WHAT’S HAPPENING AT VIEGA
MILES AND MILES OF PUREFLOW PEX TUBING Do you remember that episode of Sesame Street with the visit to the crayon factory? Or maybe you’re a fan of the TV show How It’s Made, where viewers are captivated by the manufacturing of pet-nail trimmers and mattress pads? Yeah, us too. That’s why you’ll love this peek at how Viega makes its PureFlow PEX and oxygen barrier tubing, from start to finish.
Preparation An important note about Viega’s PEX – and something that sets it apart from its competitors – is that Viega makes its own PEX resin. Other companies purchase resin that is used to make the PEX tubing, but by manufacturing the resin itself, Viega has total quality control of the product from the get-go. “We control the quality of the incoming raw material to our process,” said Director of Manufacturing Eric Wicker. “We purchase railcars of polyethylene, then compound it in twin extruders. We make the PEX plastic pellets that are extruded into the pipe, and it’s mixed with a catalyst that initiates a cross-linking process (therefore making it cross-linked polyethylene, or PEX).” Every pellet of PEX that is produced in Viega’s manufacturing plant in McPherson, Kansas, is 100 percent sorted for contamination. This visual inspection looks for any contamination that can come with carbon buildup that is inherent to the process and that could potentially affect the PEX pellets.
12 | Viega Voice | November 2019
