The Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) has announced the appointment of Ian Venter Technical Manager with effect from 1 November 2018.

Venter, who will be replacing Willem Liebenberg, is well known and highly regarded in the industry as an HDPE Product Specialist in polyethylene pressure and gravity pipe systems.

He brings with him a wealth of industry and technical knowledge gained over the past 20 years working for top national and international manufacturing companies.

Venter holds a Higher Qualification in Tertiary Polymer Technology and worked for Marley Pipe Systems in Pretoria for the past 6 years.  He has also served on SAPPMA’s Technical Committee since its inception in 2004.

Ensuring balance

Commenting on his new appointment, Venter says he looks forward to a new chapter in his career. “This is an ideal opportunity for me to plough back and transfer the skills and know how that I have gained over the past 20 years, working for top national and international manufacturing companies. It is of utmost importance to implement world-class practices throughout the value chain feeding into our country’s sustainable infrastructure.

“The challenge will be to ensuring a healthy balance between understanding and meeting the end-user specifier needs and the local supplier manufacture capabilities in our current economic climate. This can only be done through a concerted team effort,” he adds.

Significant contribution

SAPPMA Chairman, Jan Venter says the body is very excited about Venter joining them on a full-time basis.

“He is undoubtedly one of the top experts in all aspects of plastic piping systems and will be able to make a significant contribution to the plastic pipe industry,” he notes.