TPi July 2015

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42 Tube Products International July 2015
products & developments
Underground freight pipes to
reduce congestion
According to Roger Sumner-
Rivers, founder of international
courier ParcelHero, a new system of
underground freight delivery tubes
being trialled in Northampton, UK, has
the potential to reduce both city traffic
and emissions.
Freight capsules in the Mole Solutions
system would be powered by electricity,
producing magnetic fields to propel the
capsules along tracks. The technology
is similar to the maglev rail system in use
at some airports and being developed
for mainline operation in China.
Mr Sumner-Rivers commented, “This is
clearly more than a pipe dream. A nine-
month trial of the Mole Urban Project
has just been started and the supply
chain industry is watching the results
with interest. It’s been proven that home
delivery reduces car journeys to shops
and therefore traffic and emissions. An
underground city-wide and inter-urban
system of parcel and freight delivery to
out-of-town freight hubs and key nodal
links would further significantly reduce
emissions.
“A tube system would operate under
our homes and roads, moving freight
to out-of-town hubs, slashing traffic
in towns and reducing CO2 emissions.
ParcelHero has advocated out-of-town
consolidation hubs for some time, and
this looks to be an excellent way to
improve these gains still further.”
In addition to Mole Primary, which
delivers pallet and tote loads suited
to retailers using city freight hubs,
the idea can also be used for Mole
Bulk, using trunk pipe networks built
alongside existing infrastructure, which
can also take away other waste, such as
biomass, as well as deliver heavy ores
and minerals. This will cut down on HGV
loads, again reducing congestion.
Mole Solutions – UK
Expanded production capacity for Valspar
Pipeclad technology in Europe
Valspar Corporation has announced the
expansion of its production capability
for the Valspar Pipeclad® family of
fusion-bonded epoxy powder products
in Europe. In April, the company began
expanded manufacturing of Pipeclad
products at its facility in Thouars,
France, to meet growing global demand.
“Investing in the increased production
of Valspar Pipeclad globally ensures
that both applicators and pipeline
owners around the world can continue
to depend on Valspar to meet their
growing needs,” said Karl Jorgenrud,
vice president and general manager
of protective coatings at Valspar. “Like
our other powder coatings facilities,
Thouars produces a range of high-
quality, consistent coating products
that are engineered to protect against
corrosion in the harshest environments.”
Valspar Pipeclad fusion-bonded epoxy
products are used as the corrosion
protection layer for single-, dual- and
three-layer applications on a wide variety
of pipe sizes and wall thicknesses.
With their advanced coating technology,
Valspar products are used by petroleum
and gas producers around the world,
providing long-term protection for more
than 100,000 miles of pipelines.
Pipeclad fusion-bonded epoxy coating
protects against underground soil
stress, bacteria and fungus attacks,
soil acids and alkalis, as well as the
corrosive elements associated with
underwater use, including saltwater,
wastewater, petrochemicals, solvents
and corrosive gases.
To meet demand from a growing
worldwide customer base, Valspar
Pipeclad is produced in several regions,
including Asia, Europe and North and
South America. The products are part
of Valspar’s broad range of coatings for
automotive, packaging, architectural,
wood and general industrial customers.
Valspar Corporation – USA
Mole Solutions freight capsules would be propelled along tracks using magnetic fields