Polypipe Civils one of the country's largest manufacturers of corrugated plastic pipe, recently invested £800,000 in the purchase of a brand new corrugating extruder for its 23 acres Horncastle plant. Made by the Italian company ITIB Machinery International, the new extrusion line's vacuum assisted forming system will guarantee precision accuracy and sharply increase production speed in the manufacture of Ridgiduct and Ridgicoil twin-wall ducting pipe. The Polypipe technical team worked closely with ITIB throughout the purchase process and this co-operation bore fruit when the machine became 'up and running' only seven days after delivery. ITIB met all the specifications demanded and delivered on time. The line in now working 24 hours a day, seven days a week allowing Polypipe Civils to meet the demand for those sought after products and offer a 3/4 days delivery.

Since Ridgicoil is offered in five sizes from 50 up to 160mm, the ability of the ITIB extruder to allow extremely fast change over from mould to mould, without disconnecting the cooling water supply, is vital and an output of up to 750kg/hr for double wall pipes is truly impressive. In addition to the normal 6m Ridgiduct lengths in 94, 100, 125 and 150mm diameter the machine will run with an automatic coiler to deliver the 50m Ridgicoil units. As Polypipe Civils is at the forefront of ducting supply for drainage and environmental systems to the utilities, construction, civil engineering and agricultural industries, this major plant upgrade allows an unsurpassed individual service to the company's wide client range.

21st January 2004