Normec QS in talks with Pipelife

Reliable bio-circular products

Pipelife is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of plastic piping systems and a co-creator of systems for water and energy distribution. They engaged Normec QS to obtain ISCC PLUS certification for their bio-circular plastic pipes.

Independent certification as proof

As the oldest manufacturer of plastic piping systems in the Netherlands, Pipelife was founded in 1947. Since then, the company has emerged as a leading player in the market. The Pipelife Group’s headquarters are located in Vienna, and it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wienerberger. Pipelife employs approximately 3,750 people worldwide across 24 different countries.

Pipelife manufactures pipes for indoor and outdoor sewer systems, gas, drinking water, drainage, electrical systems, cable protection, and industrial applications. The focus is on sustainability and anticipating changing needs in the areas of energy, stormwater, and drinking water. The company therefore invests in innovative solutions. For example, it manufactures part of its product range from bio-circular raw materials. Customers naturally want to be certain that the quality is consistent and that the system is reliable. With ISCC PLUS certification, Pipelife can demonstrate this, according to Ruud: “A certified system that has been assessed by Normec QS as an independent party provides the proof that convinces our customers.”

Local partner with short lines of communication

“We want to deliver a product that offers sufficient guarantees and reliability,” Ruud continues. “The challenges lie in pressure applications, where higher demands are placed on the product. Bio-circular material could be a solution for that. At their core, the raw materials are identical to traditional ones, but they come from natural sources rather than mineral oil. We see opportunities there, but that does require a quality control system. That’s why we set out to find a partner who could help us with this and certify our products according to the ISCC PLUS system. Normec QS was our preferred choice as a local partner in this area. We have close working relationships with them.”

An Intermediate Step Built In

Pipelife didn’t dive straight into the certification process but deliberately chose an intermediate step. Ruud: “We wanted to know exactly what our quality system needed to comply with. Through a workshop with several people from our organization, Normec QS trained us on this. Following that, we set up the quality management system and commissioned Normec QS to conduct an audit at our facility. Thanks in part to that preparation, we were able to organize things properly, resulting in a short turnaround time and a successful audit.”

Independent Verification

It goes without saying that an initial audit is intensive. Everything is new, so it’s a matter of getting used to things and feeling our way for both parties. Ruud expects the annual follow-up audit to go more smoothly: “Now we have some experience implementing the quality management system. There will be more focus on the practical details—how we’ve carried out and documented everything. We were very pleased with our collaboration with Normec QS. They’re knowledgeable, no-nonsense, and task-oriented. Thanks to Normec QS, we now have independent proof for our customers in the form of a validated system. We’re in talks with parties in the water and gas markets to get them excited about our bio-circular products. The certification is a tool that helps with that.”