DPI Plastics - a leading manufacturer of water reticulation, drainage and pipe-fitting systems, has successfully exhibited its range of products at the 45^th annual NAMPO exhibition.

2 June, 2011: DPI Plastics is looking to extend its footprint in the South African agricultural market, after recently exhibiting a selection of its products at the National Maize Production Organisation (NAMPO) Harvest Day exhibition in the Free State between May 17 and May 20, 2011.

NAMPO is the largest privately-owned exhibition in the world - with more than 60 000 farmers, specifiers, irrigation designers and project managers drawn in by the 670 exhibitors displaying their various products at the 160 800 m² of exhibition area near Bothaville.

DPI Plastics product manager, Mike de Villiers, believes that the NAMPO exhibition was an ideal platform to interface directly with the end-users of the DPI’s products. “We seldom get to focus on such large numbers of end-users who are collectively located in one area, and the exhibition provided DPI Plastics with the opportunity to talk to a number of industry players - not only from South Africa but also Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Zambia.”

De Villiers points out that the company promoted its range of well-established Duroflo PVC-U and Ultraflo PVC-M pipes, which are both tried-and-trusted brands for irrigation applications in the agricultural sector. “The Duroflo range of pipes has been a leading brand in the South African irrigation market for more than 30 years, tdhanks to its robust design and strength, while the more recently-introduced Ultraflo range provides for better flow rates as a result of larger inner diameters.”

Another innovative product displayed by DPI Plastics at NAMPO was the patented Ultralok PVC-M coupling for the jointing of plain-ended pipes, developed in-house by DPI Plastics. The first-of-its-kind product, which is designed for applications of up to 16 bar pressure, was initially developed for the civil and mining industries; however, Ultralok developer Allen Behrendt, notes that there is considerable potential for the product in the agricultural sector too.

“The Ultralok PVC-M coupling and components are fully protected against corrosion and are ideally-suited to PVC-U with the potential for application on HDPE piping. What’s more, the design mechanism of Ultralok is different to any other product on the market in terms of its robustness and gripping nature,” he explains. “The clamping mechanism is unique and the body is manufactured from high-impact PVC, incorporating a unique pressure-enhancing rubber seal. As the pressure increases, the design of the seal facilitates a distributed load on the seal; thereby alleviating the tensile load on the body of the coupling.”

Behrendt notes that DPI Plastics currently stocks a 105 mm and 110mm prototype, which meet numerous high-pressure requirements; including, the SANS one million cycle test, and has successfully met test criteria contained in the SANS 1283 Specification for mine pipe applications. “It is envisaged that larger diameter couplings will be developed in the future for use on both civil and irrigation installations. Smaller diameters in the 50 mm to 75 mm size range are also planned for the future, in order to increase DPI Plastic’s product offering to its pressure pipe markets.”

DPI Plastic’s sister company, Incledon – a specialist supplier of valves, pumps, pipes and pipe fittings – also exhibited a wide range of irrigation equipment, and highlighted one of its specialised electronic pump control systems. “The Variable Speed Drive Control fitted to a multi-stage Pentax pump delivers a constant pre-set pressure under varying conditions of water demand, while saving up to 30% on electricity usage,” de Villiers explains. “The system was fully-operational, and the frequent demonstrations attracted a steady stream of interested visitors who all agreed that this type of system would solve a number of problems, ranging from poor water supply pressure in the farmhouse to providing a constant delivery to stock watering systems.”

De Villiers notes that the agricultural industry has remained fairly stable as a market for DPI Plastics throughout the global economic downturn. “The agricultural industry of South Africa has not been as negatively-affected by the recession as other areas of the economy, owing to the fact that the demand for the irrigation of crops has remained an imperative. As new products and investment become available the agricultural market, I believe that there is significant potential for DPI Plastics to increase its market share in this sector of the economy.”

From humble beginnings in 1967, the NAMPO Harvest Day exhibition has grown into an internationally-recognised agricultural show and is today drawing in exhibitors from as far afield as the USA, Italy, Germany, Argentina and India. “The visitor profile contains many more countries that are looking keenly at the products and systems developed and used in the South African agricultural market,” de Villiers concludes.