Leading European PE pipes and fittings producer Radius Group (Alfreton / UK; www.radius-systems.com) has entered into a joint venture with Austrian pipe systems manufacturer KE KELIT (Linz; www.kekelit.com). The UK group will hold an unspecified majority in the jv, which will be traded as Radius-Kelit and includes the Austrian company’s District Heating business.

Radius CEO Andy Taylor said the move “will provide all the right combinations to establish a springboard for European growth”, adding that the jv will offer reinforced, flexible, pre-insulated plastic pipes designed for high-temperature and high-pressure networks. “The market experience, position and routes to market which KE KELIT provide, combined with the innovative product proposition and the manufacturing and technology expertise from Radius will create a potent market participant,” Taylor added.

Founded in 1945, KE KELIT is a family-owned producer of pipe systems for hot and cold water, heating, ceiling cooling, pipe insulation and compressed air. It operates five manufacturing facilities as well as more than 20 offices across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Radius Group claims to be the market leader for engineered polymer products in the CIS as well as the largest PE pipes and fittings producer in Europe. The UK group became part of Polyplastics (Moscow / Russia; www.polyplastic.ru) und Polymerteplo (www.polymerteplo.ru) last year – see Plasteurope.com of 06.03.2013 – and reportedly generates a turnover of about EUR 1 bn. Its workforce of more than 7,000 is spread across 20 plants.