The Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufactures Association (SAPPMA) has announced a call for papers ahead of its much-anticipated Pipes XIII Conference that will be taking place on 6 &7 September 2022 at Emperors Palace in Gauteng.

Jan Venter, Chief Executive Officer of SAPPMA says they are excited to again be able to host a live and in-person conference after a two-year absence owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. “What makes this year’s event even more noteworthy, is the fact that it will be hosted in collaboration with the Plastic Pipe Conference Association (PPCA). The PPCA hosts the biggest international pipe conference every second year, which takes place either in Europe or the USA. A spin-off conference is organised every alternate year and this year it is coming to South Africa,” he says.

The theme of SAPPMA’s PIPES XIII conference is “The Versatility of Plastic Pipe” and the speaker line-up will include at least ten of the best papers that were presented at the PPCA’s PIPES XX conference in Amsterdam last year.

Local speakers interested in sharing the stage with international experts in plastic pipes are invited to submit a proposed topic, short abstract and their contact details to SAPPMA by no later than Wednesday, 20 April 2022.  Presentations must be 25 minutes long and allow 5 minutes for questions and answers.  Content must be strictly non-commercial, relevant to the plastic pipe industry and in accordance with one of the following session themes:

• Pipeline design  
• Installation
• Standards, testing and certification                                                                        
• Extrusion technology
• Water problems in Southern Africa
• Infrastructure
• Raw materials                                                            
• Rehabilitation of old pipelines                                                                                                        

SAPPMA will publish the final programme by the end of April 2022 and speakers will receive notice of acceptance or rejection of their abstract shortly after the deadline.

Venter concludes: “We are very excited and honoured to be able to stage this truly international event in South Africa. As with all our PIPES Conferences, CPD points will apply. We encourage the industry to make the most of this fantastic opportunity to be exposed to world leaders in the field by participating in this year’s PIPES XIII conference as a speaker, sponsor or a delegate”.