AGRU, a manufacturer of high-quality plastic products for piping systems and apparatus engineering, continues to expand its range of electro-fusion (E-fusion) fittings to meet market requirements.

The Austrian company, which produces E-fusion couplers with outer diameters (OD) ranging from 800 mm to 1,000 mm, recently expanded the range to include fittings with OD of 1,200 mm and is looking at extending the choice even further to soon include those with OD of 1,400 mm.

E-fusion fittings are vital for the installation of water or sewage systems, says Werner Steindl, key account manager at AGRU Austria, adding that nowadays it is hard to imagine the installation of such systems without these fittings.

Hence, last year, AGRU extended its range to include fittings with OD of 1,200 mm and is now developing even larger diameters.

“The main application areas for the large diameter e-fusion couplers of up to OD 1,400 mm can be found in pipe rehabilitation and maintenance, as well as in the integration of new branch connections, and therefore OD 1,400 mm will soon be offered,” he adds.

Large diameter e-fusion couplers of more than OD 800 mm are provided in a “bifilar system”, meaning with a separate electric circuit on each side of the coupler. To close the gap between the coupler and pipe, the former needs to be heated before the welding process. The pre-heating, as well as welding parameters, can be scanned from the barcodes to the welding machine. Tension belts mounted in the fusion area support the welding pressure supply and prevent expansion of the coupler on the outside.

E-fusion couplers have proved themselves in a number of applications, says Steindl, who cites an example of how they were successfully used on a PE 100 sewage pressure pipe (with OD 1,000 mm SDR 26), which was damaged during a construction job.

He indicates that the repair work had to be undertaken on a fast-track basis within a confined space inside a trench. The project was carried out in Frankfurt, Germany, by the pipe installation company Fritz which cut out a 1.8-m length of the defective pipe and replaced it with a new pipe.

“To carry out the repair work, two e-couplers were pre-mounted as slide-on units. Finally, the two e-couplers were slid back to their correct position and welded tight ‘just in time’,” he explains.

AGRU, which exports some 90 per cent of its output, is active globally producing and distributing high-quality plastic products for piping systems and apparatus engineering, environmental technology as well as constructional engineering. The family business accords great importance to quality and its products are successfully employed in various fields of industry and infrastructure and are often used for particularly critical applications.

AGRU is represented in the region by BMC Gulf, which was established in 1998 to serve the local markets of the GCC with specialised engineering services and turn-key solutions for industrial and private projects.