CURED-IN-PLACE-PIPE MARKET ANALYSIS

The cured-in-place pipe technique is a trenchless rehabilitation method that is used for repairing pipelines. CIPP is a seamless, joint less pipe that is present within another pipe that has the capability to naturalize pipes that have diameters ranging between 0.1 to 2.8 meters. It is the most widely used trenchless rehabilitation method. CIPP is used for application in water, gas, and sewer pipes amongst others. There is a little to no digging involved in this trenchless CIPP process. During this method of rehabilitation, the damaged pipeline is infused with a resin material that coats the walls on the interior. This results in creation of a new pipeline that exists within the existing pipelines without the need to physically expose it by physical processes such as digging. Unlike conventional pipe repair methods, CIPP is completed within a short span of a few short hours while not having the need to stop the usage of the pipeline for weeks for repair.

Market Dynamics

• The aging sewage and drinking water pipelines in numerous economies, rising spending by municipal corporations, and need to repair public utilities along with rising awareness of the advantages of trenchless rehabilitation techniques, and the advantages of CIPP over the other trenchless techniques are major drivers positively impacting growth of the global CIPP market. According to the Center for American Progress as much as 20-25% of the treated water that entered the distribution system was lost due to leakage, resulting in an estimated 1.7 trillion gallons of water being wasted in 2016 in the U.S. Factors such as these could result in an increase in the demand for CIPP rehabilitation techniques.
• However, new liners need to be developed for different CIPPs depending on the requirement. Obstructions that are present in the pipeline need to be removed before installation. The liner is made up of a felted textile and does not bend without wrinkling on corners. The liners that are in pipes that bend are made up of woven fabric that allows it to turn around the bends with negligible wrinkling. It is necessary that the liner be properly handled during inversion in order to guarantee that the liner rests in its position. These are some of the major restraints that are expected to affect the growth of the cured in place pipe market

Market Trends

• Polyester segment was dominant in 2017 and is expected to retain its dominance in the global CIPP market during the forecast period. This is owing to property of polyester to infuse well with the liner material and can be dried easily even at lower temperatures. The other advantages of this resin includes, its higher flexural modulus, lower tensile strength coupled with a higher chemical resistance as compared to other resins.
• Polyester segment is estimated to be dominant in the fabric segment in 2018. Polyester has a greater tensile strength while meeting the required ASTM D461 standard needed for the felt at competitive prices as compared to glass fabrics.
• Steam was the most dominant segment in curing methods in 2017 and is expected to continue its dominance through 2025. The overall time that is required for curing in the steam curing is lower as compared to other curing methods as the time required for heat transfer in the steam curing process is much lower as compared to hot water. The UV curing method is expected to exhibit the fastest growth rate during the forecast period as UV liners are not affected by temperature and hence can be easily transported to the required job site. These liners are also 3-5 times tougher than conventional CIPP liners.

Market Outlook

• North America is estimated to be the most dominant region in the CIPP market in 2018 and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. This is owing to presence of high volume of pipelines in North America especially, the U.S. According to the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation an environment and labor organization, the U.S. alone has approximately 0.8 million miles of drainage pipes and also 0.5 million miles of lateral based sewers and that are above 60 years old and needed repairing in 2016. Apart from this, in the U.S., in 2016, around 9% or around 112,000 miles of the nation’s natural gas distribution pipelines were made from leak prone materials such as cast iron, bare steel or unprotected coated steel and needed repairing. This is expected to drive demand for CIPP in North America.

Key Players

Major players operating in the CIPP market include iMPREG GmbH, Layne Inliner LLC, Insituform Technologies Inc., Inland Pipe Rehabilitation Ashimori Industry Co. Ltd., Reline Europe AG, Norditube Technologies, and Saertex MultiCom GmbH.

Market Taxonomy

Global cured-in-place pipe market is segmented as:

By Resin Type

• Polyester
• Vinyl Ester    
• Others

By Fabric Type

• Polyester
• Glass
• Others

By Cure Type

• Hot Water
• Steam
• UV Cure

By Weaving Type

• Woven
• Nonwoven
• Others

By Coating Type

• Polypropylene
• Polyethylene
• Polyurethane
• Non-Coated
• Others