Water reticulation and drainage pipe manufacturer DPI Plastics last month introduced its new range of 560-mm- and 630-mm-diameter polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, the biggest PVC pipe sizes to be manufactured in Africa.

“DPI Plastics has been manufacturing PVC pipes for water and sewage conveyance for years and received a couple of enquiries during the past year for pipes with a bigger diameter than what we had initially offered. The biggest size that we manufactured, before this new range, had a 500 mm outside diameter.

“Our clients were looking at the possibility of getting PVC pipes of 560 mm or 630 mm outside diameters, as PVC is more cost efficient than the other materials available on the market,” says DPI Plastics technical and product manager Renier Snyman.

In November last year, DPI Plastics started ordering equipment from German company KraussMaffei for the manufacture of the new range of pipes.

“KraussMaffei manufactures and services centrifuges, dryers, filters and integrated separation systems for industry. About 90% of the equipment we use is imported from Germany and we use this company’s equipment because it guarantees quality,” highlights Snyman.

“The equipment started arriving in April and we received more equipment in June. Currently, we can produce 3 500 t of pipe a month between the two DPI Plastics factories in Gauteng, South Africa. The new range should add another 650 t to the monthly production of our Roodekop factory,” he adds.

The company believes that the new range will enable it to compete with steel pipes and concrete pipes and to expand into new markets. DPI Plastics hopes to expand into the bulk water market and other markets that can benefit from using PVC pipes.

“Now that this range is available on the market, we have further plans to expand our footprint into Africa. We have identified and are supplying countries in Africa that have similar infrastructure needs to those of South Africa. Bulk water and underground sewerage lines and storm- water management are all applications in which these pipes can play a significant role, as PVC pipes are easier to lay and do not need any welding. Therefore, production costs are reduced and the time spent laying the pipes is reduced,” he explains.

DPI Plastics views itself as a leader in PVC pipe technology in Africa and hopes to continue serving the markets’ needs by constantly investing in its research and development (R&D) department, says the company.

A yearly budget is allocated for R&D, with projects evalu- ated monthly to gauge their progress. The R&D department checks if the projects are ahead of schedule or delayed and what the causes of these delays are, among other aspects. “We are working out the 2014 yearly budget, of which R&D accounts for a per- centage which focuses on consistently improving the production line,” highlights Snyman.

DPI Plastics is completing several in-house projects, one of which is focused on the jointing of pipes, as this is where the greatest development can take place. “The quality of a pipe depends mostly on its resistance to failure at a joint. “There is always a need to make the joint durable and reliable. As a result, there are opportunities in this department,” he adds.