TPi March 2017

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March 2017 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL 23
business & market news
Dedicated supplier
of seamless steel tube
and pipe!
• EN 10294
• EN 10305
• EN 10216
• EN 10297
• EN 10210
• API 5L
• ASTM A106
• ASTM A179
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Contact:
Tel: +44 (0) 2084 530046
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0.8A Europa Studios
Victoria Road
London
NW10 6ND
New BPF Pipes Group president
predicts ‘lively’ year ahead
Derek Muckle of Radius Systems has
been appointed BPF Pipes Group
president, taking over from retiring
president Chris King of Wavin.
The appointment has a two-year tenure,
and Mr Muckle, who is also director of
innovation and technology at Radius
Systems, is keen to get started in his
new role, commenting, “The BPF Pipes
Group has a tremendous record in
developing and raising standards in the
utilities and construction industries, and
I want to see more recognition for the
work done highlighting and sharing best
practice knowledge on plastic pipes in
all of these areas, from large and small
diameter utility applications to above
and below ground heating, plumbing
and stormwater alleviation. Sharing
knowledge with a broad range of end
users and those at the cutting edge
will help speed up the adoption of new
innovations.”
Mr Muckle was closely involved with
the new guidance document from the
BPF Pipes Group on fusion jointing,
following on from the revised WIS 4-32-
08 standard for fusion jointing PE80
and PE100 pressure pipeline systems.
He has over 25 years’ experience in
the sector, developing plastic pipes and
fittings for successful operation in the
water, wastewater and gas industries.
Richard Hill from Aco Technologies has
been appointed vice-president of the
BPF Pipes Group, also with a two-year
tenure.
Part of the British Plastics Federation,
the BPF Pipes Group is a trade
association representing manufacturers
and material suppliers of plastic piping
systems across the UK.
Committed to sustainable construction,
its aims are to provide a forum for
the exchange of technical expertise
between member companies and to
promote the importance of plastic as a
pipework material. It works closely with
the BPF and TEPPFA, the European
Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association.
BPF Pipes Group – UK
Derek Muckle, new president of the BPF
Pipes Group
MRC Global launches
enhanced online catalogue
MRC Global is a distributor of pipe,
valves, fittings and related products
and services to the energy industry,
and supplies these products and
services across each of the upstream,
midstream and downstream sectors.
The company’s US subsidiary, MRC
Global (US) Inc, has implemented an
enhanced online customer catalogue,
MRCGOTM, for its US business.
MRC Global has offered an electronic
catalogue to its multi-year MRO
customers for over a decade. The
new MRCGO platform is built with the
most current technology that has been
enhanced with MRC Global specific,
customer-requested functionality.
“MRCGO delivers a more robust and
intuitive ordering experience,” said
Andrew R Lane, president and CEO.
“We have, and will continue to make,
investments in our online catalogue
technology. These enhancements will
continue to make the catalogue much
easier to search and significantly improve
our customers’ user experience, which
we expect will deliver additional growth
in the next few years.”
Improved features of MRCGO include
enhanced search capabilities; product
and category classifications; expanded
use of product pictures to ease customer
selection; business to consumer (B2C)
look and feel with business to business
(B2B) functionality; Excel spreadsheet
upload capability; dedicated online
support and online chat functions; and
real-time inventory, pricing and order
status integration.
MRCGO will initially be rolled out to
existing MRC Global online catalogue
customers. Future phases will include
offering MRCGO to MRC Global
customers worldwide.
MRC Global Inc – USA