Australian plastic welding equipment supplier Fusion Hire Services Pty. Ltd. will spend A$1.5 million (US$1.15 million) moving to larger premises due to increased demand for its thermoplastic products and equipment.
Darren Poynton, FHS director, said the Melbourne-based company will move to a new, 10,764-square-foot site to meet demand for its welding equipment for polyethylene tanks, pipelines and other industrial products.
``This is not a cyclical boom, it's more an evolutionary change in materials-handling practices toward plastics, rather than just a surge in one or two industries,'' he said.
Applications include automotive, construction, chemical, food and beverage processing, irrigation, geosynthetics, mining, quarrying and petroleum resources development industries.
``Global plastics welding technology has advanced to the level where weld strengths are virtually inseparable from original pipe strengths, and our plastics welding and fabrication customers have experienced an ongoing surge in demand from companies taking on plastics as alternatives to metals,'' Poynton said.
FHS will launch plastics training schools in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, where demand was particularly strong, to teach welding and fabrication.
Benefits include safety, low maintenance and easy installation, according to the company.
Poynton said the new plant should be fully operational by the end of 2006.