The Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) has announced the appointment of Ian Venter, who will be replacing Willem Liebenberg as the body’s Technical Manager with effect from 1 November 2018.

Ian is well known and highly regarded in the industry as an HDPE Product Specialist in polyethylene pressure and gravity pipe systems. As a Polymer technologist, he also had the privilege heading up PVC pressure and gravity pipe manufacturing plants. He holds a Higher Qualification in Tertiary Polymer Technology and worked for Marley Pipe Systems in Pretoria for the past 6 years. He has also served on SAPPMA’s Technical Committee since its inception in 2004.

“We are seeing exciting new developments taking place in the plastic pipe industry worldwide. However, the importance of maintaining manufacturing, production and installation standards continues to be of crucial importance as the demands being placed on infrastructure continue to grow. For this reason, SAPPMA is very excited about Ian joining us on a full-time basis. He is undoubtedly one of the top experts in all aspects of plastic piping systems and will be able to make a significant contribution to the plastic pipe industry through his understanding of the technical requirements and specifications of the plastic pipes and fittings as well as the proper fitment of it,” says SAPPMA Chairman, Jan Venter.

Whilst Ian will primarily be responsible for marketing the SAPPMA brand to an external, technical audience, his knowledge of the industry and ability to offer advice on day to day industry challenges, will be of unparalleled value to SAPPMA and IFPA members.

Commenting on his new appointment, Ian says that he looks forward to a new chapter in his career. “This is an ideal opportunity for me to plough back and transfer the skills and know how that I have gained over the past 20 years, working for top national and international manufacturing companies. It is of utmost importance to implement world-class practices throughout the value chain feeding into our country’s sustainable infrastructure. The challenge will be to ensuring a healthy balance between understanding and meeting the end-user specifier needs and the local supplier manufacture capabilities in our current economic climate. This can only be done through a concerted team effort,” Ian says.

For more information, visit www.sappma.co.za