Fiberpipe

15th March 2013

East Rand-based Fiberpipe is the sole manufacturer in sub-Saharan Africa of Flowtite and Vectus fibre-glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) pipe and fittings used in potable and raw and industrial water applications, as well as in seawater, wastewater, bulk water and sewer applications.

Flowtite pipe is available in five pressure classes and three stiffness classes and is supplied in lengths of up to 12 m.

The 113-employee company’s 13 500 m2 factory, at 7 Tielman Roos street, in Germiston South, boasts a continuous filament winder for the manufacture of Flowtite products, and a noncontinuous winder for the manufacture of Vectus products.

GRP has been manufactured for the civil market in South Africa since 1992 and the company has been awarded several quality management standards, including ISO 9001:2008, for glass-reinforced polyester-laminated products. Fiberpipe’s GRP products are manufactured according to the following local and international standards: SABS 1748-1 (glass- fibre-reinforced thermosetting plastic pipes); AWWA C950 (fibreglass pressure pipe for water services); ASTM D3754 (fibreglass sewer and industrial pipe); ASTM D2996 (filament-wound fibreglass pipe); and AWWA C950 (fibreglass pressure pipe).

The main input materials used by the company are glass fibre, resin and silica sand.

The major contracts awarded the company in recent months include the supply of pipe for the three phases of the Kamfers dam project, in the Northern Cape; the Libode and Thembalethu bulk-water schemes, as well as the Vredenburg sewer outfall, in the Western Cape; and the Berekisang pipeline project, in the Northern Cape.

Beyond South Africa’s borders, Fiberpipe has supplied pipe for the Beitbridge sewer pipeline, Honde Duru hydropower and Triangle irrigation projects, in Zimbabwe. It has also supplied pipe for Malawi’s Mauna irrigation scheme and the Sikondo bulk-water scheme, in Namibia.