Industry body the Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (Sappma) is hosting the Pipes VIII Conference, which will take place on September 2 at the Bytes Conference Centre, in Midrand.
“Several papers pertaining to this year’s theme, Plastic Pipe in Infrastructure, will be presented to consider the challenges and opportunities in the industry, as well as the trends that are influencing the direction the industry is taking locally and globally,” says Sappma chairperson Jan Venter.
He adds that the South African pipe industry currently has to navigate through difficult circumstances, as demand is far less than expected. “Much of this can be attributed to governmental issues such as delayed spending on infrastructure.
“We were expecting an exciting year, as the year started with many promises made regarding improvements to infrastructure.
“Unfortunately, very little of this has come to pass and we are looking down an endless tunnel of unfulfilled expectations that dampened the spirit of the industry,” Venter explains.
He says, although the future does not look promising for the plastic pipes industry, Sappma is hopeful that the state of the industry will improve.
“There is much talk of the development of services by government, which will, hopefully, happen soon,” he adds.
Owing to poor growth in the industry and the current overcapacity, many of the local plastic pipe manufacturers were forced to look for opportunities across the border in recent months and have tendered for work elsewhere in Africa.
This has brought some relief, says Venter, although investments across our borders need to be carefully constructed.
To help mitigate these challenges, Venter points out, Sappma and its subsidiary, the Installation and Fabrication Plastic Pipe Association (IFPA), have jointly welcomed nine new members to their associations recently.
“The latest growth in our membership enables us to represent the entire value chain of more than 80% of the plastic pipes being produced in South Africa.”
Plastic products manufacturer Treger Plastics and piping distributor Rare Group have joined Sappma as pipe manufacturers, while chemicals, materials and machinery supplier Nesstra and industrial lubricants supplier Engen have joined as suppliers.
The IFPA has welcomed water treatment company Waterzone, piping systems distributor Alprene, plastics manufacturing company Plasti-Tech, fire sprinkler contractor Dynamic Industrial Piping and engineering and construction company Procon Africa as new members.