Fryazino Experimental Works (FEW) sponsored by the Aluminium Association set up production of seamless aluminium guttering branded LINKOR. The production capacity is 3,500 tonnes of gutters and drainage pipes per annum. At the moment the Works produces 100 mm pipes as well as 120mm and 150 mm gutters. They are designed to remove water from all types of roofs.
LINKOR products have a number of benefits due to an extrusion process. A seamless pipe will not break or crack if temperature drops or water freezes inside it. Drainage system walls are 1.2 mm thick, which enabling them to bear a snow and ice load of up to 150 kg per 1 running metre.
Also, unlike thin sheet steel drainage systems, all elements of LINKOR, including edges and cuts, are painted and coated with a protective decorative polymer finishing, ensuring a lifetime of more than 50 years in combination with a high corrosion resistance of aluminium alloys. The cost of the Russian drainage system is half as much as foreign analogues and is comparable to galvanised steel.
At the moment not only Russian but also Kazakhstan companies show interest to aluminium products. The total domestic market of drainage system is estimated to be 50 mln running metres per annum.
‘For the first time new aluminium solutions have been used in reconstruction of Tryokhgornaya Manufacture in Moscow,’ said Dmitry Rachkov, head of Construction, Aluminium Association. ‘High quality allows the product to compete with steel and plastic. This is why seamless aluminium drainage systems have a huge potential in construction and maintenance of industrial buildings as well as country houses and blocks of flats.’