SETTING up a rigid PVC and conduit pipes plant will steadily channel money to your banks if it is properly done. This is because the building and construction industry in the country is today facing one of its greatest challenges - that of providing affordable houses for the exploding population of our people. The much orchestrated programme 'Housing For All By The Year 2000' has come and gone and we are farther from the promised land than we were at the inception of it; we have been left more in mud than in clean water.The gladdening news, however, is that fresh initiatives have been seized recently by the private real estate developers in partnership with some banks. The latter provide financial assistance while the former construct, manage or sell the end product. Some of the banks have even gone ahead to spearhead real estate development by floating real estate investment funds. As a result there is massive development going on right now in the real estate sub-sector of the economy.With the above development have come some challenges that need to be met immediately if the objectives of the developers are to be met. One of them is the provision of good quality building materials that are relatively cheaper than the imported ones. That is where the use of locally produced construction materials easily come in handy in order to make available such building materials which act will help reduce the cost of building construction.One of such building materials that can conveniently be manufactured locally and which has a very attractive and high local demand and content is by the way of the rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes and conduits. These are used to take electrical wires along the walls and then through the roofs. The rigid PVC pipes and conduits are fast replacing the metal pipes because of their low operating and maintenance cost, light weight and the ease of handling and joining, low installation cost, ability and ease of being jointed to other metals, resistance to most chemicals and so many others.Market For Rigid PVC Products: The major areas of application of the rigid PVC pipes are water and waste water supplies, borehole casing and suction, irrigation and sprinkler system, drainage and storm water stabilisation, suction for power and communications cables, air/vent system, chemical processing plants, re-liming of old sewers, ventilation of corrosive gases and many more.From the above uses it is obvious that the target distribution channels for the finished products are those in the building and construction companies, contractors and private home-builders, building material dealers etc. Just look at the local market alone. As long as there are people on earth there will always be the need to build houses for them to live in and so will there also be the need to use the rigid PVC pipes and conduits in those buildings. And when one talks of buildings, these include residential, commercial, industrial and such other outfits as higher institutions, health establishments, etc.There's also a huge export market for these product and to export them, and indeed any products, profitably and successfully, one needs to have at his finger tips all it takes to get into export market trade, how to finance it from the various financial institutions, the necessary good quality measures needed, the names and addresses of honest, reliable and genuine buyers, dependable local sources of good quality products, how to source a confirmed order that is backed up with genuine payment, how to repatriate and use his export proceeds, etc.Any serious and interested investor can pick up from this writer for the asking a copy of 'Understanding Export Trade And Finance'.Raw Materials: The major raw materials and which are locally available in abundance are mouldable PVC resin, plasticiser, filler, stabilisers, pigment etc.Land And Building: Ideally a plot of land can accommodate this project on a small scale basis, but in order to make adequate room for storing both raw materials and finished products, maneuverability of vehicles coming in to pick finished products and dropping raw materials and other uses, a minimum of six standard township plots of land should be targeted to be acquired by any prospective investor in this project. The cost of both the land and land development will depend on the chosen location of the project.Plant And Machinery: To set up the rigid PVC and conduit pipes factory, one needs the following machinery and equipment: high-speed mixer, a 65mm PVC rigid pipe extrusion plant, scrap grinder, overhead water tanks and re-cycling pump unit, weighing scale, testing equipment, dies and laboratory equipment. The output capacity of the intended plant will depend on the planned scale of production. The small-scale plant under consideration here can produce 400 pipes a day and based on 300 working days in a year one can get 120,000.With a newly set up plant, however, this could be scaled down because of staff inefficiency, unexpected downtime, infrastructural facility and initial raw material problems. With the passage of time more experience will be gained, production will stabilise and increase and so will be the profit.Utilities: Regular electricity and good quality water supplies are needed in the factory.Manufacturing Process: The manufacture of rigid PVC pipes, briefly, involves the plasticising and homogenising (formulation, blending and mixing) of the PVC compounds and metering them through the extruder for the extrusion of the hot molten PVC compound. This is done through a circular slit which determines the size of the pipes to be manufactured. If you want to produce pipes of different sizes, all you need do is change the dies.Project Cost Estimate: The estimated total cost for establishing the project shown below could be more or less depending on the location of the plant. For instance locating it in a local environment will likely be lower in cost in terms of land purchase and higher infrastructural facilities than doing so in or around fairly developed areas. These notwithstanding, the following gives a rough estimated idea of the cost of setting up the plant.N'000Land and land development 2,000Building 7,750Plant and machinery 5,800Utilities7,950Motor vehicle 1,800Furniture, fixtures and equipment 400Working capital 3,500Prelim. and pre-operation expenses1,850Contingency3,000Total estimated cost 34,050Implementation: To implement this project, the investor needs to have prepared for him by an experienced industrial development Consultant a detailed, current and realistic feasibility report to enable him approach a bank for financial assistance.Viability: If you have ever dreamt of joining the league of fast-track millionaires then this is one project you should not overlook. It is a viable business and it is conservatively estimated that the profit after tax to net sales is 35% with expected increases in subsequent years as the project's brands get more popular and easily accepted and the manufacturing efficiency improves. The payback period of the project is short (about 3 years) considering the level of operation, the profitability of the project and the expected high demand for the products. The machines are long lasting, need little maintenance, are reasonably cheap compared to the income they generate and have spare parts that are readily available locally.The raw materials and the relevant categories of labour required to run the factory profitably are all 100% locally available. The market is large, assured and sustainable both locally and in the ECOWAS sub-region, Central and East African countries to which the project's finished products can be exported. The need to set up a plant to manufacture rigid PVC pipes and conduit pipes is highly recommended to discerning investors who want long lasting, money-spinning business to invest in.For assistance in setting up this lucrative project, interested serious investors should please contact DON. ABRAHAM through P. O. Box 2919, YABA 101011, Lagos, Nigeria . Emails: talk2dco@yahoo.com; wealthcreationideas@yahoo.com; talk2dco@gmail. Telephones : 0812-478-3187 ; 0704-149-5314 ; 0803-725-1974 ; 01-8755-405) ; 0818 ' 555 - 1655
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