DECATUR, TEXAS (July 27, 12:20 p.m. ET) — The growing oil and gas boom in South Dakota is prompting another plastic pipe manufacturer to expand operations in the region to keep up with demand.
Pipeline Plastics LLC will open a high density polyethylene pipe plant in Belle Fourche, S.D., during the first quarter of 2013, at a location that will give the company good access to both the energy fields from the Bakken Shale Formation in North Dakota and eastern Montana, plus easy access to Interstate 90 and markets beyond the immediate area, said Keith Fisher, vice president, in a July 27 telephone interview.
Pipeline is a new company, started in Decatur, Texas, in 2011, and led by industry veteran Monty Fisher as president and CEO.
The company started producing HDPE pipe in Decatur in October and has since double capacity.
“We have an aggressive growth strategy to position our company as a major player in the HDPE pipe industry on a national level. We are bullish on the industry for both the energy and water sectors,” said Monty Fisher in a news release. “New drilling technology has opened up the United States’ oil and gas development, which has created unprecedented growth in that market for HDPE pipe.”
The energy boom in North Dakota had led to a very tight employment base and a high cost of living, said Keith Fisher. Belle Fourche is far enough outside that bubble to escape the employment and cost issues, but still close enough for easy access to customers.
Pipeline Plastics will employ 25 to 40 people in Belle Fourche.
Fellow HDPE pipe maker WL Plastics Corp. announced plans in June to build a plant in Rapid City, S.D., to serve the North Dakota energy business, while Princo Inc. opened an agricultural drainage pipe plant in Beresford, S.D. in 2011.
