Valencia Pipe grows footprint for rotomolded product line | Plastics News

Oct 24, 2024

Valencia, Calif.-based Valencia Pipe Co. has grown its manufacturing footprint to produce rotationally molded polyethylene septic and water tanks for the entire U.S. market at three recently acquired facilities.

VPC acquired a 54,000-square-foot facility on 17 acres in Miami, Okla., in September 2023 and started production in April 2024, VPC CEO Andrew Dervin said in an email.

The Miami plant will primarily supply tanks to the Midwest and South but also has been shipping tanks to customers on both coasts and to the North while the other two facilities are set up.

The second plant is a 58,000-square-foot facility on 48 acres that was previously a plastics manufacturing business in Wabuska, Nev.

Dervin said this site is serving the Southwest, West and Northwest with tanks manufactured in Oklahoma while the manufacturing equipment installation is being completed.

A third plant will open in the Northeast. VPC is under contract on a 60,000-square-foot facility on 12 acres to manufacture tanks for the Southeast, East Coast and Northeast.

"It's too early to release further detail but we expect to begin manufacturing setup in early 2025 and be in production March 1," Dervin said.

VPC is investing between $10 million and $20 million into the three sites, Dervin added.

Company officials say a projected increase in U.S. home building outside of urban centers is driving demand for its new product line.

The product line includes 500- to 1,500-gallon septic tanks, 600- to 1700-gallon cisterns, and 550- to 5000-gallon water tanks. VPC also has added multi-use tanks and chemical tanks.

VPC officials are strategically placing manufacturing facilities to minimizes transportation costs while bringing another option to the national market.

About a year ago, VPC sold two pipe plants in Washington and Arizona to Brussels-based Aliaxis SA for $250 million. Aliaxis owns Pineville, N.C.-based pipe extruder Ipex USA LLC and wanted to expand west.

The deal brought Aliaxis production facilities in Washington and Arizona for ABS, PVC and PE pipe.

Now VPC is heading east. The company's success in pipe manufacturing is driving the strategic expansion, according to Dervin, a 40-year veteran of the industry.

"VPC has always believed that customers deserve a choice of products," Dervin said. "We identified a market which could be better served by VPC and invested heavily in production capacity to offer a high-quality product at a competitive price. We're very excited about this phase in our expansion"

VPC's products are certified to the highest standards with national certification bodies, Dervin added.

"We sourced the latest manufacturing technologies in rotomolding production and brought in industry experts at every stage of the design process to guarantee quality," Dervin said.

Septic and water tanks are regulated by state and local environmental and public health agencies. The resulting patchwork of regulations can make it difficult to bring new products to the U.S. market.

"VPC worked closely with state and local governments to ensure that our products were compliant with all applicable rules and regulations," said Christopher Butler, vice president of manufacturing and distribution.

VPC's products are already featured on states' lists of approved products, he added.

Valencia pipe is a division of VPC Global.

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