TPi April 2008

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April 2008 Tube Products International 11
news business & market
A World Of Products And Services For A Global Industry
14424 Interdrive West—Houston, TX 77032
(281) 219-9480 ext.113 FAX: (281) 219-2317
Contact: David Steely
Girth Weld Calibration
Block Services
We offer custom services to fabricate
calibration blocks cut from actual
production pipe for ultrasonic inspec-
tion of pipeline girth welds.
Samples of services offered are Z-blocks, C-blocks, full
body standards, cut-out, lay-out, ring mount, and certifi-
cation. Additional custom services upon request.
concrete waste water pipes. Also with a
view to vitrified clay tubes, the situation
for plastic tube systems is positive. KRV
calculations show that the market share
of vitrified clay tubes dropped between
1996 and 2006 in the disposal sector
by 18% overall as compared to PVC
U-tubes. In the area of residential land
drainage, vitrified clay tubes were all but
replaced.
This development is also supported by
survey results provided by the Deutsche
Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft,
Abwasser und Abfall eV (DWA), the
German Association for Water
Management, Waste Water and Waste.
They show that the share of plastic tube
systems in the material distribution in
German drainage networks increased in
2004 as compared to 2001 from 2.3%
to a total of 6%. Concrete/reinforced
concrete, fibrated cement and cast steel
remained at steady levels considering
all nominal diameters.
At the same time, the share of vitrified
clay tubes in the network material
distribution was reduced from 44.2% to
40%. The volume increases of plastic
tube systems in newly installed and
reconstructed pipelines are estimated
to have been even higher, since the
numbers only consider the existing
network.
In residential technology applications,
there was a positive development for
plastic tubes in 2006. Plastics tubes
were able to capture some of the market
share of copper piping in residential
drinkingwater installations and improved
by approximately 2 million metres, an
increase of 2.2%. According to the KRV,
significant amounts of installed plastic
tubes are used in the area of premises
and building technology for area heating
and cooling, which in total is estimated
to represent about 65% of the German
plastic tube production for premises
and building technology.
During the first quarter of 2007, plastic
tube system production increased by
9.6% or 13,000 tons as compared to
the comparable period of the previous
year. At the same time, the growth
of the materials used in pipe system
production continued for polypropylene
with a rate of 48.1%, for polyethylene
with 24.8% and for PVC with 12.2%.
KRV Association members state that
the production increases mainly flowed
into waste and supply tubes.
Before the backdrop of the US real
estate finance crisis, the German plastic
tube industry approached the second
half of 2007 with guarded optimism.
In conjunction with the rising oil prices
and the increased export costs caused
by the low dollar vis-à-vis the Euro
exchange rate, the KRV fears an
accelerated weakening of the German
economy.
On the other hand, the market
penetration of plastic tube systems
in all areas of application and the
development of new market segments
continues. One example is the area-
wide introduction of gas pipes into
residential installations, which could
provide the industry in this sector with
robust growth rates.
Kunststoffrohrverband eV – Germany
Messe Düsseldorf GmbH – Germany