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Rapra Publishing
European Plastic Pipes Market (The)
By T. Stafford, PlasticpipesThe sources of information for the plastic pipe industry are many and varied, for it has become one of the great industries of the world. Pipelines and tubing are vital to the infrastructure and economic activity of all countries from the poorest of the third world to the richest developed nations. Plastics have progressively displaced longer established materials through four decades and extruded pipe constitutes a major area of application for polymeric materials.
The pipes market also involves a very large pipe fittings production and supply sector. The polymer used in this context has a higher added value than the bulk of material extruded as pipe. Fittings production mostly involves injection moulding and total value is on a similar scale to the sale of pipe itself. Although the original approach to pipeline construction in plastics was simply to adopt the technolgies already in place for metallic systems there have been new technologies introduced that exploit polymer properties. For instance the trenchless technologies that greatly reduce pipe-laying costs are highly dependent on the flexibility and ductility of polyethylene pipes and jointing by fusion welding also exploits the thermal characteristics of polyethylene.
A full understanding of this industry requires far greater analytical coverage than is offered by typical market surveys. Market surveys generally provide good coverage of the status quo in terms of supply and demand volumes and prices on a regional basis. By contrast, in this Rapra Industry Analysis Report we have attempted to probe more widely, using the many and varied information sources to reveal fundamental influences on supply and demand technology that ultimately control price, performance and market trends.
This Rapra Industry Analysis Report has the objective of bringing together information from a broad spectrum of polymer and pipe supply technology and relating it to the regional and demographic trends of the demand side. It is hoped that this approach will enable readers to view their own more detailed market information within a broader context and consequently gain a more complete understanding of long term trends.
Topics covered by this report include:
About the Author
Trevor Stafford was employed by BG plc (formerly British Gas) for 21 years as a Principal Engineer and Higher Manager at The Engineering Research Station, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and for a further year at the Gas Research & Technology Centre, Loughborough. Functional responsibility included leadership of research activities concerned with development and application of PE pipe for gas distribution in the UK. Author of numerous publications and 13 patents assigned to BG. Left BG plc in 1996 to form Plasticpipes, a partnership with two former British Gas colleagues. Plasticpipes supplies technical and managerial consultancy services related to plastic pipe technology to oil, gas and water industries throughout the world. Dr. Stafford has worked with Rapra Technology., Europes leading independent plastics and rubber consultancy for many years where he has acted as a technical editor for plastics knowledge base systems and other technical publications.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview
1.2 Report Structure
1.3 Politico-Economic Factors
2 THE POLYMER PIPE SUPPLY INDUSTRY
2.1 Material Selection Criteria for Pipe Applications
2.1.1 Basic Property Requirements
2.1.2 Effects of Internal Fluid
2.1.3 Effects of External Environment
2.1.4 Installation Requirements
2.1.5 Costing
2.2 Historic Developments
2.2.1 Why Evolution of Technology is Important
2.2.2 Early Developments - The 1940s and 1950s
2.2.3 Establishing a Mainstream Technology - The 1960s and 1970s
2.2.4 A Mature Industry, the 1980s and 1990s and The Current Situation
2.2.5 Perceiving Trends in Supply
2.3 Current Polymer Usage
2.3.1 Overview
2.3.2 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and its Variants
2.3.3 Polyethylene (PE) and its Variants
2.3.4 Polypropylene (PP) and its Variants
2.3.5 Polybutylene (PB)
2.3.6 Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
2.3.7 Polyketones
2.3.8 Polyamides
2.3.9 All Other Polymers
2.4 The Major Resin Suppliers
2.4.1 Petrochemical Technology Background
2.4.2 Polymer Capacity of The Oil and Petrochemical Industry
2.4.3 Price Sensitivity of Polymers
2.4.4 Niche Markets
3 PIPE SYSTEMS MARKET
3.1 Application Sectors and Major Users
3.1.1 Water Drainage and Control
3.1.2 Agricultural Purposes
3.1.3 Potable Water Supply
3.1.4 Sewerage
3.1.5 Gas and Fuel Supply
3.1.6 Hot Water Systems
3.1.7 Industrial Piping
3.1.8 Smaller Pipe/Tubing - Plumbing and Sanitation
3.1.9 Non-Fluids Pipes - Cable Ducting and Telecommunications
3.2 Scales of Demand and Historic Development
3.2.1 Overview - Who Purchases Pipes
3.3 Trends in Demand
4 PIPE MANUFACTURE AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN
4.1 Production Technologies
4.1.1 Extrusion and its Development
4.1.2 Co-extrusion and Multi-Wall Pipes
4.1.3 Conex
4.1.4 Polymer Orientation Control
4.1.5 Structured Pipewalls and Foam Core Walls
4.1.6 Composite and Reinforced Pipe Production Techniques
4.1.6.1 Thermosets -GRP Pipes
4.1.6.2 Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes (RTP)
4.1.7 Extruder Equipment Supply
4.1.8 Associated Production Equipment
4.2 The Pipe Manufacturers
4.2.1 Present Situation - Major Companies in Europe
4.2.2 Globalisation and Consolidation
4.3 Economic Trends in Supply
4.3.1 Description of Supply Chain Patterns
4.3.2 Supply Chain Practicalities
4.3.3 Future Development Possibilities
5 PIPE FITTINGS MARKET
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Technologies and Production Routes
5.3 Scale of Industry and Major Suppliers
6 PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION
6.1 Installation Technologies
6.1.2 Pressure Testing
6.1.3 Linings for Steel Pipe
6.2 On-Site Jointing Technologies
6.3 Equipment Suppliers
6.4 Construction Industry
7 QUALITY CONTROL AND RESEARCH
7.1 Plastics Pipe Supply
7.2 Governing Standards and Authorities
7.2.2 European (CEN) Pipe Standards
7.2.3 International (ISO) Pipe Standards
8 DIRECTORY
Resin Suppliers
Extrusion Equipment Suppliers
Pipe and Fittings Manufacturers and Suppliers
Pipe Installation Equipment Suppliers
Pipeline Constructors
Pipe Design and Consultants
Pipe Test and Technical Centres
Industry Representative Bodies
References
Abbreviations
- ISBN:
- 978-1-85957-237-5
- Pages:
- 142
- Publisher:
- Rapra Market Report, 2001