The Latin American Composite Materials Association (ALMACO) created a program to assess the quality of fiberglass reinforced polyester (FRP) pipes used by sanitation utilities.

 

Every three months, samples of pipes manufactured by members of the ALMACO Quality Program (PAQ) for Pipes are collected by Newtech, a company accredited by INMETRO and technical manager of the activity, and tested to check whether they are in accordance with NBR 15536 standard.

 

"Just as we did with the tiles, we will create a seal of quality that can be used by the manufacturers of pipes approved by PAQ Pipes", said Paulo Camatta, executive manager of ALMACO. The association will submit to the Ministry of Cities quarterly reports with the results, so that the pipes can be part of the Brazilian Program for Quality and Productivity of Habitat (PBQP-H). "We will also organize meetings at the sanitation utilities to show the details of the program and the advantages of specifying FRP pipes, which are extremely light and strong products."

 

The three manufacturers that are part of PAQ Pipes - Joplas, O-tek and Petrofisa - account for over 60% of the Brazilian market of FRP pipes. Last year, the production of pipes demanded 7,700 tons of raw materials – in figures, approximately US$ 80 million.

 

"Until March, we have assessed 324 samples of the participating companies and Joplas is qualified in the program," said Miguel de Souza, commercial director of Newtech. According to Camatta, composite poles will be the next products to integrate a quality program of ALMACO. "We intend to bring together the companies and initiate assessments soon".