TPI September 2020

Interview – Eng Mauricio Facchinetti CEO, Topfibra

that GRP pipelines could take on a major role in reducing the evident maintenance and installation costs for such networks, allowing water, our most precious resource, to reach mankind worldwide. How do you see Topfibra’s roll in the expansion of these proposed targeted pipeline solutions? The answer is easy to express but not as easy to implement – by simply educating and creating awareness of the need for safeguarding this precious resource, by removing preconceived ideas like “…but we have always done it this way…”, right through to proposing targeted, alternative and of course better solutions for the design, production, installation and commissioning of the extensive pipeline networks needed.  In a market where steel and concrete solutions are very consolidated, do you feel it is likely that investors choose glass reinforced pipelines solutions instead of the former?

“Our focus is on targeted, steady growth, through the constant development of intelligent processes, systems and products for the benefit of the water distribution industry and the reputation of GRP pipelines, and to ensure that whoever decides to invest in our solutions will be able to achieve the predefined objectives for his business and for the end user.” So why did a civil engineer from Buenos Aires decide to take on the biggest steel and concrete pipe producers in the world using glass fibre reinforced pipes (GRP) as one of the primary tools? My on-site, hands-on experiences in these major projects clearly highlighted the critical situation in the wastewater and water distribution networks in many countries, particularly inherent to the state of existing pipelines and the often- incorrect use of traditional materials to design and manufacture new pipelines for the said applications. To me, it was clear

We are proud to say that we have contributed to the fact that glass reinforced pipelines have progressively gained an increasing market share for those pipelines which are ideally suited to wastewater and potable water applications, because of the inherent advantages of this composite solution. In Turkey, for example, where only steel pipes had been used for irrigation applications, extensive use is now made of GRP pipelines for most pressure classes, due to the incredible advantages it offer over traditional materials. Please note  – I am not saying that GRP must be seen as a complete substitute for steel, concrete or HDPE, but as a complementary pipeline solution for the extensive distribution needs.

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL September 2020

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