Uponor stands for modern renovation solutions. Uponor PE-Xa pipe used for refurbishment of chilled water pipelines in South Africa

Uponor PE-Xa pipe is known as a clean and easy installation system because of its Quick and Easy connection technology. Its long life-time and corrosion resistance were additional reasons to choose Uponor PE-Xa pipe for the refurbishment of the chilled water pipelines in the head office of South Africa's Standard Bank located in Johannesburg.The existing conventional steel piping system used for the chilled water distribution of the air conditioning system had failed after only 20 years of service. This caused damages to the vapour barrier and resulted in condensate forming on the steel pipes. The building did not need to be vacated and remained operational during the majority of the refurbishment. With conventional steel pipes this would not have been possible due to the high noise level required for cutting, grinding and welding in order to install the material. With Uponor PE-Xa pipes and Uponor Quick and Easy fittings from dim. 20 - 32 mm and the Wipex fittings from 40 - 110 mm, the installation was realised in a modern, efficient way. The installation of Uponor eval PE-Xa pipes started at the risers. The PE-Xa pipes are used to supply a network of fancoil units in the raised flooring system - just like the cables in a computer room. More than 50.000 meters of pipe and thousands of fittings were used for the entire project, resulting in a turnover of 550.000 EUR. Our partner for Uponor PE-Xa pipe in South Africa, Afripex had been working on this important project for at least 6 months and could finally close the deal in the beginning of 2004. The deliveries were completed in March 2004 and the installation was finished a few weeks later. Johannesburg is nicknamed "Egoli", meaning "place of gold". Forty percent of the world's gold has been found there. With a population of around 3.2 Mio. it is South Africa's largest city. Johannesburg had experienced a building boom in the 1960`s and 1970`s. Many of these buildings now require refurbishment and renovation, nurturing great potential for Uponor's state of the art systems in South Africa and raise the expectancy of prosperous business for Afripex in the near future.