CONNECTIONS

A mechanical engineer by trade, Arellano worked in Venezuela’s oil and gas industry before transferring to Perth, Australia, in the early 2000s. He joined McElroy in 2012 as their International Sales Manager. Not to be outdone, Yibrin is also a mechanical engineer with a deep background in hydraulics and electric house assemblies. He came to Australia in 2013 and joined McElroy a year later, helping companies with after-sales services of McElroy products.

“Productivity and efficiency are key in this market.

And therefore, McElroy shines..."

“Australia is a very big country, but we only have 10% of the population the U.S. has,” Arellano explained. “All of our population is concentrated, mostly, along the coasts. There are few big towns or populations inland. We also have a lot of resources that require operations to take place inland, so some of these operations can be very remote.”

But with Australia’s population growth rapidly expanding, Arellano explained that many utility projects such as water and gas distribution, pipelines, and sewage, are underway to handle these new needs.

Yibrin said that due to the remoteness of some of these vital operations, there are high costs associated with running them, including renting and maintaining equipment. “Productivity and efficiency are key in this market. And therefore, McElroy shines in these areas with the incorporation of the iSeries , the Vault, the Datalogger 7, and the TracStar.”

Peter Dyke, Executive Director at the Alliance for PE Pipe, and Brett Stone, Sales Channel Manager for PE Pipe at McElroy Manufacturing, were thrilled to get the opportunity to speak about the many benefits and use cases of this versatile piping material.

One question Dyke gets a lot is, why does the Alliance for PE Pipe exist? The quick answer is education.

“We exist to educate people about the market,” Dyke said. There is a considerable knowledge gap in people’s awareness and understanding of the technology offered by polyethylene pipes. “It’s a great mission. It’s an intellectual sell to the engineers, but it’s also a demonstration sell to the guys working in the field.”

“It performs the best, it fails the least, and it has the most minimal impact on the citizenry during construction than all the other pipe types.”

With its B2B focus, Dyke said the Alliance’s market focus for PE pipe is on municipalities, civil engineers and contractors.

What makes PE piping the best product of its kind? “It’s the longest-lasting, lowest-priced conveyance product on the market,” Dyke said. “It performs the best, it fails the least, and it has the most minimal impact on the citizenry during construction than all the other pipe types.”

If PE piping is the best, doesn’t it cost more than other solutions?

“We cost a third to a half less than ductile iron, yet we perform hundreds of years more,” Dyke said. “We have solved the typical failure mechanism of PVC and ductile iron.”

While the benefits may be plenty, getting the word out about PE piping is still an undertaking. Still, it’s a mission Dyke and the Alliance are happy to undertake.

The bill seems to be on the move, but where do things stand? Breaking all of this down, Connections host Tyler Kern welcomed two guests – Kip Eideberg, Senior Vice President, Government & Industry Relations, Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), and Kevin Miller, Senior Advisor, Miller Pipeline.

"The water rehabilitation of lines and doing away with lead pipes is encouraging news."

He and Jim Johnston, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer for McElroy, joined host Tyler Kern for a deep-dive discussion on plastic piping and Fink’s history in the industry.