EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
11
Geberit hosts IOPSA for
educational plumbers evening
By
Dineo Phoshoko
The Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA) held the second Gauteng Plumbers
Evening at the Geberit head office and showroom in Linbro Park, Johannesburg.
The evening started with a tour of the showroom,
where plumbers were given an opportunity to see
Geberit’s latest bathroom products on offer. During
the tour, plumbers were shown the technological
innovations that have been incorporated into a
variety of bathroom products, such as hand-sensor
basins and automated toilet seats. The tour ended
with plumbers being treated to a viewing of the
hydraulic tower. The tower illustrated what happens
to water in situations where the correct pipe sizing
has been disregarded.
After the tour, plumbers gathered to listen to informative
presentations about Geberit as a technical supplier,
occupational health and safety compliance in the industry,
and the importance of having medical aid cover. There
was also some feedback from the institution on numerous
issues faced by the plumbing industry.
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Geberit sales engineer Jan Klopstra kicked off the
evening’s presentations. His presentation touched on
various topics within the plumbing industry, including the
sustainability of designs in bathrooms, technology, saving
water, and the relationship between noise and plumbing.
During his presentation, Klopstra also mentioned
that Geberit has identified specific areas of product
development, such as hydraulics, hygienic drinking water,
acoustics, fire protection, and process engineering.
Klopstra’s presentation went on to talk about the benefits
of pre-wall installations. “When you detach the plumbing
from the building, this helps in terms of sound influence.”
Other benefits of pre-wall installations are that they save
a great deal of space and are easy to get around in terms
of cleaning. Pre-wall installations have wall-hung toilets
that come with a dual-flush toilet system. The system can
save up to 27ℓ of water.
Towards the end of the presentation, Klopstra mentioned
water scarcity, which is the problem that South Africa
and the world are currently facing. “Water scarcity is
both a natural and human-made phenomenon. There
is enough fresh water on the planet for seven billion
people, but it is distributed unevenly and too much of it
is wasted, polluted, and unsustainably managed,” said
Klopstra. To illustrate ways in dealing with water scarcity
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
and saving water, Klopstra explained a case study that
had been conducted at the Cape Town Convention Centre
Hotel. He compared a 9ℓ toilet to a 4.5 and 3ℓ toilet: the
latter could save up to R445 000 a year on water, which
amounted to over R2-million over a five-year period.
He concluded his presentation with a discussion on the
influence of sound and plumbing installations in buildings.
According to Klopstra, there are two types of sound
influences in a building, namely airborne sound and solid-
borne sound. The different types of sound can be reduced
by being encapsulated. From an architectural point of
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Plumbers on tour through
the Geberit showroom.
Plumbers being talked
through the hydraulic
tower at Geberit’s head
office.
Continued on page 13 >>
October 2017 Volume 23 I Number 8