In October 2017, Austrian manufacturer Agru Kunststofftechnik (Bad Hall; www.agru.at) commenced operations at a new plant in the US, where “XXL” plastic pipes with continuous lengths of up to 610 m can be extruded. Agru invested around USD 40m (EUR 34m) in the manufacturing facility in Charleston, South Carolina. The company can extrude large pipes in pressure classes SDR 11 to 33. XXL HDPE 100 and HDPE 100-RC pressure pipelines are designed to be installed in near- or off-shore applications, but can also be used onshore as process pipes or transit pipelines. According to Agru, the plant raises the extrusion of PE pipes to unprecedented dimensions.

The 3,500-mm maximum outer diameters will create a new industry standard, says the company. All processes at the production facility are certified according to the ISO 9001 and ISO 1400 standards.

The plant is built on a 15-hectare site in Charleston, a location where extrusion takes place at the Cooper River’s mouth. For example, the large pipes can be stored on the water and then transported by towboats. Once on land, pipe segments can be transported by trucks or trains. At their final destinations, the parts will be connected to a monolithic pipe string using Agru’s butt welding machines. As protection against hurricanes that occasionally appear in the region, Agru chose a plant design that can withstand wind speeds of up to 240 km/h.