Document g2OY46De0MJL51GVBQdgdNOoV

minutes $ PIPE RESOURCE ORGANIZATION (PRO) Atlanta Airport Marriott 4711 Best Road College Park, Georgia 30337 College Park Room Wednesday March 27, 1991 8:35a-3:40p Attendees: Michael Barish, Borden Chemicals and Plastics George Dillon, Dow Chemical Company Roy Gottesman, Vinyl Institute Walt Hermes, Borden Chemicals and Plastics Peter Lloyd, BFGoodrich Company Bob Novick, CertainTeed Corporation Cal Rehfuss, Georgia Gulf Corporation A1 Reventas, Shintech Inc. Fred Sacks, Occidental Chemical Dan Stanowick, Edward Howard and Company Greg Torchiana, Rohm and Haas Company Bob Walker, Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association I.SELF-INTRODUCTIONS/APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING Chairman Michael Barish opened the meeting at 8:35 a.m. a round of self-introductions followed. The minutes of December 11, 1990 meeting were approved on motion of Novick, seconded by George Dillon. and the Bob II. AGENCY REPORT ON STATUS OF MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM Dan Stanowick of Edward Howard and Company provided a report on the following: A. Advertising Campaign Dan Stanowick reviewed the status including a review of potential ad candidates by the communications subcommit tee. As a result of this, the first advertisement of this news series has been completed and involves a testimonial by Robert Welton, Assistant City Engineer in The Vinyl Institute A Division of The Society of the Plastics ir,ous:r\ me \Vavne lnterchancep:sz-.'l "55 ~cu'eVVer* ~ CTL027176 2 Fargo, North Dakota. This testimonial appears in the March 1991 AWWA Journal. In addition, ad copy has been approved for an ad featuring Dave Sutton, an engineer with WVP Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri on the theme of "versatility" and Lowell Hendricks, Construction Projects Manager for Southern States Utility Services in suburban Orlando, Florida on the subject of "Total Performance". In addition, Dan Stanowick reported that the ad featuring Paul Warner, Water Superintendent of Corpus Christi, Texas will appear in 2 special directory issues - The Municipal Index and Public Works Manual. B. Publicity There have been a number of news releases, including 1 on the Uni-Bell pipe tapping video, and another on the publication of the proceedings of the ASTM Buried Pipe Symposium. C. Special Projects Dan Stanowick reported on possible assistance to Uni-Bell and Carlon in a situation involving the approval of PVC pipe in Lake County, Ohio. This appears to be a problem between the county commissioners and the county sanitary engineers. Inasmuch as local contractors will meet with the sanitary engineers and Ron Bishop of Carlon in the near future, Dan Stanowick will hold off any media activity until this meeting has been held and he is advised to proceed by Roy Gottesman, based on advice Roy should receive from Bob Walker. D. Case Histories Dan Stanowick passed out copies of media pick-up of case histories involving the Cape Coral project in .the January issue of Florida Specifier, and a case history relating to Corpus Christi use of PVC pipe in the February issue of American City and Countv. He noted that he has commitments in the future for publication of articles in Public Works. Water Engineer ing and Management, and Underground Focus wants to do an article on soil corrosivity and the use of PVC. He has referred the magazine to Bob Walker for further informa tion. CTL027177 3 In addition, American Public Works Reporter wishes to do a round-up story based on the 16 testimonial candidates that Dan has interviewed. As regards new cases, Dan provided copy of 2 new potential case histories; one involving a fire at a high school in North Wentzville, Missouri and the second involving the use of PVC in the Fargo, North Dakota water system. These were given to the Communication Subcommit tee for review and approval. E. Information Kit Dan Stanowick reported that recent additions to this kit include copies of the new advertisements in AWWA Journal, and copies of reprints of the Zicherman article "Is PVC Pipe Safe?", which appeared in the NFPA Fire Journal. Dan Stanowick also provided a copy of a revision of the VI technical paper on drinking water safety to the Communications Subcommittee for their review and approval. This will also be coordinated with the Technical Committee and the Legal Committee and is meant to replace a paper that was originally developed in late 1987 in connection with the California Environmental Impact Report. F. Fulfillment Program Dan Stanowick reported that, as a result of publicity and ads through January 1991, there have been a total of 1,256 inquiries. Of the 213 inquiries received in January, 158 resulted from public relations/press releases. There was some discussion on the cost/effectiveness of advertising vs. press releases and Dan Stanowick made the strong point that he felt that because of the extensive use of advertisements by the ductile iron/cast iron competitors, some advertisements by the Vinyl Institute were necessary. G. Mailing Lists of Contacts It was reported that a letter with mailing lists went out to those pipe and fittings producers that our on our "influentials" list. Because we have had little feedback, the next time such a mailing is made, a card will be included asking whether the information being provided is useful, and if so, does the recipient continue to wish to receive this. CTL027178 4 Assignment: Roy Gottesman and Dan Stanowick will see that when the list of new enquirers is sent out, a response form will be included to assess the utility of these mailings. H. Construction Specifier Meeting Dan Stanowick reported that Dr. Joseph Zicherman of IFT will be presenting a paper on the cost/benefit studies for PVC pipe and electrical conduit at the CSI meeting in San Diego in June 1991. The earlier study carried out is being updated to reflect current materials and labor costs. I. Educational Seminar Dan Stanowick reported that, at the request of the Electrical Materials Council, a proposal has been made to the Southern Building Construction Congress Interna tional (SBCCI) for a program/seminar to be provided at their October meeting in Tampa. Included on the program would be presentations by Peter Lloyd on the use of PVC in all construction applications. Bob Strength on code compliance, Fred Clarke on fire toxicity testing and Roy Gottesman on the general subject of vinyl recycling. There was brief discussion on an advertisement by U.S. Pipe Company involving failures due to tapping of PVC pipe. Bob Walker pointed out that the effect of the advertisement is such that, for lack of a better argument, competitors may use the tapping issue. He noted however, that many others use a saddle tap, which although less competitive in a bid basis, does avoid product failure. Nevertheless, it was agreed that the VI does not wish to engage in counter-negative advertis ing. In this connection, it was pointed out that the American Water Works Association Research Foundation has gone out for bid under their RFP 708 to "evaluate .PVC pipe performance". Bob Walker noted that Uni-Bell had contacted the Research Foundation and made suggestions for significant changes to the protocol. Further, he indicated that Uni-Bell has contacted Batelle Memorial Institute, Utah State and L. Broutman and Associates, all of whom have done work with plastic pipe in the past, encouraging them to respond to this request for proposal. CTL027179 5 Proposals are due on or before May 6th and the award is expected some time in June. If this project is carriedout objectively, it could be very useful in putting the tapping issue into proper perspective. Assignment: Bob Walker and Bob Novick are to follow the RFP 7 08 closely and advise PRO of developments in this project. III. UNI-BELL COOPERATIVE PROGRAM A. Pivotal Citiea Program Bob Walker reported that 4 major regional areas were identified from the survey carried out and these are in and around Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark, New Jersey and Toronto, Canada. This involves communities within a 50 mile to approximately 100 mile radius from these areas. He reported that contacts have been initiated in all areas; prioritization of communities in California is underway with Dave Eckstein. Further, seminars are planned for Des Plaines, Illinois for the week of April 8th to include water and storm drain piping. Dennis Bauer of the Uni-Bell staff will spend that entire week in the Chicago area. The first full week in the Newark area will start May 6th and Bob Walker has several seminars scheduled as well as a meeting with the American Society of Civil Engineers. He noted that the Toronto area is generally favorable to the use of PVC pipe but large diameter pipe is not universally accepted for sewers and storm sewer applica tions . The Electrical Utilities Safety Association has issued a negative article on PVC as regards to tapping. Messrs. Eckstein and Bauer met with the staff of this association and they have agreed to look into this and to publishing , a correction article by Uni-Bell. As related to the Vinyl Institute pivotal cities, Fairfax County, Virginia is responding to requests for further information and Uni-Bell will be trying to give a seminar there on pressure pipe. The second area, the Atlanta bedroom communities, continues to be active and Bob Walker indicated that he had given a seminar on March 26th in Cobb County. They use up to 18" diameter PVC sewer pipe and he wishes to have them reconsider PVC water main pipe, which they have CTL027180 6 not used for about ten years because of a prior poor ex perience. Bob Walker feels that the new chief engineer, formerly from Pensacola, Florida is not adverse to using PVC and this could help in opening up the water main market again. B. Other Matters 1. Bob Walker noted that a rewriting and revision of the Uni-Bell handbook is underway. The volume is being totally revised and expanded with publication slated for September 1991. 2. Bob Walker indicated that a new issue of the UniBell newsletter is being completed and will be published shortly. 3. The 10 standard which had changed the deflection values for pipe in which the 95% deflection was changed to tighten it significantly is to be revised to include a base or average ID. 4. Producers of polyethylene pipe have been successful in having a standard for large diameter polyethylene pipe move through the AWWA process. Uni-Bell has been contacting members of the Standards Council, urging that they oppose this standard because there are (a) no requirements for hydrostatic proof testing, and (b) a safety factor of 2/1 rather than 2.5/1. He indicated that if polyethylene is approved for this application, Uni-Bell will apply to have the standards for PVC pipe changed to these lower requirements. 5. Bob Walker indicated that he is chairman of the AWWA committee which covers the installation of water transmission and distribution chain piping. IV. REPORT ON PPFA MEETING A. Actions at Meeting Mike Barish reported on several items dealing with BOCA code issues relating to PVC pipe and conduit in plenum chambers. Roy Gottesman advised that, as requested, he had forwarded these to our consultant Fred Clarke for evaluation. CTL027181 7 In a telephone conversation, Fred Clarke has advised that he does not think there is a problem for PVC pipe with either of these BOCA proposals, and Roy expects to receive a letter from Fred Clarke confirming this. A technical subcommittee has been formed by the PVC Product Line Committee of PPFA and includes Cal Rehfuss of Georgia Gulf Corporation, Gary Richmond of Cresline and Reese Summerall of Charlotte Pipe. As regards pipe shipment reports, the USPPA has engaged Phil Townsend Associates to develop such a report and Sam Harris of Capco reported on it at the PPFA meeting, soliciting support for this shipment report. As related to the recent IAPMO meeting on cellular core pipe, it was reported that no action was taken as this issue does not appear to be affecting PVC pipe. IAPMO has been asked why this action is necessary and for documentation to support their position, but none has been received. The PPFA Product Line Committee is trying to put together a hand-out relating to proper installation methods for use by contractors. At the PPFA general session, a panel of west coast contractors indicated their urgent need for information from pipe producers. At the present time, contractors are completely dependent on distributors for information. There is a question as to how widespread this is beyond the west coast and, for this reason, it was agreed to have the same type of contractors panel appear at the fall meeting of PPFA in Florida. If this deficiency appears to be widespread, a recommen dation will be made to have training materials developed for use by contractors. B. Solvent Cement Issue Roy Gottesman reviewed the discussions at the PPFA meeting relating to the solvent cement problem which is apparent from the proposed restrictions on volatile organic emissions from solvent cements that will become effective on January 1, 1993 as a result of regulations by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California. A steering committee and 3 sub-groups have now been organized and a meeting of that group in Dallas either in late April or early May is planned. Ed Haltom of CTL027182 8 United Elkem, Chairman of the PPFA Solvent Cement Product Line Committee is organizing this meeting. Don Goodman of OxyChem is serving as the head of the Technical Committee, Debbie Neale of BFGoodrich is to serve as the Government Relations Subcommittee head and communications will be handled by Dick Church of PPFA. A1 Reventas reported that a plumbing pipe company that sells between 80 and 100 million pounds per year of PVC drain, waste and vent pipe was not aware of the solvent cements issue. In the discussion that followed, it was agreed that it was necessary to keep our current "influentials" list aware of this situation. In particular, it was felt that the "influentials" should be made aware of this situation and updated periodically. Assignment: 1. In order to assure that our influentials list is complete, Roy Gottesman will see that copies of the current list of influentials are sent individually to Mike Barish, Fred Sacks, A1 Reventas and Peter Lloyd. 2. The above-named people will review the influentials list, make any additions they deem necessary and return them individually to Roy Gottesman, who will see that these people are put on a special mailing list to receive information on the solvent cements issue. C. Pipe Trade Association Consolidation Walt Hermes reported that the information from Uni-Bell was taken to the Executive Board of PPFA who carefully considered the Uni-Bell proposal, but since none of the pipe manufacturers on the Executive Committee wish to go forward, the issue was never taken directly to the PPFA membership. He noted that the USPPA had attended the PPFA meeting recently held in Palm Springs and representatives from the USPPA Executive Committee will recommend to their membership that USPPA be incorporated into PPFA as an operating group. They would retain their funds separate ly, and with this process, 2 new companies, Capco and Vinyltech would become members of PPFA. CTL027183 9 Other members of the current USPPA are already PPFA mem bers. As of the date of this meeting, no formal action has been taken to accomplish this consolidation. Discussion next centered on the future plans of Uni-Bell. Bob Walker indicated that he had relayed the information on the actions taken at the PPFA meeting to key Uni-Bell members. While they still consider that consolidation is a good idea. Bob Walker indicated that he has, at the request of Uni-Bell, asked PPFA to provide them with a proposal regarding consolidation. This would be more in the nature of a "merger" than an "unfriendly take-over". Bob Walker indicated that he would like to have something to present to the Uni-Bell Board for their consideration at their annual meeting, which takes place on April 28-30th in California. It was generally agreed that consolidation and coordina tion with all of the pipe-related trade organizations was a desirable objective and should be encouraged. V. CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT Roy Gottesman reported on the current status indicating that a draft report (approximately 90% complete) has been received from the Housing and Community Development Department in California, which is positive toward the use of plastic pipe. However, the report is undergoing review within the attorney general's office for completeness and compliance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. The process has further been slowed down due to a change in the California administration, and the fact that SRI has not completed the second phase of the project, pending a re negotiation of its contract with the State of California. The issue continues to plod along, and unfortunately, industry cannot move forward because of the bureaucratic delays. VI. CODE HATTERS A1 Reventas reported on recent communications from Joe Zicherman of I FT. He noted that at the February ICBO code development meetings held in Austin, Texas, items that could have affected PVC were either defeated or withdrawn. He also noted that the proposal to expand the use of vinyl siding in building type 5 and 5N (combustible one hour construction) did not receive a favorable response from the fire risk assessment committee and that a report on this expected from Joe Zicherman. CTL027184 10 VII. MEDIUM-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE MONITORING Peter Lloyd distributed a spreadsheet, which was obtained from a European contact, which gave a forecast for the usage of PVC vs. polyethylene piping in various countries and use areas. He noted that the trend is "frightening" with more and more uses moving into polyethylene. He noted that 12 years ago, virtually no polyethylene was used in water mains in England and now it appears to be approximately 1/3 polyethylene. It confirms his "feeling" that PE is moving into markets that were formerly held by PVC. He noted that when one looks at the high over-capacity in polyethylene, PVC could become a target in this country. As noted earlier, a polyethylene pipe standard for large diameter pipe is under consideration at AWWA and now that the gas pipe market has been almost fully satisfied by the use of polyethylene, Peter Lloyd indicated that he expects that the effort will now be to move polyethylene into AWWA-type applications and also into storm water/sewer uses. In response to Mike Barish's question as to "what should we now be doing", Peter Lloyd emphasized his view that it is necessary to get into the codes and standards process to be sure that both PVC and polyethylene are treated equitably. Peter Lloyd further indicated his belief that a formal code and standards process is needed and that an SPI-sponsored Codes and Standards Steering Committee is needed. Further, he indicated that presence cannot be a "sometime thing", but continued attendance at code body meetings is necessary. Assignments: 1. , Peter Lloyd is to ghost-write a letter for Mike Barish to send to Pat Toner emphasizing the importance and need for a formal code standards process to be inaugurated under SPI sponsorship. The letter will further recommend a codes and standards steering committee. 2. Roy Gottesman is to ask Fred Clarke and Joe Zicherman to be on the look-out for competitive materials such as polyethylene that appear to be encroaching on PVC markets. VIII.ASTM ACTIVITIES Peter Lloyd advised that he is Vice-Chairman of the Recycling Subcommittee of ASTM Committee D-20 and Chairman of the PVC Task Group. They have established a contact with ASTM F-17 CTL027185  11 Pipe Committee. Their first product for which a standard is to be developed will be slotted surface water drainage pipe (ASTM 2729). Assignment: Peter Lloyd will continue to monitor the ASTM activities and update PRO at its meetings. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Recycling Roy Gottesman reviewed the activities within the Institute on recycling and the development of a strategic plan. B. Business communications Company The Business Communications study indicated that one major book used in estimating piping jobs overstated installation costs for PVC. Assignment: Mike Barish and Roy Gottesman will review the Business Communications study and discuss contacting the publisher of this estimator's book to have the errors corrected. C. Market Research There was a brief discussion on the timeliness of a follow-up study to determine the effectiveness of the current communications program. Inasmuch as the program has only been underway for slightly more than 1 year, it was agreed that it should be allowed to continue with a follow-up survey to be carried out somewhere in mid-1992. D. PVC Extrusion Pse Areas There was discussion on, potential new use areas for PVC to be considered. Assignment: All members of PRO are to think about and bring to the attention of the group potential new use areas to be considered. CTL027186 12 X. BUDGET After considerable discussion, the following were agreed-upon as a budget for PRO to be submitted for consideration in the overall Vinyl Institute budget for fiscal year 1991-1992 starting June 1: Publicity Advertising Reprints/Fulfillment Account Administration/PR Counsel Uni-Bell Cooperative Program Total $ 20,000 17.000 7,500 15,500 50.000 $110,000 XI. NEXT MEETING DATE The next meeting of PRO will take place on Thursday, May 30, 1991 at 1:00 p.m. in Dallas, Texas in conjunction with the Vinyl Institute Annual Meeting. XII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Roy T. Gottesman CTL027187