Rapidly growing economies in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Latin America are expected to drive the world’s demand for plastic pipe sales to 7.3 billion meters by 2010, according to Pmmag.com. In a new report by Global Industry Analysts Inc., “Plastic Pipes: A Global Strategic Business Report”, it is uncovered that while the United States remains the largest market for plastic pipe, China, specifically, is a key market to watch, since it has undertaken infrastructure overhauls and is experiencing a construction boom.

The use of plastic pipework is growing in the building services market, as installers and end users begin to appreciate the benefits it offers when compared to the traditional metal alternative. Price is a key factor, as the labour cost to install plastic can be a third of the cost of metal. Also, plastic systems, at half the weight of copper and a sixth the weight of steel, can be much easier to handle on site and are easy to joint. The majority are solvent welded, which offers a quick and very secure means of producing high integrity joints that will remain leak free throughout the lifetime of the system. Finally, plastic materials are totally resistant to corrosion, from both the precipitation of condensate on the outer surface of the pipe to many of the aqueous solutions used by air conditioning systems, revealed Des Dolan, Brand Manager for Durapipe SuperFLO, recently at RAC.

With the global expansion of the plastic pipe markets, the need for customised fittings to join pipe and create branch lines has also grown. Fittings is a higher value industry, because of the critical moulding expertise required to manufacture such complex shapes and structures. Pipeline integrity depends on selection of the best method and installation costs are directly affected by the efficiency of the joining method chosen for each construction project. AMI (Applied Market Information) is organizing an international conference to discuss the joining methods for pipes and the manufacture of pipe fittings. Plastic Pipe Fittings & Joints will take place at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany, from 10-12 December 2007.