Speaker interview: Zoran Davidovski, Pipelife International

In the first of our speaker interviews for Plastics Extrusion World Expo we spoke to Zoran Davidovski, Head of R&D and Sustainability at Pipelife International.

Zoran is the Head of R&D and in charge of the environmental sustainability of Pipelife’s product solutions. He develops new products for markets, optimises them and at the same time find ways to lower their carbon footprint. One of his focus areas is finding ways to give new lives to old plastic pipes. Zoran believes to create a truly sustainable world, we must be able to reuse products at the end of their product life cycle. And at the same time, we must maximise their service life and ensure top quality. 

Zoran will take part in the industry debate on ‘The future for plastic pipes’ in the Plastics Extrusion World Expo conference theatre. 

What are the biggest challenges facing the market today and how can this be overcome? 

Climate change is creating unpredictable weather conditions. Paired with the significant deterioration of existing infrastructure, more and more countries are facing water crisis and increasing flooding events. This calls for efficient water management solutions and an accelerated transition to renewable energy.

In your opinion, what do you consider to be the greatest development in your industry in the last 3 years? 

Our ability to swiftly respond to the changes that are happening with a huge array of innovations and solutions. Also, the increase in uptake of recycled material in production has been remarkable. 

How do you see the sector developing in the next two to five years? 

Climate change is pushing the water and power related markets to developing more and better solutions. Most of these markets have already recognised the value and benefits of plastic piping systems. The grand energy transition with its goal to reduce CO2 emissions significantly across Europe has and will continue opening further opportunities for plastic solutions. Their ecological and economic advantages over traditional materials will help accelerate the transition to green energy.

The pace of urbanisation plus the upcoming renovation wave, equally connected to lowering emissions, will ask for more efficient heating and cooling running through plastic piping. Paired with increased project complexity, time pressure and shortages in skilled labour force, there will be certainly an increase in demand for prefabricated and preassembled solutions along with system specifications in building service technology systems – that is heating, cooling, ventilation and power supply.

Growing populations and water crisis will further increase a need for efficiency and water saving in food production, and the demand for precision irrigation will be pushed to a new level. And as a final point: we mustn’t forget our arrival in the digital age. The market is already presented with a vast range of data gathering devices. However, the next step will be a need for holistic solutions. Product system plus sensoring, plus big data, plus data transfer, storage and interface are the future. 

You will be speaking at AMI’s plastics industry expos in Europe in September, could you give us a preview on what you will be talking about?

I will be speaking about how we see the future of plastic piping systems. How we believe they can help create a sustainable world, fulfilling their task of being an efficient, long-lasting solution at highest quality demands and providing added value to our customers, society, economy and environment.

See Zoran speak at Plastics Extrusion World Expo Europe.