Plumbing Africa November 2016 | Page 13

EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS 11 Pipes X Conference was piping hot The Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) hosted its Pipes X Conference on 6 September 2016. The event was held at the Bytes Conference Centre in Midrand, with the support of main sponsors DPI Plastics, Rare Plastics, Marley Pipe Systems and PipeFlo. Welcoming the more than 200 delegates who attended, SAPPMA CEO Jan Venter said their annual Pipes Conference has become firmly established in the industry’s events calendar. “The plastic pipe industry is arguably one of the most important industries in South Africa’s infrastructure, as water distribution, waste disposal, irrigation, telecommunications, and a myriad of other services rely on pipe infrastructure to work effectively. Through hosting our yearly Pipes Conference and other activities, www.plumbingafrica.co.za SAPPMA has proven that we are invested in the wellbeing of the local plastics pipe industry — especially where standards and technical specifications are concerned. We have already exposed more than 1 500 delegates to close to 200 technical papers since the first time we hosted our Pipes Conference,” Venter said. “This year, we are privileged to have 17 experts in their field sharing their expertise with you, coming from as far afield as Australia, Spain, Germany and the Middle East.” Keynote speakers at this year’s conference were Corné Krige — former Springbok rugby captain who led the team to the World Cup in 2003 — who shared some of the life lessons he had learnt about effective leadership The conference was well attended. Continued on page 13 >> November 2016 Volume 22 I Number 9