NEWS
PEM moves production to Kansas
Plastics Extrusion Machin- ery (PEM), a US manufac- turer of downstream extrusion equipment for PVC pipe and profile, is to close its facility in Tumwa- ter, Washington in April. The decision comes
after being told that the lease on the facility would not be renewed. PEM will now move all operations to a new plant in McPherson, Kansas – which is not expected to be complete until the autumn. “The decision to make
the Washington move during the same year that we are moving to our new facility was not ideal timing – but is the best solution from a long-term perspec- tive,” said Nathan Spear- man, CEO of PEM. PEM says it is working with customers to mini- mise the effect of interrup- tions to its production schedule. �
www.pemusa.com
Sales and profits down at UK-based Eurocell
UK-based profiles manufac- turer Eurocell has reported an 8% decline in sales for 2020. The company posted
sales of nearly £258 million (US$354m) for the year. At the same time, pre-tax
profits of nearly £23m (US$32m) in 2019 turned into a loss of £1.5m (US$2m).
Despite the losses, the company said that the second half of 2020 had been strong, with all the company’s sites open since July. “This year has started
well, with sales to the end of February up 8% on 2020,” said Mark Kelly, CEO of Eurocell. For the first half of the
year, sales were down by 31% compared to 2019, due to a shutdown between March and May. However, sales bounced back in the second half, recording a 15% rise
Kelly: “Sales exceeded our expectations and gross margins improved as volumes increased”
compared to the equivalent period in 2019. The company added that
‘like for like’ sales – that is, sales per actual trading day – actually rose by 6% for the whole year. In its Profiles division, the company reported sales of nearly £100m (US$137m), a fall of 14%. Operating profit also declined – from £18m (US$22m) in 2019, to a loss
of £1m (US$1.4m) in 2020. In Building Plastics – which includes PVC foam products – sales fell 3%%, while profits fell by about two- thirds.
Although the company
recycled less PVC in 2020 – using 12,400 tonnes, compared to 13,400 in 2019 – it represented a larger share of the final product. Recycled PVC accounted for 25% of overall material consumption, up from 23%. Overall equipment effective- ness improved from 73% to 75%. “The repair, maintenance
and improvement market was stronger than we anticipated throughout the second half,” said Kelly. “Sales exceeded our expectations, particularly in the branch network, operating efficiencies were good and gross margins improved as volumes increased.” �
www.eurocell.co.uk
Kenya gears up for new pipe factory
Megapipes will make Weholite pipe at a new factory in Kenya
Kenya will soon have a new producer of Weholite pipes – in the shape of a company called Megapipes Solutions. The company is building a factory in Ruiru, 25km from the capital,
Nairobi. It will make solid-wall and double-walled HDPE pipe for drainage and sanitation projects in Kenya and neighbouring countries. Construction is expected to last for around 12 months. “We are going to create more than 100 direct and 1,000 indirect
jobs,” said Simon Thomas, a director of the company. “The purpose of this project is to have local manufacturing of innovative, state-of- the-art products.” When completed, the 4000 sq m factory aims to make Weholite
pipes of 800-3000mm in diameter. Megapipes is a sister company to Plasco, which makes plastic pipes in Tanzania. �
www.megapipes.com
6 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | April 2021
www.pipeandprofile.com
IMAGE: MEGAPIPES
IMAGE: EUROCELL
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