Pipes manufacturer increases focus on quality in Africa

Plastic pipes and fittings manufacturer and distributor Marley Pipe Systems is prioritising “quality without compromise” and educating the market that the cheaper option is not always best, as increased maintenance increases the costs of a mine.

Marley Pipe Systems sales and marketing manager Pranesh Maniraj tells Mining Weekly that the growth of the company’s presence in the African mining industry is a result of rejecting the attitude that “anything goes in Africa”, and realising the benefits of investing in higher-quality products.

He highlights that several countries, including Kenya, Botswana and Namibia, have been and are looking to establish set standards that will promote the use of high-quality piping products across the continent.

He further notes that the South African Bureau of Standards and the South African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association have been instrumental in the implementation of standards and regulations regarding pipe quality and he believes that Marley Pipe Systems is becoming the benchmark in terms of these standards and regulations. Marley is ISO 9001-accredited.

African Improvement
Marley Pipe Systems mining and industrial export manager Merlin Wilsenach says the company supplied high-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping to the Kapulo copper project, owned and operated by Mawson West, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which started production in the first quarter of 2014.

The company also supplied HDPE piping to the True Gold Mining Karmo gold project, in Burkina Faso, which started production in November.

Wilsenach tells Mining Weekly that Marley Pipe Systems started the delivery of 10 km of piping to First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi copper project, in Zambia, in November. He adds that this contract opened doors for the company, as it enabled Marley Pipe Systems to penetrate the Zambia market.

“Each project used a variety of HDPE piping solutions, ranging from 16 mm to 1 000 mm in solid wall pipe and 1 800 mm in structured wall polyethylene pipe for the conveyance of water, chemicals, slurries and gas,” says Maniraj.

Meanwhile, Wilsenach explains that, despite its growing success in Africa, challenges – such as time constraints, logistics and a lack of infrastructure, coupled with the remoteness of some projects – are common to all projects in Africa.

However, Marley Pipe Systems also has an exports department, enabling the company to offer specialised logistics.

He says clients have responded positively, as all Marley’s pipes are manufactured to specification for each project.

The construction companies reworking items on site face the biggest challenge, as they are delayed when piping for a project is not manufactured to exact specifications.

However, Maniraj concludes that Marley Pipe Systems can handle large orders, where 1 000 items are required to be fabricated to certain specifications, which, in turn, reduces the need to rework items on site.