TPT March 2023

Business & market news

ViaCon acquires Tubosider to strengthen UK steel corrugated pipe market position

“This will open up great prospects within our marketplace providing an opportunity to further develop our StormWater Solutions business within the UK civil engineering sector. “As part of this expanding entity, ViaCon creates unlimited goals for Tubosider UK who aim to become a more dominant player offering sustainable products for use within the expanding StormWater Solutions as well as bridges and culverts solutions market.”

across the ViaCon network in the UK and across Europe. Stormwater solutions reduce the risk of flooding as a consequence of heavy rainfall. As such rainfalls become more frequent and more extreme due to the ongoing effect of climate change, these solutions are becoming increasingly essential to protect infrastructure and keep people safe. ViaCon’s solutions based on corrugated steel structures bring a better total cost for customers and are more sustainable as they use energy and resources more efficiently. Anne Duckworth, managing director of ViaCon UK, said: “Becoming a part of ViaCon offers a welcome and exciting future for Tubosider UK. Adam advantage technical manager at Polypipe, said: “It has been well publicised that the construction sector is under pressure to deliver more sustainable solutions despite a backdrop of Brexit and a shortage of people and skills. “As a result we are seeing changes coming through from architects and designers and onto the subcontractors we work with in how they deliver projects in order to meet the government targets for Net Zero. “Now customers are looking at avoiding any unnecessary project waste, which ends up in landfill, and offsite construction and fabrication meets this need because it offers greater precision. “It also delivers greater cost predictability on projects, as our Advantage team provides bespoke design, cutting, assembling and pressure testing within our state-of-the-art facility. “This allows contractors to make progress with a made-to-measure drainage system and also removes the need for specialist teams to be on site to install them.” Cafer,

ViaCon has acquired UK company Tubosider, a leading manufacturer and supplier of corrugated steel solutions for stormwater management systems and solutions for bridges and culverts. The acquisition builds ViaCon’s foothold in stormwater management in the UK market. It strengthens its market leadership position in Europe for corrugated steel-based civil engineering solutions, providing an even stronger platform for delivering competitive, cutting-edge and sustainable products. Tubosider UK is now trading under the name ViaCon. The company will maintain Tubosider’s expertise and high standards, while Tubosider’s clients will receive the benefits of a wealth of experience Following calls from the government for the greater use of offsite manufacture within public sector projects, drainage specialists Polypipe Building Services has seen a doubling in demand for its fabricated Advantage service in both new commercial buildings and within local authority residential tower blocks. From 2020 to October this year the UK-based company has more than doubled production of its fabricated soil vent drainage pipes and this increased demand has generated a growth within their fabrication team by 62 per cent since 2016 as developers look to offsite construction to deliver more efficient, sustainable projects.

Stefan Nordström, CEO of ViaCon, said: “I am very pleased about the acquisition and going forward we see very promising operational as well as commercial synergies.” ViaCon www.viacon.co.uk Polypipe Building Services sees demand double for offsite manufacturing services

The Terrain brand of offsite fabricated drainage stacks at Polypipe has been used in more than 300 local authority high-rises and are fast becoming the material of choice because of their speed and ease of installation as plastic is light to handle and easy to adapt to accommodate additional drainage connections and is also less likely to clog with waste product. Mr Cafer added: “Judging on our growth so far, we anticipate offsite fabrication will become one of the fastest growing areas for us in the next couple of years.” Polypipe Building Services www.polypipe.com

Adam Cafer is advantage technical manager at Polypipe Building Services

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL March 2023

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