Polyolefin pipes and fittings - Determination of carbon black content by calcination and pyrolysis - Test method and basic specification. ISO 8283-2:1992 Plastics pipes and fittings - Dimensions of sockets and spigots for discharge systems inside buildings - Part 2: Polyethylene (PE).

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

ISO 8584-1:1990 Thermoplastics pipes for industrial applications under pressure Determination of the chemical resistance factor and of the basic stress - Part 1: Polyolefin pipes. ISO 8770:1991 High-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes and fittings for soil and waste discharge (low and high temperature) systems inside buildings - Specifications. ISO 8772:1991 High-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes and fittings for buried drainage and sewerage systems - Specifications. ISO 8779:1992 Polyethylene (PE) pipes for irrigation laterals - Specifications. ISO 8796:1989 Polyethylene (PE) 25 pipes for irrigation laterals - Susceptibility to environmental stress-cracking induced by insert-type fittings - Test method and specification. ISO 9356:1989 Polyolefin pipe assemblies with or without jointed fittings - Resistance to internal pressure - Test method. ISO 9623:1997 PE/metal and PP/metal adapter fittings for pipes for fluids under pressure - Design lengths and size of threads - Metric series. ISO 10146:1997 Crosslinked polyethylene (PE-X) pipes - Effect of time and temperature on the expected strength. ISO 10147:1994 Pipes and fittings made of crosslinked polyethylene (PE-X) - Estimation of the degree of crosslinking by determination of the gel content. ISO/TR 10837:1991 Determination of the thermal stability of polyethylene (PE) for use in gas pipes and fittings. ISO 11413:1996 Plastics pipes and fittings - Preparation of test piece assemblies between a polyethylene (PE) pipe and an electrofusion fitting. ISO 11414:1996 Plastics pipes and fittings - Preparation of polyethylene (PE) pipe/pipe or pipe/fitting test piece assemblies by butt fusion. ISO 11420:1996 Method for the assessment of the degree of carbon black dispersion in polyolefin pipes, fittings and compounds. ISO/TR 11647:1996 Fusion compatibility of polyethylene (PE) pipes and fittings. ISO 12176-1:1998 Plastics pipes and fittings - Equipment for fusion jointing polyethylene systems - Part 1: Butt fusion. ISO 12176-2:2000 Plastics pipes and fittings - Equipment for fusion jointing polyethylene systems - Part 2: Electrofusion. ISO 13479:1997 Polyolefin pipes for the conveyance of fluids – Determination of resistance to crack propagation - Test method for slow crack growth on notched pipes (notch test). ISO 13761:1996 Plastics pipes and fittings - Pressure reduction factors for polyethylene (PE) pipeline systems for use at temperatures above 20 °C. 101

The European Plastic Pipes Market

ISO 13924:2000 Plastics pipes and fittings - Bending-tensile cycle test for PE/metal transition fittings, PE tapping tees and PE branch saddles. ISO 13954:1997 Plastics pipes and fittings - Peel decohesion test for polyethylene (PE) electrofusion assemblies of nominal outside diameter greater than or equal to 90 mm. ISO 13955:1997 Plastics pipes and fittings - Crushing decohesion test for polyethylene (PE) electrofusion assemblies. ISO 13957:1997 Plastics pipes and fittings - Polyethylene (PE) tapping tees - Test method for impact resistance. ISO 14236:2000 Plastics pipes and fittings - Mechanical-joint compression fittings for use with polyethylene (PE) pressure pipes in water supply systems. ISO Standards for Polypropylene (PP) Pipes ISO 3212:1975 Polypropylene pipes - Burst test requirements. ISO 3213:1996 Polypropylene (PP) pipes - Effect of time and temperature on expected strength. ISO 3477:1981 Polypropylene (PP) pipes and fittings - Density - Determination and specification. ISO 4433-1:1997 Thermoplastics pipes - Resistance to liquid chemicals – Classification – Immersion test method. ISO 4433-2:1997 Thermoplastics pipes - Resistance to liquid chemicals – Classification – polyolefin pipes. ISO 6964:1986 Polyolefin pipes and fittings - Determination of carbon black content by calcination and pyrolysis - Test method and basic specification. ISO 7279:1984 Polypropylene (PP) fittings for pipes under pressure - Sockets for fusion using heated tools - Metric series - Dimensions of sockets. ISO 7671:1991 Polypropylene (PP) pipes and fittings (jointed by means of elastomeric sealing rings) for soil and waste discharge (low and high temperature) systems inside buildings - Specifications. ISO 8242:1989 Polypropylene (PP) valves for pipes under pressure - Basic dimensions Metric series. ISO 8283-3:1992 Plastics pipes and fittings - Dimensions of sockets and spigots for discharge systems inside buildings - Part 3: Polypropylene (PP). ISO 8584-1:1990 Thermoplastics pipes for industrial applications under pressure Determination of the chemical resistance factor and of the basic stress - Part 1: Polyolefin pipes. ISO 8773:1991 Polypropylene (PP) pipes and fittings for buried drainage and sewerage systems - Specifications.

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ISO 9356:1989 Polyolefin pipe assemblies with or without jointed fittings - Resistance to internal pressure - Test method. ISO Standards for ABS Pipe ISO 727:1985 Fittings of unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (uPVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) or acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS) with plain sockets for pipes under pressure - Dimensions of sockets - Metric series. ISO 2507-3:1995 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - Vicat softening temperature - Part 3: Test conditions for acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile/styrene/acrylic ester (ASA) pipes and fittings. ISO 7245:1984 Pipes and fittings of acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS) - General specification for moulding and extrusion materials. ISO 7682:1991 Acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS) pipes and fittings for soil and waste discharge (low and high temperature) systems inside buildings - Specifications. ISO 8283-4:1992 Plastics pipes and fittings - Dimensions of sockets and spigots for discharge systems inside buildings - Part 4: Acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS). ISO 8361-3:1991 Thermoplastics pipes and fittings - Water absorption - Part 3: Test conditions for acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS) pipes and fittings. ISO 12092:2000 Fittings, valves and other piping system components made of unplasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC), chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylester (ASA) for pipes under pressure - Resistance to internal pressure - Test method. ISO Standards for Thermosetting (GRP) pipes ISO 7370:1983 Glass fibre reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings Nominal diameters, specified diameters and standard lengths. ISO 7511:1999 Plastics piping systems - Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings - Test methods to prove the leaktightness of the wall under short-term internal pressure. ISO 7684:1997 Plastics piping systems - Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - Determination of the creep factor under dry conditions. ISO 7685:1998 Plastics piping systems - Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - Determination of initial specific ring stiffness. ISO 8521:1998 Plastics piping systems - Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - Determination of the apparent initial circumferential tensile strength. ISO 8572:1991 Pipes and fittings made of glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) Definitions of terms relating to pressure, including relationships between them, and terms for installation and jointing.

103

The European Plastic Pipes Market

ISO 8639:2000 Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings - Test methods for leaktightness of flexible joints. ISO/TR 10465-1:1993 Underground installation of flexible glass-reinforced thermosetting resin (GRP) pipes - Part 1: Installation procedures. ISO/TR10465-2:1999 Underground installation of flexible glass-reinforced thermosetting resin (GRP) pipes - Part 2: Comparison of static calculation methods. ISO/TR10465-3:1999 Underground installation of flexible glass-reinforced thermosetting resin (GRP) pipes - Part 3: Installation parameters and application limits. ISO 10466:1997 Plastics piping systems - Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes - Test method to prove the resistance to initial ring deflection. ISO 10928:1997 Plastics piping systems - Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings - Methods for regression analysis and their use. ISO 10952:1999 Plastics piping systems - Glass-reinforced thermosetting plastics (GRP) pipes and fittings - Determination of the resistance to chemical attack from the inside of a section in a deflected condition.

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

8 DIRECTORY

Resin Suppliers Aiscondel S.A. Aragon 182 Barcelona E-08011 Spain Tel: +34 93 32 31 020 Fax: +34 93 32 37 921 Akzo Nobel Resins BV PO Box 79 Bergen op Zoom 4600 AB The Netherlands Tel: +31 164 27 69 11 Fax: +31 164 27 62 58 www.akzonobelresins.com Appryl (Atofina UK) Colthop Way Thatcham Newbury Berks RG19 4NR UK Tel: +44 (0) 163 5 87 00 00 Fax: +44 (0) 163 5 87 00 00 www.atofinachemicals.com Appryl PP (Atofina/BP) Immeuble IRIS 92062 Paris la Defense Cedex France Tel: +33 (0) 14 79 69 747 Fax: +33 (0)14 79 69 758 www.elf.atochem.fr Appryl SNC 12 Place de I’Iris 92062 Paris La Defense Cedex F-92033 France Tel: +33 (0) 1 47 96 97 47 Fax: +33 (0)1 47 96 97 58 www.appryl.fr

Ashland Plastics (Distributors of Polymers) Ashland House Swanwick Court Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7AS UK Tel: +44 (0) 17 73 52 08 86 Fax: +44 (0) 17 73 62 43 00 www.ashchem.com Ausimont (UK) Enrico House 93-99 Upper Richmond Road Putney London SW15 2TG UK Tel: +44 (0) 208 78 00 39 99 Fax: +44 (0) 208 78 02 871 www.ausimont.com BASF Plc PO Box 4 Earl Road Cheadle Hulme Cheshire SK8 6QG UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 48 56 222 Fax: +44 (0) 161 48 60 891 www.basf.com Bayer AG Leverkusen D-51368 Germany Tel: +49 214 30 578 22 Fax: +49 214 30 31 918 www.bayer.com Bayer plc Bayer House Strawberry Hill Newbury Berks RG14 1JA UK Tel: +44 (0) 163 55 63 000 Fax: +44 (0) 163 55 63 393 www.bayer.co.uk 105

The European Plastic Pipes Market

BFGoodrich Speciality Chemicals Hitchen Lane Shepton Mallet Somerset BA4 5TZ UK Tel: +44 (0) 174 934 30 61 www.bfgoodrich.com BFGoodrich Chemical Co. Georg Reismuller Strasse 32 Munich D-80999 Germany Tel: +49 89 81 06 210 www.bfgoodrich.com Borealis (UK) Ltd Borealis House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AR UK Tel: +44 (0) 162 55 47 300 Fax: +44 (0) 162 55 47 301 www.borealisgroup.com Borealis AB Lyngby Hovedgade 96 Kongens Lyngby DK-2800 Denmark Tel: +45 45 96 60 00 Fax: +45 45 96 60 14 www.borealisgroup.com Borsodchem Co Ltd No. 1 Bolyai Ter PO Box 208 Kazinc Barcika H-3702 Hungary Tel: +36 48 31 02 11 Fax: +36 48 31 08 91

106

BP Amoco PE Business Poplar House Chertsey Road Sunbury on Thames Middlesex TW16 7LL UK Tel: +44 (0) 1932 77 43 21 Fax: +44 (0) 1932 77 43 72 www.bpamocochemicals.com BP Chemicals P.O. Box 21 Bo'ness Road Grangemouth Stirlingshire UK Tel: +44 (0)1 324 48 34 11 Fax: +44 (0) 1 324 47 61 59 www.bpamocochemicals.com Buna Sow Leuna Olefinverbund GmBH Werk Schkopau PF1163 Merseburg D-06201 Germany Tel: +49 3461 49 0 Fax: +49 3461 49 2999 www.dow.com Cabot Interleuvenlaan 5 Leuven B-3001 Belgium Tel: +32 16 40 12 53 www.cabot-cmp.com Ciba Geigy AG Klybeckstrasse 141 Basle CH-4002 Switzerland Tel: +41 061 67 91 111 Fax: +41 061 67 93 974 www.cibasc.com

The European Plastic Pipes Market

CIRES (Shin-Etsu) Rua Castilho 165-4 Lisbon Dto-1070 Portugal Tel: +35 1 21 38 79 031 www.shinetsu.co.jp Distrupol Ltd 119 Guildford Street Chertsey Surrey UK Tel: +44 (0) 1932 56 60 33 Fax: +44 (0) 1932 56 03 63 www.distrupol.com DSM Engineering Plastics PO Box 43 Sittard 6130-AA The Netherlands Tel: +31 46 47 70 123 Fax: +31 46 47 70 400 www.dsm.ep.com DuPont de Nemours Int. SA 2 Chemin de Pavillon PO Box 50 Le Grand Saconnex Geneva CH-1218 Switzerland Tel: +41 22 71 75 111 Fax: +41 22 71 75 109 www.dupont.com Elenac GmbH Am Yachthafen 2 Kehl D-77694 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 7851 93 50 Fax: +49 (0) 7851 93 52 00 www.elenac.com

Elenac UK Ltd PO Box 34 Earl Road Cheadle Hulme Cheshire SK8 6FH UK Tel: +44(0)161 488 4628 www.elenac.com Elf Atochem (UK) Coltrop Way Thatcham Newbury Berks RG13 4LW UK Tel: +44 1635 87 0000 Fax: +44 1635 86 1212 www.atofina.co.uk EniChem SpA Piazza Boldrinil San Donato Milanese Milan I - 20097 Italy Tel: +39 0252 01 Fax: +39 0252 032 300 www.enichem.it EVC International 360 Boulevard du Soverain Brussels B-1160 Belgium Tel: +32 2674 0911 Fax: +32 2600 1181 www.evc-int.com EVC (UK) Ltd 1 King's Court Manor Farm Road Manor Park Runcorn Cheshire WA7 1HR UK Tel: +44 (0) 192 85 70 100 Fax: +44 (0) 192 85 70 200 www.evc-int.com

107

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Nalco/Exxon Energy Chemicals Ltd PO Box 123 4600 Parkway Fareham Hampshire PO15 7AP UK Tel: +44 (0) 148 98 80 880 Fax: +44 (0) 148 98 80 990 www.nalcoexxon.com Exxon Mobil Chemical Europe Hermeslaan 2 Machelen B-1831 Belgium Tel: +32 2722 2111 Fax: +32 2722 2780 www. exxonchemical.de GE Plastics (UK) Old Hall Road Sale Cheshire M33 2HG UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 905 5000 www.geplastics.com Hellyar Plastics Ltd Tyler Way Insustrial Estate Swalecliffe Whitstable Kent CT5 2RX UK Tel: +44 (0) 122 78 13 200 Fax: +44 (0) 122 78 13 213 www.hellyar.co.uk Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft Vertrieb Technische Kunstoffe Postfach 700 552 Frankfurt-am-Main D-60596 Germany www.hoechst.com

108

Hydro Geon Polymers Aycliffe Industrial Estate Newton Aycliffe Co Durham DL5 6EA UK Tel: +44 (0) 132 53 00 848 Fax: +44 (0) 132 53 01 413 www.hydrogeon.com LATI (UK) Ltd PO Box 103 Sandbach Cheshire CW11 0ZF UK Tel: +44 (0) 127 07 59 490 Fax: +44 (0) 127 07 59 491 www.lati.com LG International (UK) Ltd 4 Thameside Centre Kew Bridge Road Brentford Middlesex TW8 0HF UK Tel: +44 (0) 208 32 61 400 Fax: +44 (0) 208 56 05 601 www.lgiu.com LVM NV Heilig Hartlaan Industrieterrain Schoonhees 2030 B - 3980 Tessenderlo Belgium Tel: +32 13 61 22 11 Fax: +32 13 66 81 40 www.tessenderlo.com Micropol Ltd Bayley Street Staleybridge Cheshire SK15 1QQ UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 330 55 70 Fax: +44 (0) 161 343 7687 www.micropol.com

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Lyondell (Europe) Lyondell House Bridge Avenue Maidenhead Berks SL6 1YP UK Tel: +44 (0) 1628 77 5000 Fax: +44 (0) 1628 77 5180 www.lyondelleurope.com Mitsui Babcock Energy Ltd Technology Centre High Street Renfrew PA4 8UW UK Tel: +44 (0) 141 886 2201 Fax: +44 (0) 141 885 3370 www.mitsuibabcock.co.uk Monsanto Plc PO Box 53 Lane End Road High Wycombe Bucks HP12 4HL UK Tel: +44 (0) 149 44 74 918 Fax: +44 (0) 149 44 720 www.monsanto.com Montell Polyolefins Co (Europe Div.) Woluwedal 24 Zaventem Brussels B-1932 Belgium Tel: +32 271 58 000 Fax: +32 271 58 050 www.montell.com Nordchem SpA Via Spilimbergo 160 Martignacco Udine I-33035 Italy Tel: +39 0432 677 361 Fax: +39 0432 678 648

Norsk Hydro ASA Bygdoy Alle 2 Oslo N-0204 Norway Tel: +47 22 53 81 00 Fax: +47 22 53 27 25 www.hydro.com PCD Polymere Danubiastr. 21-25 2423 Schwechat-Mannsworth/N A-2320 Austria Tel: +43 01 70 1110 Fax: +43 01 70 111 578 Philips Petroleum (UK) Philips Quadrant 35 Guildford Road Woking Surrey GU22 7QT UK Tel: +44 (0) 1483 752 315 Fax: +44 (0) 1483 752 371 www.phillipsspecialtychemicals.com Polimeri Europa Srl Via Taramelli 26 20124 Milano Italy Tel: +39 02 62 551 Fax: +39 02 62 553676 Repsol Quimica SA Paseo Castellana 278 - 280 Madrid E-28046 Spain Tel: +44 34 91 348 80 00 Fax: +44 34 91 348 94 36 www.repsol-ypf.com SABIC Europe Ltd Kensington Centre 66 Hammersmith Road London W14 8YT UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 37 14 488 Fax: +44 (0) 207 37 13 039

109

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Seibel-Plastiko AG Bahnhofstrasse 147 Postfach 1230 Maintel 3 D-6457 Germany www.plastiko.de Shin-Etsu PVC BV Stationplein 4 PO Box 247 Amersfoot 3800 AE The Netherlands Tel: +31 334 428 010 www.shinetsu.co.jp Solvay Chemicals Ltd Unit 1, Grovelands Business Centre Boundary Way Hemel Hempstead Herts HP2 7TE UK Tel: +44 (0) 144 22 36 555 Fax: +44 (0) 144 22 38 770 www.solvay.com Solvay SA Rue du Prince Albert Brussels B-1050 Belgium 2509 61 11 Fax: +32 250 96 617 www.solvay.com Spolana a.s. 27711 Neratovice Czech Republic Tel: +420 20 66 61 111 Fax: +420 20 66 82 821 www.spolana.cz Targor GmbH c/o BASF AG Geb. F206 Ludwigshafen D-67056 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 62 16 04 20 24 Fax: +49 (0) 62 16 09 90 69 www.targor.com 110

Tessenderlo Chemie SA Stationstraat 3980 Tessenderlo B-3980 Belgium Tel: +32 13 61 2211 Fax: +32 13 66 8140 www.tessenderlo.com Total Fina Elf 2 Place de la Coupole La Defense 6 Courbevoie 92400 France Tel: +33 147 44 45 46 Fax: +33 147 44 78 78 www.totalfinaelf.com Union Carbide (Europe) SA 7 Rue de Pres-Bouvier Metrin Geneva CH-1217 Switzerland Tel: +41 22 989 61 11 Fax: +41 22 989 64 41 www.unioncarbide.com Vamp Technologies SpA Viale delle Industrie 10 - 12 Busnago (MI) I-20040 Italy Tel: +39 039 69 57 821 Fax: +39 039 69 563888 www.vamptech.it Vinnolit Kunstoff GmbH Carl-Zeiss-Ring 25 85737 Ismaning Germany Tel: +49 89 96 103-0 Fax: +49 89 96 103-103 www.vinnolit.com

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Extrusion Equipment Suppliers Amut SpA Via Cameri 16 Novara I-28100 Italy Tel: +39 03 21 66 41 11 Fax: +39 03 21 49 00 14 APV Baker Industrial Extruder Division Ltd Speedwell Road Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire ST5 7RG UK Tel: +44 (0) 1782 565 656 Fax: +44 (0) 1782 565 800 www.apv.com Luigi Bandera SpA Corso Sempione 120 Busto Arsizio I-21052 Italy Tel: +39 331 398111 Fax: +39 331 680206 www.bandera.com Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH Konigstrasse 53 Bad Oeyenhausen D-32547 Germany Tel: +49-573 12 420 Fax: +49-573 17 124 www.battenfeld.com Bausano Group Via Venezia 21050 Marnate (Va) Italy Tel: +39 03 31 36 57 770 Fax: +39 03 31 36 58 92 www.bausano.it

Berstorff GmbH An der Breiten Wiese 3-5 Hannover D-30625 Germany Tel: +49 511 57 02 0 Fax: +49 511 56 19 16 www.berstorff.de Boston Matthews Machines Ltd Navigation Road Diglis Worcester WR5 3DE UK Tel: +44(0)1905 763 100 Fax: +44(0)1905 763 101 www.bostonmatthews.com Cincinnati Extrusion GmbH Luxemburger Strasse 246 Vienna A-1239 Austria Tel: +43 1 61006 0 Fax: +43 1 61006 8 www.cmaustria com Corelco Manziat F-01570 France Tel: +33 (0) 385 361 258 Fax: +33 (0) 385 300 455 www.corelco.com Davis-Standard GmbH Mettmanner Strasse 51 Postfach 1565 Erkrath D-40675 Germany Tel: +49 211 240 40 Fax: +49 212 404 281 www.davis-standard.com

111

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Davis-Standard Ltd Betol Machinery 187 Camford Way Sundon Park Luton Bedfordshire LU3 3AN UK Tel: +44 (0) 158 25 70 501 Fax: +44 (0) 158 25 97 363 www.davis-standard.com Delachaux 119 Avenue Louis Roche Gennevilliers Cedex F-92231 France Tel: +33 146 881 500 Fax: +33 146 881 501 www.delachaux.fr Drossbach GmbH Max-Drossbach Strasse 7 Rain Am Lech D-86639 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 909 070 20 Fax: +49 (0) 909 040 60 www.drossbach.com Dynisco UK Ltd Unit 6 Silver Birches Business Park Bromsgrove Worcestershire B60 3EU UK Tel: +44 (0) 152 75 77 077 Fax: +44 (0) 152 75 77 070 www.dynisco.com Farrel Shaw Ltd Queensway Castleton Rochdale Lancashire OL11 2PF UK Tel: +44 (0) 170 66 47 434 Fax: +44 (0) 170 66 38 982 www.farrel.com

112

Gillard Peter & Co., Ltd Alexandra Way Ashchurch Business Centre Tewkesbury Gloucestershire GL20 8NB UK Tel: +44 (0) 168 42 90 243 Fax: +44 (0) 168 42 90 330 IPM Via Dell'Artigianato 13 1348022 Lugo (RA) Italy Tel: +39 33 545 23342 Fax: +39 33 545 30911 www.ipm-lugo.it Krauss-Maffei Kunstofftechnik GmbH Krauss-Maffei Strasse 2 Munich D-80997 Germany Tel: +49 89 88 99 0 Fax: +49 89 88 99 3092 www.krauss-maffei.de Mannesmann Demag Krauss-Maffei Krauss-Maffei Strasse 2 Munich D-80997 Germany Tel: +49 89 88 99 0 Fax: +49 89 88 99 2206 www.mdkm.com Mannesmann Plastics Machinery AG Richard-von-Frank-Strasse 16 Munich D-80997 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 8981 89 64 0 Fax: +49 (0) 8981 89 64 52 www.mannesman-plastics.com Nextrom SA Route du Bois 37 Ecublens-Lausanne CH-1024 Switzerland Tel: +41-21694-4111 Fax: +41-21691-2143 www.nextrom.com

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Nextrom PO Box 44 01511 Vantaa-Helsinki Finland Tel: +358 9 5025 1 Fax: +358 9 5025 3003 www.nextrom.com Pipe Coil Technology Ltd Carrville Works Hadrian Road Wallsend Tyne & Wear NE28 6HF UK Tel: +44 (0) 191 295 9910 Fax: +44 (0) 191 295 9911 www.pipecoil.co.uk Riefenhauser GmbH Spicher Strasse 46-48 Troisdorf D-53839 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 2241 481 0 Fax: +49 (0) 2241 408 778 SMS AG Scherl 10 D-58540 Meinerzhagen Germany Tel: +49 2354 720 Fax: +49 2354 72575 www.sma-ag.de SMS Extrusion Holdings SMS Plastics Technology Scherl 10 Meinerzhagen D-58540 Germany Tel: +49 2354 72 0 Fax: +49 2354 725 75 www.sma-ag.de Technomatic Via Emilia 4 Assano Sao Paolo I-24052 Italy Tel: +399 35 310 375 Fax: +399 35 311 286

Pipe and Fittings Manufacturers and Suppliers Adaptaflex Ltd Station Road Coleshill Birmingham B46 1HT UK Tel: +44 (0) 167 54 68 222 Fax: +44 (0) 167 54 64 930 www.adaptaflex.com Agru Kunstofftechnik GmbH Ing. Pesendorfer-strasse 31 A-4540 Bad Hall Austria Tel: +43 725 87 90 Fax: +43 725 83 863 www.agru.at Alphacan SA Elysee 2 12-18 Ave de la Jonchere La Celle Saint Cloud F-78170 France Tel: +33 130 825800 Fax: +33 139 180979 www.alphacan.com Ameron BV - Fibreglass Pipe Group PO Box 6 4190 CA Geldermalsen The Netherlands Tel: +31 345 587 587 Fax: +31 345 587 551 www.ameron.fpg.nl Angus Flexible Pipelines Thame Park Road Thame Oxon OX9 3RT UK Tel: +44 (0) 1844 214 545 Fax: +44 (0) 1844 213 511 www.flexiblepipelines.co.uk

113

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Aquatherm GmbH Biggen 5 Attendorn D-57439 Germany Tel: +49 2722 9500 Fax: +49 2722 950100 www.aquatherm.de

Dunlop Coflexip Umbilicals Ltd Walker Riverside Nelson Road Walker Newcastle-upon-Tyne UK Tel: +44 (0) 191 295 0303 Fax: +44 (0) 191 295 0842

Bauku Troisdorfer Industriestrasse 9 51674 Wiehl Germany Tel: +49 02262 7207 0 Fax: +49 02262 7207 13 www.bauku.de

Durapipe - S&LP Walsall Road Norton Canes Cannock Staffordshire WS11 3NS UK Tel: +44 (0) 1543 279 909 Fax: +44 (0) 1543 279 450 www.durapipe-slp.co.uk

Cables D'Eupen Div Tubes Plastiques Rue de Malmedy 9 Eupen B-4700 Belgium Tel: +32 8759 7700 Fax: +32 8755 2893 www.eupencable.com CEPEX Lluis Companys 51-53 Granollers Barcelona Spain Tel: +34 9387 04208 Fax: +34 9387 95711 www.cepex.com CPV Ltd Woodington Mill East Wellow Romsey SO51 6DQ Hants UK Tel: +44 (0) 179 43 22 884 Fax: +44 (0) 179 43 22 885 www.cpv.co.uk

114

Dyka BV Havens West Deccaweg 25 Amsterdam NL - 1042AE The Netherlands Tel: +31 020 44 80 760 Fax: +31 020 44 80 738 www.dyka.com Dyka UK Ltd 65-69 Ellingham Way Ashford Kent TN23 2JU UK Tel: +44 (0) 1233 6444 38 Fax: +44 (0) 1233 6427 55 www.dyka.com Ecopipe Ltd 60 Rilska Strasse Burgas 8000 Bulgaria Tel: +359 568 43533 Fax: +359 568 42612

The European Plastic Pipes Market

FIP SpA Pian di Parata 16015 Casella Genoa Italy Tel: +39 (0) 109 6211 Fax: +39 (0) 109 621 209 www.fipnet.it Fullflow Ltd Holbrook Avenue Sheffield S20 3PF UK Tel: +44 (0) 114 247 3655 Fax: +44 (0) 114 247 7805 www.fullflow.com

Geberit Ltd New Hythe Lane Aylesford Kent ME20 7PJ UK Tel: +44 (0) 1622 717811 Fax: +44 (0) 1622 716920 www.geberit.com Geberit Vertriebr AG Schachenstrasse 77 Jona CH-8645 Switzerland Tel: +41 (0) 55 221 6111 Fax: +41 (0) 55 212 4269 www.geberit.com

Fersil Freitas & Silva LDA Apartado 2022 S. Joao da Madeira 3700 Cesar Portugal Tel: +351 256 856 010 Fax: +351 256 856 011 www.fersil.pt

Genova Systems Poland Ltd SW Teresy 103 91-341 Lodz Poland Tel: +4842 6524 328 Fax: +4842 6520 328 www.genova-system.com.pl

Frankische Rohrwerke GmbH Heilingerstrasse 1 Konigsberg D-97486 Germany Tel: +49 9525 88 0 Fax: +49 9525 88 411 www.Frankische.de

Georg Fischer Rohrleitungssystem AG Amsler-Laffon Strasse 9 Schaffhausen CH-8210 Switzerland Tel: +41 (0) 52631 3551 Fax: +41 (0) 52631 2800 www.piping.georgfischer.com

Fusion Provida Ltd Smeckley Wood Close Chesterfield Trading Estate Chesterfield S41 9PZ UK Tel: +44 (0) 1246 262626 Fax: +44 (0) 1246 262806

George Fischer Sales Ltd Paradise Way Walsgrave Triangle Coventry CV2 2ST UK Tel: +44 (0) 24 7653 5535 Fax: +44 (0) 24 7653 0450 www.georgefischer.co.uk

Future Pipe Industrie J C Kellerlaan 3 PO Box 225 7770AG Hardenberg The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0) 523 288 911 Fax: +31 (0) 523 288 441 www.futurepipe.com 115

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Glynwed Pipe Systems Ltd Headland House New Coventry Road Sheldon Birmingham B26 3AZ UK Tel: +44 (0) 121 700 1000 Fax: +44 (0) 121 700 1001 www.glynwedpipesystems-uk.com Heliflex Portuguesa (Tubos Flexiveis) LDA Apratado 525 Beira Litoral Ilhavo 3834-909 Portugal Tel: +351 234 32 90 20 Fax: +351 234 32 50 74 www.hel.flex.pt Hepworth Building Products Hazlehead Stocksbridge Sheffield S30 5HG UK Tel: +44 (0) 1226 763 561 Fax: +44 (0) 1226 764 827 www.hepbp.demon.co.uk Hunter Plastics Ltd Nathan Way London SE28 0AE UK Tel: +44 0 20 88 55 98 51 Fax: +44 020 83 17 77 64 www.hunterplastics.co.uk International Plastic Systems Ltd Seaham Grange Industrial Estate Seaham Co Durham SR7 0PW UK Tel: +44 (0) 191 521 3111 Fax: +44 (0) 191 521 3222 www.ips-plastics.com

116

Johnston Pipes Ltd Doseley Telford Shropshire TF4 3BX UK Tel: +44 (0) 1952 630300 Fax: +44 (0)1952 501573 www.johnston-pipes.co.uk KWH Group Ltd PO Box 22 Oravainen Fin-66801 Finland Tel: +358-6-385-0233 Fax: +358-6-385-0438 www.kwpipe.com KWH Pipe Ltd PO Box 21 Vaasa SF-65101 Finland Tel: +358 61 326 5511 Fax: +358 61 315 4577 www.kwpipe.com Logstor Ror A/S Danmarksvej 11 Logstor DK-9670 Denmark Tel: +45 9966 1000 Fax: +45 9966 1180 www.logstor.com Mabo Pipelife AS Surnadal N-6650 Norway Tel: +47 71 658 800 Fax: +47 71 658 800 www.pipelife.com

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Mainetti Technology Ltd Haughhead Hawick TD9 8LF UK Tel: +44 (0) 145 364 000 Fax: +44 (0) 145 364 001 www.mainetti.co.uk Marley Extrusions Ltd Dickley Lane Lenham Kent UK Tel: +44 0 162285 88 88 Fax: +44 0 1622 85 87 25 www.marley.co.uk Masterflex Technical Hoses Ltd Vulcan Street Oldham Lancashire OL1 4ER UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 626 8066 Fax: +44 (0) 161 626 9066 Nicoll (Raccords & Plastiques) SA BP 966 37 R. Pierre et Marie Curie Cholet Cedex F-49309 France Tel: +33 1 39 79 60 88 Fax: +33 1 39 79 62 40 Petzetakis SA 108 Piraeus Str Athens 11854 Greece Tel: +30 1 3497100 Fax: +30 1 3428659 www.petzetakis.gr

Pipe 2000 3 Kelvin Road Manor Trading Estate Benfleet Essex SS7 4QB UK Tel: +44 (0) 1268- 759567 Fax: +44 (0) 1268- 569932 www.pipe2000.co.uk Pipelife International GmbH Triester Strasse 14 A-2351 Weiser Neudorf Austria Tel: +43 2236 439 390 Fax: +43 2236 439 396 www.pipelife.com Plasson Maagan Michael DN Menashe 37805 Israel Tel: +972 6 639 4711 Fax: +972 6 639 0887 www.plasson.com Plastika Kritis SA PO Box 1093-71110 Iraklion Crete Greece Tel: +30 081 38 12 05 Fax: +30 081 38 13 28 Polypipe Plc Broomhouse Lane Edlington Doncaster DN12 1ES UK Tel: +44 (0) 1709 770000 Tel: +44 (0) 1709 770001 www.polypipe.plc.uk Redi Via Madonna dei Prati S/A Bologna 40069 Zola Italy Tel: +39 051 6175111 Fax: +39 051 756649

117

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Rehau AG & Co Postfach 1460 Rheniumhaus 95111 Rehau Germany Tel: +49 9283 77 0 Fax: +49 9283 77 25 15 www.rehau.com

Unicor AG PO Box 1641 Hassfurt D-97433 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 9521 6900 Fax: +49 (0) 9521 690 750 www.unicor.de

Rehau Ltd Hull Court Walford Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire HR9 5QN UK Tel: +44 (0) 1989 762600 Fax: +44 (0) 1989 762601 www.rehau.com

Uniplas Engineering Ltd Seagoe Portadown Co. Armagh BT63 5HU UK Tel: +44 (0) 176 2 33 33 11 Fax: +44 (0) 176 2 33 35 08 06 www.uniplas.co.uk

Seperef SA Zone Industrielle Quincieux St Germain au Mort d'Or F-69650 France Tel: +33 04 7226 2972 Fax: +33 04 78 91 19 98 Simona AG Teichweg 16 55606 Kirn Germany Tel: +49 (0 6752 14 0 Fax: +49 (0) 6752 14 211 www.simona.de

Uponor Group Kimmeltie 3 Espoo SF-02110 Finland Tel: +358 04 55 40 77 Fax: +358 04 62 863 Uponor UK Ltd PO Box 1 Blackwell Nr Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 5JD UK Tel: +44 (0) 1773 811 112 Fax: +44 (0) 1773 812 343 www.uponor.uk

Streng-Plastik AG Kunstoffwerke Deilsdorferstr 21 Niederhasle-Zurich CH-8 155 Switzerland Tel: +41 (0) 1 852 33 33 Fax: +41 (0) 1 852 33 34

Uralita SA Madrid E-28004 Spain Tel: +34 9 1448 1000 Fax: +34 9 1447 4426 www.uralita.es

Tubes d'Aquitane Route de Souvillac Carsac 24200 France Tel: +33 53 59 22 10 Fax: +33 53 31 13 58

Vink AS Kristrup Engvej 9-11 8900 Randers Denmark Tel: +45 8911 01 00 Fax: +45 8641 58 90 www.vink.dk

118

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Wavin BV Stationsplein 3 Postbus 173 8000 AD Zwolle The Netherlands Tel: +31 38 429 4911 Fax: +31 38 429 4238 www.wavin.com Wavin Industrial Products Meadowfield Estate Brandon Co Durham DH7 8RJ UK Tel: +44 (0) 1913 780 841 Fax: +44 (0) 1913 789 0835 www.wavin.com Wavin Marketing & Technology BV Rollepaal 20 PO Box 110 Dedemsvaart 7700 AC The Netherlands Tel: +31 523 624 911 Fax: +31 523 624 700 www.wavin.com Wellstream (Brown & Root - Halliburton) Wallsend Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne & Wear UK Tel: +44 (0) 191 29 59 000 Fax: +44 (0) 191 29 59 001 www.halliburton.com Wirsbo Bruks AB Bo 101 Virsbo 73061 Sweden Tel: +46 (0) 223 38 000 Fax: +46 (0) 223 38 102 www.wirsbo.se

Pipe Installation Equipment Suppliers Automation & Pipeline Systems Ltd Unit K Newhouse Business Park Newhouse Road Grangemouth Stirlingshire UK FK3 8LL Tel: +44 (0) 1324 66 69 78 Fax: +44 (0) 1324 66 69 79 www.aps.uk.com Avoidatrench Limited Four Crosses Business Park Llanymynech Powys UK SY22 6ST Tel: +44 (0) 169 18 31 046 Fax: +44 (0) 169 18 30 495 www.shropshire-net.com/avoidatrench Boddingtons Ltd Unit 10 Chelmsford Road Industrial Estate Great Dunmow Essex CM6 1HF UK Tel: +44 (0) 137 18 75 101 Fax: +44 (0) 137 18 74 906 www.boddingtons-ltd.com DSI Rohrleitungsbau-Zubehor GmbH Daimlerstrasse 21 Nehren D72147 Germany Tel: +49 7473 3781 0 Fax: +49 7473 3781 35 www.dsi.de

119

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Euro Iseki Ltd Avonbrook Houes Masons Road Stratford-upon-Avon Warwickshire CV37 9LQ UK Tel: +44 (0) 1789 29 22 27 Fax: +44 (0) 1789 26 83 50 www.iseki.com Fusion Provida Smeckley Wood Close Chesterfield Trading Estate Chesterfield Derby S41 9PZ UK Tel: +44 (0) 1246 26 011 Fax: +44 (0) 1264 45 04 72 Haxey Engineering Ltd High Street Haxey Doncaster DN9 2HH UK Tel: +44 (0) 1427 752 708 Fax: +44 (0) 1427 752 542 www.haxeyfusion.co.uk

Inpipe Products Ltd Walkerville Industrial Estate Catterick Garrison North Yorkshire DL9 4RR UK Tel: +44 (0) 1748 83 45 77 Fax: +44 (0) 1748 83 41 21 InsituForm Technologies Unit 6 Roundwood Industrial Estate Ossett WF5 9SQ UK Tel: +44 (0) 1924 277 076 Fax: +44 (0) 1924 265 107 www.insituform.com Keyline Builders Merchant Southbank House 1 Strathkelvin Place Kirkintilloch Glasgow G66 1XH UK Tel: +44 (0) 141 7778979 Fax: +44 (0) 141 7751420 www.keyline.co.uk

Hy-Ram Pipeline Products 28-30 Grange Avenue Mansfield Nottinghamshire NG18 SEY UK Tel: +44 (0) 1623 422982 Fax: +44 (0) 1623 661022

MCA Hire Services Cooks Way Cambridge Road Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 0JA UK Tel: +44 (0) 1462 457 591 Fax: +44 (0) 1462 457 583 www.mca-gps.co.uk

IPSCO (UK) Ltd Sunningdale House Sunningdale Road South Park Industirial Estate Scunthorpe DN17 2TY UK Tel: +44 (0) 1724 84 99 04 Fax: +44 (0) 1724 86 10 33

KWH Tech GmbH Falkenweg 3 36132 Eiterfeld Germany Tel: +49 66 72 91 97 85 Fax: +49 66 72 91 97 82 www.kwhtech.com

120

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Nicoll (Raccords & Plastiques) SA BP 966 37 R. Pierre et Marie Curie Cholet Cedex France F-49309 Tel: +33 1 39 79 60 88 Fax: +33 1 39 79 62 40 Omicron srl Via Enrico Fermi Caselle di Selvazzano I - 0135030 Italy Tel: +39 (0) 4989 75 721 Fax: +39 (0) 49 6333 24 www.omicronitaly.com Pipe Coil Technology Ltd Hadrian Road Wallsend Tyne & Wear UK NE28 6HF Tel: +44 (0) 191 29 59 910 Fax: +44 (0) 191 29 59 911 www.pipecoil.co.uk Pipe Equipment Specialists 66a Dukesway Thornaby Stockton-on-Tees UK TS17 9LT Tel: +44 (0) 164 27 69 789 Fax: +44 (0) 164 27 69 456 Pipeline Engineering Catterik Bridge Industrial Estate Richmond North Yorkshire UK DL10 7JG Tel: +44 (0) 1748 818 341 Fax: +44 (0) 1748 818 039 www.pipelineengineering.co.uk

Pipeline Induction Heating Ltd The Pipeline Centre Farrington Road Rossendale Industrial Estate Burnley BB11 5SW UK Tel: +44 (0) 1282 415 323 Fax: +44 (0) 1282 415326 www.pih.co.uk PipeWise (UK) Ltd Access House Imperial Street London E3 3EA UK Tel: +44 (0) 208 981 47 43 Fax: +44 (0) 208 981 47 40 PJO Industrial Limited Commercial Road Goldthorpe Rotherham Lancashire S63 9BL UK Tel: +44 (0) 1709 89 01 02 Plate & Locate 5 The Grove Parkgate Industrial Estate Knutsford Cheshire UK WA16 8XP Tel: +44 (0) 1565 750 147 Fax: +44 (0) 1565 750 163 Rothenberger Werkzeuge AG Industriestrasse 7 Kelkheim D - 65779 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 6195 800 1 Fax: +49 (0) 6195 744 22 www.rothenberger.de

121

The European Plastic Pipes Market

S N de Fabricants de Tubes 65 Rue de Prony Paris Cedex 17 France 75854 Talbot Underpressure Engineering Winnall Valley Road Winchester Hampshire SO23 0LL UK Tel: +44 (0) 196 27 05 200 Fax: +44 (0) 196 28 41 344 www.tmproducts.com T D Williamson SA 6 Rue du Travail B-1400 Nivelles Belgium Tel: +32 67 28 36 11 Fax: +32 67 28 36 01 www.tdwilliamson.com T D Williamson (UK) Faraday Road Swindon Wiltshire SN3 5HF UK Tel: +44 (0) 1793 603600 Fax: +44 (0) 1793 603601 www.tdwilliamson.co.uk Trolining GmbH Kaiserstrasse Troisdorf Germany D-53840 Tel: +49 (0) 224 18 53 125 Fax: +49 (0) 224 18 53 594 www.trolining.de TT UK (Grundomat) Ltd Windsor Road Bedford MK42 9SU UK Tel: +44 (0) 1234 342 566 Fax: +44 (0) 1234 352 184

122

U-Mole Ltd Vulcan Way Eaton Socon Cambridgeshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 148 02 18 722 Fax: +44 (0) 148 04 07 303 Steve Vick International Unit 4 Pinesway Ivo Peters Road Bath BA2 3ET UK Tel: +44 (0) 1225 480 488 Fax: +44 (0) 1225 480 484 www.stevevick.com Wask-RMF Woodhouse Road Keighley BD 21 5NA West Yorkshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1535 605 681 Fax: +44 (0) 1535 609 759 www.glynwedpipessystems.com Widos W Dommer Sohne GmbH Einsteinstrasse 5 Ditzingen-Heimerdingen D-71254 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 7152 99 39 0 Fax: +49 (0) 7152 99 39 40 www.widos.de

Pipeline Constructors ACEL Group Acel House Castle Way Ellon Aberdeenshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1358 722484 Fax: +44 (0) 1358 724283 www.acelgroup.co.uk

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Aicher Bau GmbH Grafenauer Strasse 17 Eging am See Germany Tel: +49 (0) 85 449 6200 Fax: +49 (0) 85 449 62096 Alfred McAlpine Civil Engineering West Carr Road Retford Nottinghamshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1 777 714 200 Fax: +44 0 777 714 200 www.amcivil.com Associated Pipeline Products Ltd 2 Blackmore Letchworth Hertfordshire SG6 2SX UK Tel: +44 (0) 1462 68 225 Fax: +44 (0) 1432 48 32 22 Barhale Construction plc Wallows Lane Walsall West Midlands UK Tel: +44 (0) 192 27 07 700 Fax: +44 (0) 192 27 28 08 www.barhale.co.uk Barnard Pipeline plc Lower Tower Street Birmingham UK Tel: +44 (0) 121 35 95 531 Fax: +44 (0) 121 35 98 350 www.barnard.co.uk BG Construction Services/PMC Cadkiell Lane Hitchin Hertfordshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1462 450861 Fax: +44 (0) 1462 451932

Biwater Pipes & Castings Ltd Clay Cross Chesterfield Derbyshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1246250740 Fax: +44 (0) 1246 250741 www.biwater.co.uk CAPCIS Limited Capcis House 1 Echo Street Manchester M1 7DP UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 933 4000 Fax: +44 (0) 161 933 4001 www.capcis.co.uk The Clancy Group Clare House Coppermill Lane Harefield Middlesex UK Tel: +44 (0) 189 58 23 711 Fax: +44 (0) 189 58 25 263 www.theclancygroup.co.uk Dredging and Construction Co Ltd 74 St. Peters Street Kings Lynn Norfolk PE34 3JT UK Tel: +44 (0) 1553 760511 Fax: +44 (0) 1553 760495 www.dcc-uk.com EUTEC GmbH Festerbachstrasse 6 Hohenstein Germany Tel: +49 (0) 612066 06 Fax: +49 (0) 62 2068 77 FEMO Fernmeldemontage GmbH Muhlstrasse 12 Holzheim Germany Tel: +49 (0) 907595 990 Fax: +49 (0) 907570 1720

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

Future Pipe Ltd Suite 4 Level 3 Macmillan House 96 Kensington High Street London UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 938 4942 Fax: +44 (0) 207 938 4962 Gesellschaft fur Elektrische Anlagen -Leitungsbau Nord GmbH Buttnerstrasse 13 Hannover Germany Tel: +49 (0) 511 358 040 Fax: +49 (0) 511 358 0488 JBS Construction 5 Kinsbourne Court Luton Road Harpenden Hertfordshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 15823 462828 Fax: +44 (0) 1582 462362 www.jbsltd.co.uk John Kennedy (Civil Engineering) Ltd Chaddock Lane Worsley Manchester UK Tel: +44(0)161 790 3000 Fax: +44(0)161 790 1211 JP Kenny Ltd 5 Pine Trees Chertsey Lane Staines Middlesex UK Tel: +44 (0) 1784 466222 Fax: +44 (0) 1784 417283 Karl Ebel Bau GmbH Paul-Thomas-Strasse 1 Dusseldorf Germany Tel: +49 (0) 21197 1300 Fax: +49 (0) 211718 5195

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Kenton Utilities & Developments Ltd Unit C16 Taylors Court Taylors Lane Rotherham Yorkshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1709 710665 Fax: +44 (0) 1709 710662 www.kenton.co.uk Laing Engineering & Utilities Barford Road St Neots Huntingdon Cambridgeshire PE19 6WB UK Tel: +44 (0) 1480 402 500 Fax: +44 (0) 1480 402 572 www.laing.com Langer GmbH Ilseder Strasse 52 Peine Germany Tel: +49 (0) 5171 531 84 Fax: +49 (0) 5171 531 31 McAlpine & Co. Ltd. Kelvin Avenue Hillington Glasgow UK Tel: +44 (0) 141 882 3213 Fax: +44 (0) 141 8827 805 www.sir-robert-mcalpine.com McNicholas Construction Group Lismirrane Industrial Park Elstree Road Elstree Hertfordshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 208 9634144 Fax: +44 (0) 208 9531860 www.mcnicholas.co.uk

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Morrison Construction Group plc Morrison House Primett Road Stevenage Hertfordshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1438 743744 Fax: +44 (0) 1438 369687 www.morrison-construction.com MPB Utility Services The Grange Park Street Wombwell Barnsley S73 0HH UK Tel: +44 (0) 1226 759521 Fax: +44 (0) 1226756838 www.mpburke.co.uk Murphy Pipelines Ltd. Hiview House Highgate Road London UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 267 4366 Fax: +44 (0) 207 482 3107 www.murphygroup.co.uk Primeshade Contracts Ltd Heol Mostyn Village Farm Industrial Estate Pyle Bridgend UK Tel: +44 (0) 1656 746334 Fax: +44 (0) 1656 746680 PRO-BAU Ingeieur und Rohrleitungsbau GmbH Roesslerhofweg 1 Passau Germany Tel: +49 (0) 851 886 880 Fax: +49 (0) 851 886 8810

RA Cookson & Co Limited Navigation Road Diglis WR5 3DE Worcester UK Tel: +44 (0)1905 354 790 Fax: +44 (0) 1905 763 916 Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Rosmolenweg 20 PO Box 43 3350 AA Papendrecht The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)78 6969000 Fax: +31 (0)78 6969555 www.boskalis.com Serco Gulf Engineering Ltd Islip Depot Bletchingdon Road Islip Oxfordshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1865 378352 Fax: +44 (0) 1865371401 Smit Land & Marine Engineering Ltd Port Causeway Bromborough Merseyside UK Tel: +44 (0) 151 641 5600 Fax: +44 (0) 151 641 5666 www.smitline.co.uk SOGEA 9 Place de l’Europe 92851 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex France Tel: +33 147 16 3541 Fax: +33 147 16388 www.sogea.fr Stockton Pipelines Ltd York House Drury Lane Wakefield WF1 2TE UK Tel: +44 (0) 1924 290647 Fax: +44 (0) 1924 290609

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

Subterra Ltd MetroPoint 1a Chalk Lane Cockfosters Barnet UK Tel: +44 (0) 208 3700 800 Fax: +44 (0) 208 3700 871 www.subterra.co.uk TIROBA Tief und Rohrleitungsbau GmbH Hauptstrasse 1 Schoebrunn Germany Tel: +49 (0) 37421 4670 Fax: +49 (0) 344 2120 156 www.tiroba.de TJ Brent Ltd Cooksland Industrial Estate Bodmin Cornwall UK Tel: +44 (0) 1208 261518 Fax: +44 (0) 1208 261519

Pipe Design and Consultants Advanced Engineering Solutions Ltd South Nelson Road South Nelson Industrial Estate Cramlington Northumberland NE23 9WF UK Tel: +44 (0) 1670 739 999 Fax: +44 (0) 1670 717999 www.aesengs.co.uk BMB Consultants 178 Curborough Road Lichfield Staffordshire WS1 37RB UK Tel: +44 (0) 1543 256086 Fax: +44 (0) 1543 256086 Colin Burley Associates 28 Ebchester Court Newcastle-upon-Tyne UK

Van Oord ACZ Jan Blankenweg 2 4207 HN Gorinchem The Netherlands Tel: +31 183 642200 Fax: +31 183 624394 www.voacz.com

Fischer Inginieurburo Bismarckplatz 8 Regensburg D-93047 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 941 580 80 Fax: +49 (0) 941 5667 86

Walter Lawrence (Civil & Mechanical) Ltd Lawrence House Lower Bristol Road Bath Avon UK Tel: +44 (0) 1225 331116 Fax: +44 (0) 1225 445057

Haswell Consulting Engineers 3900 Parkside Birmingham Business Park Birmingham B37 7YG UK Tel: +44 (0) 121 717 7744 Fax: +44 (0) 121 717 0902 www.haswell.co.uk

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

Kervihan Developments 8 Barnfield Rise Shaw Oldham Lancashire OL2 7RW UK Tel: +44 (0) 1706 846408 Fax: +44 (0) 1706290284 Pegasus Pipeline Engineering Group Ltd St Pauls House Eldon Street Wallsend Tyne & Wear NE28 6UL UK Tel: +44 (0) 191 289 5858 Fax: +44 (0) 191 263 2758 Penspen Limited 4 Cults Business Park Station Road Aberdeen AB15 9PE UK Tel: +44 (0) 1224 86 32 388 Fax: +44 (0) 1224 86 32 54 www.penspen.com Petrotechnic Maitland Road Lion Barn Business Park Needham Market Ipswich UK Pipeline Consultants Ltd Chaddock Lane Worsley Manchester M28 1XW UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 790 1616 Fax: +44 (0) 161 790 4947

Pipeline Developments Ltd Magnetic House 51 Waterfront Quay Salford Quays Salford M5 2XW UK Tel: +44 (0) 1618778800 Fax: +44 (0) 1618778855 www.pdl.co.uk Plasticpipes 24 Chevington Grove Witley Bay Tyne and Wear NE25 9UG UK Tel: +44 (0) 191 291 0304 Fax: +44 (0) 191 291 0304 Polytech R&D PO Box 18 Buxton Derbyshire SK17 9EF UK Tel: +44 (0) 1298 79778 Fax: +44 (0) 1298 79778 Rice Associates Epworth Grange Beltoft Road Epworth Nr. Doncaster UK Tel: +44 (0) 1427 872 508 Fax: +44 (0) 1427 874 338 SKS Ingenieure AG Oerlikonerstrasse 88 Zurich CH 8057 Switzerland Tel: +41 1315 1717 Fax: +41 1315 1718 www.sks.ch

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

Stoner Associates (Europe) Ltd 2800 The Crescent Birmingham Business Park Birmingham B37 7YL UK Tel: +44 (0) 121 71 77 772 Fax: +44 (0) 121 71 73 349

Pipe Test and Technical Centres APA VE Sud Ouest Avenue Gay Lussac Artigues-pres-Bordeaux F-33370 France Tel: +33 56 77 27 27 Fax: +33 56 77 27 00 Bradford University Dept of Mechanical Engineering Bradford W Yorkshire UK Tel: +44 (0) 1274 232323 www.bradford.ac.uk Becetel (University of Ghent) Belgian Research Centre on Pipes & Fittings Gontrode Heirweg 130 Melle 9090 Belgium Tel: +32 (0) 9 272 50 70 Fax: +32 (0) 9 272 50 72 BG Technology Gas Research & Technology Centre Ashby Road Loughborough LE11 3GR UK Tel: +44 (0) 1509 282000 Fax: +44 (0) 1509 264646 www.bgtechnology.com

128

Bodycote Polymer AB SE-61182 Nykoping Sweden Tel: +46 155 2214 76 Fax: +46 155 26 31 25 www.bodycote-mt.com BRE Bucknells Lane Garston Watford WD2 7JR UK Tel: +44 (0) 1923 664 000 Fax: +44 (0) 1923 664 010 www.bre.co.uk British Board of Agrément PO Box 195 Bucknalls Lane Garston Watford UK Tel: +44 (0)1923 66 53 00 Fax: +44 (0)1923 66 53 01 www.bbacerts.co.uk Brunel University Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing Uxbridge Middlesex UB8 3PH UK Tel: +44 (0) 1895 274000 Fax: +44 (0) 1895 203376 www.brunel.ac.uk Dansk Teknologisk Institut (DTI) PO Box 141 Gregersensvej Taastrup DK-2630 Denmark Tel: +45 72 20 20 00 Fax: +45 72 20 20 19 www.teknologisk.dk

The European Plastic Pipes Market

ERA Technology Ltd Cleeve Road Leatherhead Surrey KT22 7SA UK Tel: +44 (0) 1372 367000 Fax: +44 (0) 1372 367099 www.era.co.uk Gastec NV Postbus 137 Apeldoorn 7300 AC The Netherlands Tel: +31 555 393 393 Fax: +31 555 393 494 www.gastec.com Gaz de France 23 rue Philibert Delorme 75840 Paris Cedex 17 France Tel: +33 149 22 5000 Fax: +33 149 22 5658 www.gazdefrance.com Oil & Gas Institute of Cracow ul. Lubicz 25a Krakow PL-31-503 Poland Tel: +48 12 421 0033 Fax: +48 12 421 0050 www.igng.krakow.pl IPTME Loughborough University Loughborough Leicestershire LE11 3TU UK Tel: +44 (0) 1509 263171 Fax: +44 (0) 1509 223949 www.lboro.ac.uk

Montanuniversitat Leoben Franz-Josef-Strasse 18 Leoben A-8700 Austria Tel: +43 (3842) 402-0 Fax: +43 (3842) 402-308 www.unileoben.ac.at University of Stuttgart Pfaffenwaldring 32 Stuttgart D-70569 Germany Tel: +49 711 685 2580 Fax: +49 711 685 2635 www.uni-stuttgart.de NLTRC (Northumbrian-Lyonnais) Croft Lane Horsley Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE15 0PA UK Tel: +44 (0) 166 18 55 500 Fax: +44 (0) 166 18 55 510 www.nltrc.co.uk Pipeline Developments Ltd Magnetic House 51 Waterfront Quay Salford Quays Salford M5 2XW UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 87 78 800 Fax: +44 (0) 161 87 78 855 www.pipedev.co.uk Rapra Technology Shawbury Shrewsbury Shropshire SY4 4NR UK Tel: +44 (0) 1939 250383 Fax: +44 (0) 1939 251118 www.rapra.net

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

SGS Qualitest 191 Avenue Aristide Briand Cachan Cedex F-94237 France Tel: +33 141 24 88 88 Fax: +33 141 24 89 89 Staatliche Materialprufungsanstalt (MPA) Darmstadt Grafenstrasse 2 Darmstadt D-64283 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 6151 166762 Fax: +49 (0) 6151 5658 www.mpa-tu-darmstadt.de Suddeutsches Kunstoffe-Zentrum (SKZ) Frankfurter Strasse 15-17 Wurzburg D-97082 Tel: +49 (0) 931 4104 0 Fax: +49 (0) 931 4104 177 www.skz.de TWI Granta Park Great Abington Cambridge CB1 6AL UK Tel: +44 (0) 1223 891162 Fax: +44 (0) 1223 892588 www.twi.co.uk The Queen's University of Belfast Polymer Processing Research Centre Ashby Building Stranmillis Road Belfast Northern Ireland BT9 5AH UK Tel: +44 (0) 1232 274702 Fax: +44 (0) 1232 660631 www.qub.ac.uk

130

TRL-Transport Research Laboratory Old Wokingham Road Crowthorne Buckinghamshire RG45 6AU UK Tel: +44 (0) 1344 773 131 Fax: +44 (0) 1344 770 356 www.trl.co.uk TUV Bayern - Sachsen ev West End Strasse 199 Munich 21 D-8000 Germany Tel: +49 (89) 5791 0 Fax: +49 (89) 5791 1551 TUV Osterreich Krugerstrasse 16 Vienna A-1015 Austria Tel: +43 151 407 0 Fax: +43 151 407 240 Universidade Do Minho The Rectory Largo Do Pago 4709-320 Braga Codex Portugal Tel: +351 253 61 22 34 Fax: +351 253 61 69 39 www.uminho.pt University of East London Pipeline Technology & Management Longbridge Road Dagenham Essex RM8 2AS UK Tel: +44 (0) 208 8223 3000 Fax: +44 (0 )208 8590 77 99 www.uel.ac.uk

The European Plastic Pipes Market

Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimiskeskus (VTT) PO Box 1000 Vuorimiehentie 5 Espoo FIN-02044 VTT Finland Tel: +358 94561 Fax: +358 9456 7000

Association of the Hungarian Plastics Industry POB 40 Budapest H-1406 Hungary Tel: +36 1 343 5883 Fax: +36 1 343 0759

VMPA Beethovenstrass 52 Braunschweig D-3300 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 531 391 5499 Fax: +49 (0) 531 391 4573 www.vmpa.de

Belgian Association of Manufacturers of Extruded Thermoplastic Pipes (Tubuplast) Rue des Drapiers 21 Brussels

WRc plc Frankland Road Blagrove Swindon Wiltshire SN5 8YF UK Tel: +44 (0) 1793 865000 Fax: +44 (0) 1793 865001 www.wrcplc.co.uk

Industry Representative Bodies Aspaplast 51-55, 1 May Boulevard Bucharest RO-77351 Romania Tel: +40 1 41 307 45 Fax: +40 1 41 314 29 Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe Av E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4 Box 3 Brussels B-1160 Belgium Tel: +32 2675 3297 Fax: +32 2675 3935 www.apme.org

B-1050 Belgium Tel: +32 2510 2507 Fax: +32 2510 2562 www.fabrimetal.be BPF The British Plastics Federation 6 Bath Place Rivington Street London EC2A 3JF UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 457 5000 Fax: +44 (0) 207 457 5045 www.bpf.co.uk Deutsche Vereinigung fur Wasserwirtschaft Abwasser und Abfall (ATV-DVWK) Theodor-Heusse-Alle 17 Hennef D-53773 Germany Tel: +49 (0) 2242 872 0 Fax: +49 (0) 2242 872 135 www.atv.de Deutscher Verband fur Schweisstechnik ev (DVS) Aachener Str. 172 Dusseldorf D-40223 Germany Tel: +49 211 1591-0 Fax: +49 211 1591-200

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

Deutsche Vereinigung des Gas- und Wasserfaches Technischewissenschaflicher Verein (DVGW) Josef-Wirmer Strasse 1-3 Bonn D-53123 Germany Tel: +49 228 91 88 5 Fax: +49 228 91 88 990 www.dvgw.de EUREAU Rue Colonel Bourg 127 Brussels B-1140 Belgium Tel: +32 2 706 40 80 Fax: +32 2 706 40 81 EUROMAP European Committee of Machinery Manufacturers For Plastics and Rubber Industries Postfach 710864 Frankfurt D-60498 Germany Tel: +49 696603 1831 Fax: +49 696603 1840 www.euromap.org European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers (ECVM) Av E Van Nieuwenhugse 4 Box 4 Brussels B-1160 Belgium Tel: +32 2 676 7211 Fax: +32 2 675 3935 www.ecvm.org European Plastics Converters (EuPC) Ave de Cortenbeg 66 Brussels B-1040 Belgium Tel: +32 2732 4124 Fax: +32 2732 42 18 www.eupc.org

132

Greek Plastics Industries Association 64 Michalakopoulou Athens 11528 Greece Tel: +30 177 94 519 Fax: +30 177 94 518 Institut de Soudre BP 50362 9594 Roissy CDG Cedex France Tel: +33 1 49 90 36 00 Fax: +33 1 49 90 36 50 Institution of Gas Engineers 21 Portland Place London W1B IPY UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 636 6603 Fax: +44 (0) 207 636 6602 www.igaseng.com International Water Association (IWA) Alliance House 12 Caxton Street London SW1H 0QS UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 654 5500 Fax: +44 (0) 207 654 5555 www.iwahq.org.uk ISTT International Society for Trenchless Technology 15 Belgrave Square London SW1X 8PS UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 259 6755 Fax: +44 (0) 207 235 6976 www.istt.com Kunststofferohrverband eV (KRV) Dryoffstrasse 2 Bonn D-53113 Germany Tel: +49 228 91 47 40 Fax: +49 228 21 13 09 www.krv.de

The European Plastic Pipes Market

PAGEV - Turk Plastik Sanayiceleri Arastirma Gelistirme Egitim Vakfi Halkali cad No 132/1 Tez-Is Is Merkezikat:4 Sefakoy Istanbul TR-34750 Turkey Tel: +90 0212 425 13 13 Fax: +90 0212 624 49 26 www.pagev.org.tr The Pipeline Industries Guild 14/15 Belgrave Square London SW1X 8PS UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 235 7938 Fax: +44 (0) 207 235 0074 www.pipeguild.co.uk Pipes & Pipelines International Scientific Surveys Ltd Beaconsfield Bucks HP9 1NS UK Tel: +44 (0) 1494 675 139 Fax: +44 (0) 1494 670 155 www.pipemag.com Portugese Association of Plastic Industries (APIP) Rua D Estefania 32-2 Esq Lisbon P-1000 Portugal Tel: +35 1 315 06 33 Fax: +35 1 52 77 60 Rohrleitungsbauverband eV (RBV) Marienburger Strasse 15 Cologne D-50968 Germany Tel: +49 221 37 20 37 Fax: +49 221 37 28 06

SN des Fabricante de Tubes et Raccords en Polychlure de Vinyle Rigide et Polyolefines 63 Rue de Prony Paris F-75854 France Tel: +33 144 01 16 30 Fax: +33 144 01 16 60 Spanish Confederation of Plastics Enterprises (ANAIP) R.F.Villaverde 57 Madrid 3 E-28003 Spain Tel: +34 91 533 980 Fax: +34 91 533 90 27 Swiss Plastics Association Kunstoff-Verband Schweiz (KVS) Schachenalle 29 Aarau CH-5000 Switzerland Tel: +41 62 823 0863 Fax: +41 62 823 0762 www.kvs.ch TWI Granta Hall Great Abington Cambridge CB1 6AL UK Tel: +44 (0) 1223 891162 Fax: +44 (0) 1223 892588 www.twi.co.uk TEPPFA The European Plastic Pipe and Fittings Assoc. P O Box 8 Avenue de Cortenbergh 66 Brussels B-1000 Belgium Tel: +32 2736 2406 Fax: +32 2736 2406

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

The Plastics and Chemicals Federation Box 5501 Stockholm S-11485 Sweden Tel: +46 8 78380 00 Fax: +46 8 411 4526 www.plast-kemi.se UKSTT UK Society for Trenchless Technology PO Box 88 UMIST- Dept of Civil Engineering Sackville Street Manchester M60 1QD UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 200 4608 Fax: +44 (0) 161 200 4646 www.ukstt.org.uk Unionplast Via Petitti 16 Milan 20149 Italy Tel: +39 02 392 3171 Fax: +39 02 392 66548 www.unionplast.org Verband der Technischen Uberwachungs Vereine ev (VdTUV) Kurfurstenstrasse 56 Essen D-45138 Germany Tel: +49 201 8987 0 Fax: +49 201 8987 120 WRc plc Frankland Road Blagrove Swindon SN5 8YF UK Tel: +44 (0) 1793 865000 Fax: +44 (0) 1793 865001 www.wrcplc.co.uk

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References [1]

D. C. Wright, Environmental Stress Cracking of Plastics, Rapra Technology, Shrewsbury, UK, 1996.

[2]

L-E. Janson and J. Molin, Design and Installation of Buried Plastic Pipes, VBB Consulting and Wavin, Stockholm, Sweden, 1991.

[3]

L-E. Janson, Plastic Pipes for Water Supply and Sewage Disposal, Borealis, Stenungsund, Sweden, 1996.

[4]

G. N. Smith and O. C. Young, Buried Flexible Pipes: 1. Design Methods Currently used in Britain, Transport and Road Research Laboratories Contract Report No.228, HMSO, London, 1991.

[5]

F. Alferink, I. Bjorklund and J. Kallioinen, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 503.

[6]

W. Elzink and J. Molin. Presented at the PRI Plastics Pipes VIII Conference, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 1992, Paper No.A2/1.

[7]

British Plastics, 1937, 9, 102, 83.

[8]

T. G. Stafford, Presented at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers Conference on Pipeline Engineering and Operation, London, UK, 1993, Supplementary Volume, C459.

[9]

L. E. Ahlstrand, D. LeRoux and H. Espersen. Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 21.

[10] A. Bos and S. R. Tan, Presented at the IOM PVC ‘96 Conference, Brighton, 1996, 77. [11] Annual Report 1998, Uponor, Espoo, Finland. [12] Thermoplastics Pipe in Europe 1998, Phillip Townsend Associates, London, UK, 1998. [13] The European Plastic Pipe Market, IAL Consultants, Ealing, London, UK, 1998. [14] AMI’s Guide to the Pipe Extrusion Industry in Western Europe, Applied Market Information, Bristol, UK, 1997. [15] Plastics Statistics, Modern Plastics International, from 1966 to date. [16] J. Denning, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 145. [17] J. E. Brown, P. Chantre and A. Lowdon, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes IX Conference, Edinburgh, 1995, 119. [18] L. R. Holloway, Presented at the IOM PVC ‘99 Conference, Brighton 1999, 92.

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[19] P. G. Chapman and L. Agren, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 165. [20] A. J. Whittle and R. P. Burford, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 79. [21] S. Cook, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes IX Conference, Edinburgh, 1995, 125. [22] P. Fitzpatrick, P. Mount, G. Smyth and R. C. Stephenson, Presented at the IOM Plastic Pipes IX Conference, Edinburgh, 1995, 239. [23] L. R. Holloway and A. J. Naaktgeboren, Presented at the PRI 4th International PVC ‘90 Conference, Brighton, UK, 1990, Paper No.16. [24] K. Richards and R. Eweld, Kunststoffe, 1959, 49, 3, 116. [25] J. M. Greig and L. Ewing. Presented at the PRI Plastics Pipes VIII Conference, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 1992, Paper No.C2/1. [26] J. Schiers, L. L. Boehm, J. C. Boot and P. S. Leevers, Trends in Polymer Science, 1996, 4, 12, 408-15. [27] Metallocene Technology Seminar, Conference Proceedings, Rapra Technology, Shrewsbury, UK, 1997. [28] L. Hoving, M. Palmhof, D. C.Harget, P. H. Upperton and L. Ewing, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes IX Conference, Edinburgh, 1995, 607. [29] Y. Bar, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 625. [30] K. Ebner and R. Konrad, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 103. [31] Wavin Industrial Products ‘Osma Gold’, Product Description Literature, Wavin Industrial Products Limited, Brandon, Co. Durham, UK, 1999. [32] B Brenier and J Marshall, Plastics in Building Construction, 1994, 19, 2, 11. [33] A. K. Powell and J. G. Bonner, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 89. [34] H. J. Bättig, Chemie Ingenieur Technik, 1990, 62, 3, 232. [35] R. E. Bartlet, Public Health Engineering – Sewage, 2nd Edition, Applied Science Publications, London, 1979. [36] R. van Bentum and I. K. Smout, Buried Pipelines for Surface Irrigation, Intermediate Technology Publications, London, 1994. [37] Irrigation Developments in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. V. Branscheid. Publisher: World Bank.

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[38] P. Samson and B. Charrier, International Freshwater Conflict: Issues and Prevention Strategies, Green Cross International, Conches, Switzerland, 1997. [39] ‘Neofit’ Product Literature, Wavin Marketing and Technology, Dedemsvaat, The Netherlands. [40] T. Hopfmann, W. Wehner, J. U. Stoffelsme, A. Ryningen P. Clucas and R. Pfaendner, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 111. [41] N. S.Allen, L. M. Moore, G. P. Marshall, C. Vasilou and J. Kotecha, Polymer Degradation and Stability, 1990, 27, 2, 145. [42] B. Berndtson, Presented at the PRI Plastics Pipes VIII Conference, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 1992, Paper No. C2/6. [43] J. Cant and J. Morris, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 289. [44] D. Oesterholt and M. Woters, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 9. [45] Panorama of EU Industry 95/96, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 1995, 1-43. [46] H. Leijstrom and M. Ifwarson, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 743. [47] J. Viebke, M. Hedenquist and U. W. Gedde, Polymer Engineering and Science, 1996, 36, 24, 2896. . [48] Chemie Ingenieur Technik, 1994, 66, 9, 1115. .

[49] S. Shelley, Chemical Engineering, 1995, 102, 7, 157. [50] L. W. Buxton and G. V. Henthorn, Chemical Engineering, 1994, 101, 9, 133. [51] Reinforced Plastics, 1996, 40, 12, 50. [52] J. J. Järvenkylä and K. T. Haavisto, Pipes and Pipelines International, 1993, 38, 6, 38. [53] A. J. Moore and R. J. K. Wood, Presented at the PRI Plastics Pipes VIII Conference, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 1992, Paper No.E1/4. [54] R. Bresser, L. Hojer and M. Palmlöf, Presented at the IOM Plastics Pipes X Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 1998, 121. [55] D. Lutz, Kunststoffe, 1937, 27, March, 160. [56] W.L. Goodman, inventor; Gas Research Institute, assignee; US Patent 5354521, 1994. [57] S. S. Pang, G. A. Van Beek and R. H. Lea, Polymer Composites, 1995, 16, 5, 409. 137

The European Plastic Pipes Market

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The European Plastic Pipes Market

Abbreviations ABS Al CEN CHP CPE CPVC Cu ECTFE ESC EU EVOH FRP FST GDP GRP GSt HD HDPE ID IOM ISO LDPE LLDPE LNG MDPE MFI MFR MOPVC MPM OD OECD OPEC PA PB PC PE PET PE-X PMMA PN PP PP-B PP-H PP-R PRI PTFE PU PVC PVCD PVC-HI PVDF 140

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene Aluminium Centre for European Normalisation Combined heat and power Chlorinated PE Chlorinated PVC Copper Ethylenechlorotrifluoroethylene Environmental stress cracking European Union Ethylene vinyl alcohol Fibre-reinforced plastics Full-scale test Gross domestic product Glass reinforced plastic Galvanised steel High density High density PE Internal diameter Institute of Materials International Standards Organisation Low density PE Linear LDPE Liquid natural gas Medium density PE Melt flow index Melt flow rate Molecularly oriented PVC Mannesmann Plastics Machinery Outer diameter Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Nations Polyamide Polybutylene Polycarbonate Polyethylene Polyethylene terephthalate Crosslinked PE Polymethylmethacrylate Nominal pressure Polypropylene Polypropylene block copolymer Polypropylene homopolymer Polypropylene copolymer The Plastics and Rubber Institute Polytetrafluroroethylene Polyurethane Polyvinyl chloride Polyvinylidene chloride High impact PVC Polyvinylidene fluoride

The European Plastic Pipes Market

QA RCP RTP SCOREX SDR StSt Tg Tm TPE TRRL UCC UHME UN UP uPVC UV VST

Quality assurance Rapid crack propagation Reinforced thermoplastic pipes Shear controlled orientation extrusion Standard dimensional ratio Stainless steel Glass transition temperature Crystalline melting temperature Thermoplastic elastomer Transport and Road Research Laboratory Union Carbide Company Ultra high molecular weight United Nations Unsaturated polyester Unplasticised PVC Ultraviolet Vicat softening temperature

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