RUSSIAN MANUFACTURER ORDERS COMPLETE SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF FOAM INSULATED PIPE

Endless production delivers outstanding product characteristics

Munich, November 24, 2010 – In early 2010, KraussMaffei Berstorff launched a new, complete system for continuous production of PUR-insulated pipe. Worldwide customer reaction to this innovative technology has been extremely positive and demand for the new system is growing. Technopark, a plastic pipe producer headquartered in St. Petersburg, recently ordered a complete line.

 

Escalating demand for foam-insulated pipe

“The current drive to reduce energy consumption, including capturing off-heat, and to exploit geothermal energy sources and biogas can be expected to produce strong growth in demand for production systems to make insulated pipe,” says Michael Hofhus, manager of the Pipe Product Group at KraussMaffei Berstorff. The most recent example is the order from Technopark. The Russian company is an important pipe manufacturer, operating several extrusion lines to produce a wide spectrum of pipe grades for different applications. Technopark is now expanding its production capacity with the new system from KraussMaffei Berstorff, which it will use to produce pipe for district heating systems by encasing media pipes, made of crosslinked polyethylene, with polyurethane foam insulation and a PE outer sheath. “Two key factors in this purchase decision were KraussMaffei Berstorff’s ability to supply the complete production line as a system partner and the outstanding quality of the end product coming off this line,” commented Michael Hofhus.

 

Quality all along the line

The line is engineered for continuous production of insulated pipe. The media pipe is unwound continuously from the steel drums, on which it is supplied line, centered as it passes through a retarder and fed into the foam-contouring unit. The pipe is encapsulated with PUR foam, a PE sheath is applied, the product is cooled and then wound onto rolls as it emerges from the haul-off. The biggest insulated pipe systems produced on this line have an outer diameter of 180 millimeters; the diameter of the media pipe itself is 110 millimeters. With very low manpower input, this endless process delivers production speeds of up to five meters a minute. The district heating pipe systems that come off the production line can be laid very easily, quickly and at low cost. The number of joins required can be sharply reduced. The continuous production process developed by KraussMaffei Berstorff produces pipe systems for district heating with consistently excellent insulation results. It virtually eliminates the problems of leakage and thermal bridging, which are all too familiar in connection with discontinuous production processes.