NEWS


Uponor reports flat sales in first half of this year


Pipe manufacturer Uponor reported flat sales for the first half of this year, though profitability rose sharply. The company divested two businesses in 2018 – in- cluding its North American infrastructure division – and these have been accounted for in the figures. Comparable sales were almost unchanged at nearly €542m (US$589m). A decline in its European business was offset by an increase in North America. In the period, operating group profit rose by nearly 11%, to almost €40m (US$43m). “The strategic divestitures


from 2018 supported our margin improvement,” said Jyri Luomakoski, president and CEO of Uponor. “However, the second quarter was twofold: on the one hand, North America came back on track after a


Pipes add profit at Tessenderlo


Uponor opened its Hutchinson facility in the USA last year


slow start for the year. But building solutions in Europe had some temporary production challenges in the second quarter.” Construction in both


Europe and North America continued to perform at a healthy level during the second quarter of the year, said the company. In North America, the


growth in residential segment slowed but


remained near the previous year’s production levels. In Germany, construction


remained healthy despite trade concerns in the rest of the economy. In the Nordic region, building activity was strong in Finland, while a slowdown in residential building in Sweden was compensated for by increased public works projects. � www.uponor.com


Tessenderlo, the diversi- fied Belgian industrial company whose opera- tions include plastic extrusion, reported an increase in sales and profits for the first six months of the year. Sales in its industrial solutions division, which includes extrusion opera- tions, rose 3% to around €272m (US$297m). Adjusted EBITDA in the division rose by one-third to nearly €25m (US$27m). The main contributor was the Dyka pipe extrusion business, which opened new branches in Belgium and the Czech Republic in the first half of this year. Profits in the division rose, thanks to higher volumes and an increase in produc- tion efficiency due to earlier investments, said the company. � www.tessenderlo.com


Trex offers recyclability testing to film users


US-based Trex, a leading manufacturer of wood-plastic composite decking, is offering free recyclability testing to users of plastic packaging. By doing this, it hopes to sign up


more partners to its NexTrex recycling programme – which sources used plastic film to use in its decking products. Each year, the company says it uses


more than 400 million lbs (around 180,000 tonnes) of used plastic film in its products – which is made from 95% recycled material. Its main sources of raw material are retailers and makers of consumer-packaged goods. The testing process validates whether


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material is capable of being recycled in the Trex recycling stream. “Trex invented composite decking


more than 25 years ago as a way to reduce waste generated from plastic bags,” said Dave Heglas, senior director of material management at Trex. “We are one of the largest recyclers of plastic film in North America.” Packaging designers, producers,


and brand owners submit a packaged product sample, and Trex will test it for free – and provide a report assessing three areas for acceptance: package/ film recyclability; affect/risk of product contamination; and affect/risk of


PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | September 2019


non-recyclable ‘lookalike’ package contamination. This will allow adjust- ments to be made, in order to meet recyclability standards. “Our testing program is intended to


encourage more manufacturers to participate and take advantage of this scenario, while ensuring that the plastic we are collecting meets our high standards for production,” said Heglas. Trex says that, as well as providing compensation for recycled materials, it works with its recycling partners to make the collection and transportation of materials as easy as possible. � www.trex.com


www.pipeandprofile.com


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