Lane opens $30M plastic pipe plant | Plastics News

Camp Hill, Pa.-based Lane Enterprises LLC has invested about $30 million into a new facility in Longview, Wash., where 30 new jobs will be created producing corrugated high density polyethylene and polypropylene pipes for stormwater management.

The 38-acre site also houses the company's regional sales department and engineering support staff as well as a stocking distribution yard for its steel pipe, stormwater chambers and allied products.

Founded in 1934, Lane now has 17 manufacturing facilities in 10 states with more than 500 employees producing corrugated plastic and steel pipe for stormwater applications along with a line of injection molded chambers, fittings and accessories for commercial, residential and public works projects.

The employee-stock ownership plan (ESOP) company also broke ground on an 18th manufacturing site for HDPE and PP pipe in Alachua, Fla. The $35 million, 100,000-square-foot plant is expected to open next year and create 60 new jobs

Lane has been growing rapidly since 2021, when it acquired Newport Beach, Calif.-based Pacific Corrugated Pipe Co. (PCPC), which brought five manufacturing sites in Fontana and Sacramento, Calif.; Eugene and Hubbard, Ore.; and Casa Grande, Ariz.

The Longview site is the fifth Lane facility producing corrugated plastic pipe, Lane President and CEO Patrick X. Collings said in a phone interview. It joins Fontana; Shippensburg, Pa.; Wytheville, Va.; and Temple, Texas.

Seven other Lane plants produce metal pipes and the Fontana location produces both metal and plastic pipe. All facilities act as distribution sites for both materials and eight plants do fabrication work for both plastics and metal products.

The Longview plant opened with 22 new hires extruding pipe in diameters from 4 to 60 inches from virgin and recycled HDPE pellets and virgin PP. A third line is planned, Collings said.

"We built this plant to provide for the needs of stormwater projects in the Northwest," Collings said. "A key market, for example, is building roads for timber harvesting, which dominates the Pacific Northwest. We also see great opportunities by expanding our reach further into North America by servicing Canada. This has been a central element of our plan since we acquired Pacific Corrugated in 2021."

The combination of Lane Enterprises and PCPC created the nation's second-largest producer of corrugated steel and corrugated thermoplastic pipe. The company also says it is the second largest producer of structural steel and aluminum plate for bridge and culvert applications.

Overall, Collings said sales are about split between plastics and steel pipe products. In the plastics line, PP pipes are picking up some market share.

"Polypropylene pipes have been gaining greater acceptance with the specifying agencies for primarily infrastructure projects and highways," he said.

The Longview location brings benefits like easy access to highways, interstates, rail lines and shipping from the Port of Longview, Collings also said.

"This provides us with several advantages including delivery of raw materials such as resin and steel, plus the means to expedite shipments to our customers in this region all the way into Montana, the Dakotas, Canada plus Alaska," Collings said.

Lane has a legacy of selling in the Pacific Northwest and wanted to expand its presence at a time of growing demand.

"There's a lot of growth and activity that goes on primarily in Portland up through Seattle to the Vancouver, British Columbia, area and we want to service those customers," Collings said.

"Lane differentiates itself as a partner with contractors and engineers in the stormwater management and stormwater conveyance markets. We offer a wide variety of cost-effective products that will provide them with sustainable and resilient solutions for their projects. Climate changes are affecting weather patterns and really the management of storm water. The more effective solutions and alternatives to address it, the better control we will have over the effects of it."

The range of Lane's product line allows specifying engineers and contractors to turn to the company as a single-stop shop, according to Tony Radoszewski, senior vice president of marketing and communications.

"Not only are we in the underground marketplace for stormwater management but we're also in the above-ground marketplace in terms of soil-steel bridges for better environmental opportunities and hydraulic applications," Radoszewski said.

He pointed to Lane's newest product called DeepCorr, which is a steel structural plate that enables longer bridge spans — typically 40 to 80 feet longer — to better compete with conventional steel and concrete beam style bridges.

DeepCorr is available with a hot-dipped galvanized coating (ASTM A761) or a newly developed polymer coating (ASTM A1113) with color options. The polymer finish layer, which is made of ethylene acrylic acid, provides resistance to corrosion, abrasion and salts.

Lane is the only U.S. manufacturer that makes and polymer coats steel structural plate, Collings said.

"That process is another one of our specialties. Our Carlisle, Pennsylvania plant is devoted to coatings and has been for over 40 years," he said. "The ability to provide the polymer finish in-house allows us to merge a unique portion of our operations with our core business while eliminating the middleman and realizing the efficiency we have as a plate manufacturer."

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