Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
September 15, 2017 02:00 AM

Rocky Mountain Colby Pipe to reopen PVC conduit plant

Catherine Kavanaugh
Staff Writer
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Rocky Mountain Colby Pipe Co.
    Rocky Mountain Colby Pipe Co. says its Pendleton, Ore., plant will be the most automated PVC conduit plant in the country.

    The owners of Rocky Mountain Colby Pipe Co. set out to create the most automated PVC conduit plant in the country in Pendleton, Ore., after a major downsizing and overhaul earlier this year.

    The goal to modernize and focus strictly on PVC conduit for the electrical industry has been met, according to William Quinn III, vice president of operations.

    The revamped facility will reopen by the end of September and employ 40 following a seven-month shutdown and millions more dollars invested on the heels of a $10 million renovation in 2014. Three of the eight extrusion lines will resume production for starters at the business, which has new computer control systems for both office and manufacturing space.

    "Additionally, we have invested significantly in our quality control, compounding, extrusion and downstream equipment," Quinn said in an email. "Our compounding system will be entirely automated as will all aspects of the extrusion process. Operator interaction has been limited almost entirely to testing quality, packaging and handling the pipe."

    RMCP is a privately held company undergoing a lot of change in the last 18 months. Created in 1996 when Rocky Mountain Pipe Co. acquired Colby Plastics Converters Inc., company officials at the time said the expanded business was the single-largest producer of ABS pipe in North America. Twenty years later, however, in July 2016, the company put its four plants — two in Pendleton and two in Denver — up for sale. Each location had one plant dedicated to PVC and one to ABS.

    Then, the Oregon plants were shuttered in February, in part so the PVC facility "could be retrofitted," Barry Taylor, vice president of RMCP's sales and marketing, said in a phone interview. An estimated 75 workers lost their jobs during the renovation.

    In July, the Denver plants were sold to Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Co. and RMCP put its focus on making PVC conduit in Oregon. PVC electrical conduit accounted for 36 percent of overall sales in 2015, which was up from 24 percent in 2011, the company said.

    "We are focusing exclusively on this product line for the industry so that we can give our customers our full attention," Quinn said.

    Potential customers include utilities and builders of residential subdivisions and commercial projects, Taylor said, adding that ​ he thinks PVC conduit sales will grow by double-digit increments again.

    "Utilities install it to bring power through their distribution system," he said. "It also can be installed anywhere you're taking power when you're building something new."

    RMCP makes three kinds of PVC conduit designed for mostly underground power systems that are encased in concrete or directly buried. The products vary in wall thickness but all feature a cellular core technology achieved from a proprietary manufacturing process aimed at making lighter, easier to handle conduit.

    "The conduit meets or exceeds the performance standards in the industry while still drastically increasing the ease of handling," Quinn said. "We have received quite a bit of positive feedback from the companies who are actually installing the conduit and we're excited to get back into production."

    Before it closed it in February, the Pendleton site had about 75 employees but the decreased product line and increased technology reduced the number of workers needed. About 40 people were rehired. Quinn said the staffing level will stay there for the foreseeable future.

    With estimated sales of $99 million in 2016, RMCP ranks 42nd among pipe, profile and tubing manufacturers in North America, according to Plastics News' ranking.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Illinois AG sues 14 firms over PFAS contamination
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Berry CEO Salmon retiring
    2
    Slowing demand for thermoformed PET leads to Genpak plant closure
    3
    Prices on the rise for PP, PVC
    4
    SK Battery America invests $19M in Georgia IT center
    5
    Singing the praises of family ownership
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified