RTI Gone?

Troy_3

Very interesting marketing move. Glad I'm not an RTI rep., wholesaler, installer. Does wirsbo just sell everybody now? Under the same name? Who picks up the loose ends from RTI distribution? What oppertunities does this open up for other imports with deep pockets? or new brand start ups. Those extruders went somewhere. Hard to believe Wirsbo could afford to just scrap the equipment. Very interesting to see the future of pex. Wirsbo seems to be doing a great job expanding their market. Keep your eyes Open.

Mike Kraft_2

One of my wholesalers................

who sold all RTI is going to Watts.They say Watts uses the same fittings,clamps and tool.

cheese

S Ebels

My bet

Is that Uponor is assuming that all those who purchased RTI products are going to just roll over into the Wirsbo fold.

Just a hunch but I think they are trying to establish the Wirsbo brand as THE pex tube and fitting manufacturer.

Leo G_99

Totally agree

Steve, but they will never get their claws into me ~

I find that "other" pex brands that we use, are more supple then the big W's, and are easier to install. Just sad to see the plant in Langley get shut down, but expected it from the day that big W bought it.

Am looking forward to seeing Ipex's new style of Oxy-pex. They are going to have the O2 barrier as the middle layer of a 5 layer pipe. Gonna be pretty hard to scrape that barrier off!!!!

Leo G

cruizer

psssttt...


> Am looking forward

> to seeing Ipex's new style of Oxy-pex. They are

> going to have the O2 barrier as the middle layer

> of a 5 layer pipe. Gonna be pretty hard to scrape

> that barrier off!!!!

>

> Leo G




Weil-McLain has been selling a pex pipe with the EVOH barrier in the center of a 5 layer pipe for 2-3 years now.
They never saw the reasoning behind putting it on the outside. I mean really, why would you expose such an important piece of the product to literally everything?

Unknown

How thick

is the typical oxygen barrier on pex tubing ? And how easy is it to scrape off ? Would pulling the pipe across the edge of a 2 by 4 do it ?

hr

Good question, Ron

think about pulling a bunch of pex across a concrete footing or wall IT HAPPENS! Or across a gravel bed.

The bigger question is how much could be scraped off before the O2 ingress issues start to be compromised.

The O2 layer really needs to be protected! PAP handles this nicely, as do the QualPex types with the barrier within.

Leave some barrier pex, with the EVOH barrier on the outside, in the sun for a couple months. You'll see how the barrier is effected

hot rod

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Tim Doran

EVOH-FYI

HePex plus has an external coating of pe to protect the EVOH during installation. Pulling through framing materials or across a concrete floor should not be an issue.

Tim D.

Tom_41

Pex

I've been using REHAU products for the past 5 years. Have also heard, but not seen that Wirsbo is going to a fitting connection system similar to REHAU. Have a client who is a pediatric urology surgeon - when I showed him the rehau fitting system he was impressed. Uses the same type of connection in surgery. Have not seen rehau mentioned here. Problems? Not available? Thanks for any input.

S Ebels

Ever notice

When you pull/push a piece of pex through a PVC sweep, there are marks or tracks left on it? Check them out carefully and you'll see that it's the PVC being transfered to the pex. If you scrap the "tracks" off and look at it with a magnifying glass you'll find the pex has little, if any, damage to the coating. I think it's pretty tough stuff.

Ted_8

Pretty clear

The RTI web page says it all. UPONOR has decided to focus on it's flagship brand "Wirsbo". So it sounds to me like it is a bit bigger than Wirsbo just knocking off the little brothers. I would hope that they are trying to establish their brand as "The" brand. All manufacturers should, it's called capitalism. I am sure that they want to grow their business and make more money, so do I and I would assume most of you do as well.

I don't use Wirsbo because of local relationships but certainly would if things were different so here I am sticking up for them. Even my Rehau and Watts reps have respect for them. They give them credit for opening up this industry with all the training, support, code work, innovative systems and products. Not to mention that they employ a large number of U.S. citizens and put a lot of money into the U.S. economy. How many U.S. citizens are employed by the Irish company or many of the others?

I really enjoy "The Wall" because of all of the knowledge being shared but I also dislike it when it becomes a political battle ground or a base from which to stroke our own ego's. It somehow empowers poeple to think that it is ok to tell others how to run their lives and businesses. Is it acceptable to publically denounce, slam, or ridicule people and companies when it is entirely possible that you only know a small fraction of the true details. I believe that it is not. What purpose does it serve in the long run? JMHO!

Ted

Troy_3

Ted TED Ted

Relax! take a deep breathe. I wasn't ridiculing anyone. Im sure there is a very concise method to what I see as madness. To breakup an in place distribution and assume you can pick up that volume is a big job. I would never sell Wirsbo short. They are impressive and a real asset to our industry. Im sure there is a plan. I find the whole thing very intrigueing. That is what makes radiant so exciting. This industry is changing daily. Opportunity abounds. In ten years I can imagine an industry completely different with players we don't even know yet. Keep your eyes open.

Tom_44

Wirsbo \"APR\" fitting

Wirsbo has a fitting system similar to Rehau's. It is called the APR fitting.