Giant pipes from Quebec in the United States

Soleno builds factory in New York State

The Quebec company is building its first factory on American soil to manufacture polyethylene pipes up to 4 m in diameter – a first in North America.

The manufacturer of polyethylene pipes and pipelines Soleno, specializing in drainage water management, launched the construction of its first factory on American soil in August 2023.

Soleno will begin manufacturing its new KUSTOMFLO product range there, the technology for which was acquired from the German company Krah Pipes in 2022.

“These are large diameter pipes with completely new technology on Canadian and American soil,” explains its president Alain Poirier.

Unlike their concrete competitors, these high-density polyethylene pipes will be insensitive to water contaminated by de-icing salt, he argues.

Located in Saratoga, New York, the 45,000 sq. ft. facility^⁠2 is built on 22 acres of land. It is scheduled to open at the end of the third quarter of 2024. The $22 million investment is supported by SCIDA (Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency) and SEDC (Saratoga Economic Development Corporation).

A polyethylene milestone

An important step for Soleno?

“The word is weak, it is very, very important for us,” insists Alain Poirier.

In addition to its Quebec facilities, the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu company has a factory in New Brunswick, on the outskirts of Maine, and in 2020 acquired the manufacturer Bluewater Pipe, in southern Ontario.

“We had three entrances to the northeastern United States market, so we decided to have a foothold. This is our first milestone,” comments the president.

“And at the same time, it becomes a distribution center for us because the volume of business in the United States from Quebec is increasingly important. »

The project will result in the hiring of 35 to 50 people over a period of two years.

A new technology… proven

The new process consists of producing an extrusion of small section – a rectangle of approximately 1 cm by 10 cm – which is then wound in tight turns around a large steel cylinder, where these are welded to each other .

Once removed from the cylinder, which gives it its diameter, the pipe is formed.

“This technology will allow us to make pipes up to 4 m in diameter,” says Mathieu Cornellier, general manager of the Saratoga plant.

Very flexible and versatile, this process gives civil engineers a lot of latitude.

“The technology has existed for a long time in Europe and Asia, but for several reasons, it has never worked in North America,” he adds.

“We believe the market is much more ready for green and ecological solutions. We expect it to be much better received today than in the past. »

The location of the factory, located in the center of the quadrilateral formed by Montreal, Toronto, Boston and New York, was chosen accordingly.

“A pipe, especially a large diameter one, travels poorly because it carries air,” underlines the director. It is therefore very important that we produce close to our market, and the northeastern North American market is a very densely populated aging infrastructure market, therefore with a lot of infrastructure. »

The infrastructure of the factory itself will be able to meet demand: a second production line is already planned and local authorities have approved the construction of a second factory on the land.

The challenge, however, is commensurate with the pipes that will be produced there. “We are in start-up mode,” he says. The company name is not known at all in the United States, so you have to build everything that has to do with the Soleno and KUSTOMFLO brands. »

“With this new technology, we are able to fuse the joints and put pressure in our KUSTOMFLO pipes. So it’s no longer just rainwater that we can transport. If there are projects that need to be absolutely waterproof to transport water under pressure, we can offer it. »