PVC Pipe and Fittings Manufacturers Annual Meeting

Knowledge and Networking

The Largest Gathering of PVC Pipe and Fitting Manufacturers in the World

Each year the Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association members gather for our Annual Meeting – the largest gathering of PVC pipe and fitting manufacturers in the world.

Presentations cover topics ranging from market assessments for PVC pipe, vinyl resin and related chemicals, to sustainability, technology, legislative affairs and product certification. Participants come from around the world, and their ranks include pipe and fitting manufacturers, resin and additive providers, equipment manufacturers, affiliated associations, and non-profit certification agencies. Speakers include academics, business analysts, engineers, municipal officials, taxpayer advocates, public affairs specialists, etc.

Monday, March 24

Tuesday, March 25

Wednesday, March 26

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Keynote

Our Society, Industry, and Natural Resources are Under Attack by the Media 
Elizabeth Nickson, Journalist, Writer, and Senior Fellow at the Frontier Center for Public Policy
Ongoing attacks by the media and their cohorts in the non-profit sector are undermining the economies and security of Western countries, among other things. Mining, for example, has a job multiplier of seven, as do most industrial processes. Manufacturing generates similar employment multipliers and is critical to the economic well-being of modern societies yet has been offshored. That said, analysts believe there is tremendous opportunity in North America right now. Everything that went to China is now coming back. By 2040 the U.S. and Canada will be the only countries among rich democracies with favorable demographic fundamentals, which means with younger populations and expanding work forces. Our industrial base will double in the next five to ten years, and that represents tremendous growth for the PVC pipe industry. The future is golden – if we just grab it and hang on.

Special Guest Speaker

Energy, Net Zero, and PVC Pipe: Possible Futures 
Steve Goreham, Executive Director, Climate Science Coalition of America
Steve Goreham’s presentation will discuss energy and climate, Net Zero and renewables, electric vehicles, the hydrogen economy, carbon dioxide capture and storage as well as future trends, with implications for PVC pipe and the plastics industry.

Presentations

Policy and Plastics
Anne Idsal Austin, Attorney & Founder, Austin Legal and Public Affairs, PLLC
A discussion of the evolving landscape of federal policies and regulatory changes impacting the plastics industry. With a growing emphasis on the entire lifecycle of plastics, this presentation will provide valuable insights and recommendations for driving both short- and long-term policy advancements at state and federal levels.

PVC Pipe in Europe: Longevity, Recycling, and Emerging Challenges
Zoran Davidovski, Head of R&D and Sustainability, Pipelife
PVC pipes have a proven lifespan of over 100 years when designed, manufactured, and installed according to European Standard (EN) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards. A recent European meta-study conducted by the Polymer Competence Center in Austria, which was commissioned by The European Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association (TEPPFA), confirms this impressive longevity for both pressure and non-pressure applications. However, customers demand more than just durability. To align with Europe’s sustainability goals the industry is developing lower-carbon PVC materials and new pipe designs. Key priorities include recycling, reducing CO₂ emissions, and addressing the presence of lead in older pipes. PVC pipes are fully recyclable and have the lowest carbon footprint of all water and sewer piping materials but establishing a value chain that supports circular solutions and innovative recycling methods are also essential. At the same time, PVC pipe’s efficiency and durability must be maintained so collaborative efforts between industry and TEPPFA will be crucial in driving sustainable progress across Europe.

Changing Perceptions About Plastic and What Policymakers Are Doing About It
Ross Eisenberg, President, America’s Plastic Makers™, American Chemistry Council (ACC)
A look at the public’s attitudes about plastic, recycling, and pollution as well as emerging trends at the global, federal, and state levels that could affect your business.

Restoring a Failing Water Distribution System in Jackson, MS 
Jordan Rae Hillman, Chief Data Officer, JXN Water
In August 2022, the City of Jackson, MS reached a breaking point when a devastating flood shut down its water treatment plant, crippling its aging water system. A federal response allocated much-needed resources to stabilize and restore the utility which had faced years of poor maintenance and underinvestment. This presentation will discuss the unique challenges involved in the emergency replacement of a failing iron water pipeline at major junction of four transmission lines with PVC that restored system function, recovered 3 million gallons per day in water loss, and was a gamechanger for stabilizing the water distribution system. Jackson traditionally used only ductile iron pipe and is now transitioning to PVC pipe.

Housing Market Outlook
Fan-Yu Kuo, Senior Economist, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
The housing market is an important sector which helps drive PVC water and sewer pipe demand. This session will provide an overview of the macroeconomy, housing market conditions, industry-level details on supply-side headwinds for housing, and the 2025 NAHB forecast for single-family and multifamily construction.

PVC: Key Drivers and Trends, Feedstock’s Outlook, and Worldwide Economic Factors 
Ana Lopez, Executive Director of Americas Vinyls and Global Sodium Sulfate, Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company
A look at capacity and demand in the global inorganics marketplace, with special emphasis on North America.

A Systems Perspective for a Sustainable Plastics Economy
Dr. Rachel A. Meidl, LP.D., CHMM, Distinguished Fellow in Energy and Sustainability, Rice University, Baker Institute for Public Policy
Sustainability is often viewed as a win-win. However, success requires a holistic, cross-disciplinary, and multidimensional approach that accounts for costs and benefits across life cycles to ensure “solutions” do not shift risks and offset social, economic, or environmental gains. Global energy production, resource demands, environmental and social concerns, and the waste crisis have increased focus on sustainable strategies and a circular economy. Failure to approach energy and material transitions systematically has resulted in distorted investments and policy priorities that are misaligned with growing demand for plastics and other materials, undermining our transition to a sustainable future.

WaterOne’s Evolution with PVC Pipe: After Almost Two Decades 
Shaun Pietig, P.E., General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, WaterOne
Find out the reasons why WaterOne switched to PVC water pipe in 2007 and learn about the performance improvements realized for the 18 municipalities in the metropolitan Kansas City, KS area served by the utility. WaterOne relies on professional construction and maintenance crews to install and operate its PVC pipelines, and this presentation will discuss their unique experiences as well as the tips, tricks, and extensive data they developed firsthand. Finally, the factors that contributed to a more reliable, cost-effective, and efficient water distribution system will be highlighted.

National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) Develops New Codes for Pressure Pipelines
Mark Wade, P.E., Principal for BlueWater Solutions Group
An overview of recent efforts by NASSCO and a subcommittee of practitioners from the water and wastewater sector to create a unique set of standards and codes for pressure pipelines. The new codes, which have been developed for force mains and other pressure pipelines, expand current PACP and Manhole Assessment Certification Program (MACP) standards already established for gravity pipelines. Utilities, design engineers, system operators, and contractors can use the new standards to help assess and improve underground infrastructure assets and for pipeline rehabilitation and replacement.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Anne Idsal Austin is founder of Austin Legal and Public Affairs, PLLC. Anne served at the highest levels of state and federal government where she shaped environmental and energy policy. She provides strategic counseling and policy guidance in the complex regulatory landscape of environmental and natural resources law. Ms. Austin served as Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) where she had a significant impact on clean air policy and regulation. Additionally, Anne served as EPA Regional Administrator for Region 6, responsible for implementing federal environmental statutes and programs across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New Mexico. Previously, Ms. Austin was Chief Clerk and Deputy Land Commissioner for the Texas General Land Office and served as General Counsel for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Zoran Davidovski is the Head of R&D and Sustainability at Pipelife, a global manufacturer of piping solutions and a subsidiary of Wienerberger, a leading provider of innovative and ecological solutions for building envelopes, infrastructure as well as water and energy management. Zoran holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and began his career at Pipelife in 1998 as General Manager of its Croatian facility. He has over 25 years of experience in the plastics industry and has held various roles in marketing and product management. Mr. Davidovski also represents Pipelife at The European Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association (TEPPFA) and has chaired numerous Plastic Pipes conferences, including PPXIV, PPXVI, PPXVIII, PPXX and PPXXII. Zoran’s leadership and expertise have played a key role in advancing sustainability and innovation in the plastic pipe industry.

Ross Eisenberg is President of America’s Plastic Makers™ at the American Chemistry Council (ACC) where he oversees a self-funded group of 19 ACC Plastics Division member companies who are working together to maximize the value and minimize the waste of one of the earth’s most versatile materials. Ross also leads ACC’s state, federal, and global plastics advocacy, working across party lines to achieve a more circular and sustainable solution for plastics in society. Previously, Mr. Eisenberg served as ACC Vice President of Federal Affairs, leading the association’s federal advocacy on major legislation including passage of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the Inflation Reduction Act, and permitting reform.

Steve Goreham is Executive Director of the Climate Science Coalition of America as well as a speaker, author, researcher on environmental issues, independent columnist, and advisor to The Heartland Institute. He speaks and writes about energy, industry, agriculture, the environment, sustainable development, economic trends, climate change, and corporate environmental policy. Mr. Goreham is the author of four books on energy, climate change, sustainable development, and public policy, including his latest, Green Breakdown: The Coming Renewable Energy Failure. More than 100,000 copies are in print. Steve is a frequent guest on television and radio and more than one hundred of his articles have been featured in major publications like Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Western Journal, World Net Daily, and many others. Mr. Goreham covers a broad range of topics such as acid rain, battery storage, biofuels, climate change, fracking, hydrocarbons, renewable energy, meat consumption, the ozone hole, pollution, resource depletion, sustainable fuels, and wildfires. He has more than 30 years of experience in Fortune 100 and private companies in engineering and executive roles. Steve has a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from University of Chicago.

Jordan Rae Hillman has been recently appointed Chief Data Officer at JXN Water where she uses data-driven decision-making to help keep the water system stabilized in Jackson, MS. Jordan was Chief Operation Officer from September 2022 to August 2024 and Interim Director of Public Works at JXN Water during Jackson’s 2022 Water Crisis, leading emergency response efforts and negotiating the federal order that appointed third-party manager JNX Water for the City’s water system. Previously Ms. Hillman served as Director of Planning for the City of Jackson and Community Development Director for Brandon, MS. She has more than 15 years of experience in planning and design, asset management, systems design, GIS, policy development, and collaborative planning. 

Fan Yu-Kuo is a Senior Economist at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), specializing in conducting comprehensive economic research with a primary focus on macroeconomics and forecasting. She also plays a pivotal role in updating economic and housing data. Prior to joining NAHB, Kuo was a research assistant at the Academia Sinica. She holds a master's degree in international economics and finance from Johns Hopkins University and an additional master's in international political economy from King’s College London.

Ana Lopez is Executive Director of Americas Vinyls and Global Sodium Sulfate at Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company, and has more than 20 years of experience analyzing petrochemical commodities markets. During her time with the company, she has worked in a wide variety of roles within polyolefins, chlor-alkali, and vinyls. Mrs. Lopez is a key resource for understanding and insight into the chlor-alkali and vinyls sectors of the petrochemical industry.

 

Dr. Rachel A. Meidl, LP.D., CHMM, is a distinguished fellow in energy and sustainability at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and a strategic advisor on circular economy for Morgan Stanley Capital International. Her research and thought leadership focus on sustainability, circular economy, safety and environmental regulations of the treatment, storage, disposal, and transportation of hazardous materials and wastes, and understanding environmental, economic, and social impacts across energy supply chains. Rachel is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Plastics Committee and a member of the 2024 Brazil G20 Presidency T20 Taskforce on Sustainable Climate Action and Inclusive and Fair Energy Transitions. R. Meidl was previously Deputy Associate Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in Washington, D.C., and former Director of Regulatory and Technical Affairs at the American Chemistry Council. She has over 27 years of regulatory, public policy, advocacy and technical experience in industry, academia, finance, and government.

Elizabeth Nickson is an investigative journalist, columnist, and author as well as a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Center for Public Policy. Ms. Nickson was trained as a reporter at the London Bureau of Time magazine and became European Bureau Chief of LIFE magazine in its last years of monthly publication. During this period Elizabeth acquired the rights to Nelson Mandela’s memoir before he was released from Robben Island, South Africa. She went on to write for Harper’s magazine, The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times magazine, The Telegraph, The Globe and Mail and the National Post. Her first book, The Monkey Puzzle Tree, was an investigation of the CIA’s MK-Ultra’s mind control program which sought to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used during interrogations to force confessions. Her next book, Eco-Fascists, How Radical Environmentalists Are Destroying Our Natural Heritage, looked at how environmentalism, badly practiced, is destroying the rural economy and rural culture in the U.S. and all over the world. Rather than safeguarding our environment, radical conservationists in local and national government agencies are destroying the land, ecosystems, people, and our natural heritage. Ms. Nickson is also part of a group of 42 distinguished contributors to the recently published book, Against the Corporate Media, which analyzes the startling changes that have taken place in journalism in our lifetimes. Today’s journalists now openly celebrate the death of objectivity, arguing that reporters have biases like everybody else. Gossip has become news, journalistic crusades are fabricated and attributed to anonymous sources, and nearly all news stories today are couched in political terms.

Shaun Pietig, P.E., is General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of WaterOne which provides drinking water to 18 municipalities in the metropolitan Kansas City, KS area. She reports to the Governing Board and is responsible for the daily administration of the utility's operations, personnel, and financial affairs. Ms. Pietig joined WaterOne in 2007 as a Project Engineer and later served as Infrastructure Planner and Asset Manager, Lead Engineer, Manager of Distribution Engineering, and Director of the Distribution Division. She had previous experience as a Design Engineer and Project Manager at a consulting engineering firm. Shaun holds board and leadership positions dedicated to asset planning, asset renewal, sustainability, and management of water treatment and distribution systems with numerous national and regional organizations and associations.

Mark Wade, P.E., is a Principal for BlueWater Solutions Group where he oversees, directs, and leads services for water, storm water, and wastewater conveyance condition assessment and trenchless rehabilitation. Services also include underground infrastructure management, field-based condition inspection, and field testing. Mr. Wade has 43 years of consulting engineering experience with federal, municipal, and industrial pipeline systems. Mark has accumulated a broad range of experience including planning, modeling, design, and construction management to control sanitary sewer overflows and extend the service life of buried assets. He has presented more than 50 technical papers on conveyance system evaluation and rehabilitation and currently provides senior-level technology and project management services for several sewer assessment and rehabilitation projects at federal and military facilities.

2024 Annual Meeting

Building Sustainable Communities with PVC Pipe
50th Annual Meeting
February 26-28, 2024
Los Sueños Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort
Playa Herradura, Costa Rica

2024 Annual Meeting Program

2023 Annual Meeting

The Path to a Brighter Future for North America’s Underground Infrastructure
49th Annual Meeting
March 20-22, 2023
Casa Marina Key West, Curio Collection by Hilton
Key West, FL

2023 Annual Meeting Program

2022 Annual Meeting

2022 and Beyond: Setting our Sights on the Next Decade of Growth
48th Annual Meeting
April 4-6, 2022
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

2022 Annual Meeting Program

2019 Annual Meeting

PVC Pipe in North America: Celebrating
More Than Sixty Years of Success
47th Annual Meeting
March 11-13, 2019
Fairmont Grand Del Mar
San Diego, CA

2019 Annual Meeting Program

2018 Annual Meeting

PVC Pipe: At the Forefront as New Forces
Reshape the Municipal Pipe Market
46th Annual Meeting
March 12-14, 2018
Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort
Key West, FL

2018 Annual Meeting Program

2017 Annual Meeting

Improving Water Quality, Durability and Safety
in Post-Flint America with PVC Pipe
45th Annual Meeting
February 27 - March 1, 2017
Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains
Scottsdale, AZ

2017 Annual Meeting Program

2016 Annual Meeting

Rebuilding America with PVC Pipe: A New
Threshold for Pipe Performance and Sustainability
44th Annual Meeting
February 22-24, 2016
Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort
Key Largo, FL

2016 Annual Meeting Program

2015 Annual Meeting

The Tipping Point: PVC Pipe in the Age of Replacement
43rd Annual Meeting
February 23 - 25, 2015
Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort
Playa Herradura, Costa Rica

2015 Annual Meeting Program

2014 Annual Meeting

The Future is PVC Pipe
42nd Annual Meeting
March 10-12, 2014
Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

2014 Annual Meeting Program

2013 Annual Meeting

Building A Greener World with PVC Pipe
41st Annual Meeting
April 22-24, 2013
The Resort at Pelican Hill 
Newport Beach, California

2013 Annual Meeting Program

2012 Annual Meeting

Unleashing American Innovation with PVC
Pipe: The Sustainable Solution for Corroding Water & Sewer Systems
40th Annual Meeting
April 23-25, 2012
Marriott Key West Beachside Hotel
Key West, Florida

2012 Annual Meeting Program

2011 Annual Meeting

Smarter Spending For Challenging Times:
Rebuilding America's Water/Wastewater Infrastructure with PVC Pipe
39th Annual Meeting
April 18-20, 2011
Loews Ventana Canyon Resort
Tucson, Arizona

2011 Annual Meeting Program

2010 Annual Meeting

Fighting Back: Gaining Ground in Tough Economic Times - The World's Largest Gathering of PVC Pipe & Fitting Manufacturers
38th Annual Meeting
April 19-21, 2010
Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa
Marco Island, FL

2010 Annual Meeting Program