Revoluationary Manufacturing Company Begins Production in Canton

Revolutionary Manufacturing Company Begins Production in Canton

With improvements in America’s aging infrastructure system in today ’s headlines, the fabrication start-up of a companymanufacturingarevolutionaryproductinCanton is welcome news.

Omega Liner, operating from the extensively remodeled former Amesbury-Fastek building on the east side of the Lincoln County seat, manufactures Cured In Place Pipe (CIPP). The product is used to line culverts, storm drains, sewer lines and other fluid-carrying infrastructure to extend the life of those lines.

The Omega CIPP is unique in the U.S. in that the liner is made from glass reinforced plastic and cured with ultraviolet light instead of the current standard felt liner cured with steam. The Omega product, made in a variety of sizes to fit specific jobs, is environmentally safer than the old liners and has a longer life span with higher pressure tolerances—up to 70 years at two million pounds per square inch—according to Omega managing director Ken Moulds.

“The new UV-cured glass reinforced plastic liner is half thethicknessandfourtofivetimesstronger, ”Mouldssaid. “There is only one other company in the U.S. doing what we are doing from start to finish, and only one other plant in the world like this one—and it is in China. ”

Theproprietarytechnologytocreatetheresin-impregnated sleeve that becomes a strong, durable pipe liner was developed in Germany, from which the raw material to make the Omega Liner product is currently shipped. But Moulds said American companies are currently testing material that will supply the new Canton plant within the next month or two

. The company plans to begin production with one shift of about a dozen people in the technologically advanced plant, with a goal of adding another shift in each of the nexttwoyears,reachinganemploymenttotalofabout40. CIPPmade in Canton will be shipped to construction sites throughout the country, with one-day service to an approximately 500-mile radius.

MouldssaidthatCantonwaschosenasthelocationforthe Omegaplantbecauseoftheavailabilityofthebuildingand the assistance of state and local economic development officials in getting the company up and running fast.

“South Dakota is a great state to do business in, ” he said, “and throughout the permitting process everyone quickly resolved all the issues and streamlined the process. It was phenomenal. ”

Moulds added that the central location and distribution advantagesofOmega’sCantonproductionplantalsomade the decision easy. Now that the remodeling is completed and the manufacturing equipment is in place, Omega is ready to swing into production.

“It’s exciting for all of us to bring this technology to the U.S., ” he said. “We’re ready to get Omega Liners to job sites across the country. ”

German-designed high tech production equipment at Omega Liner. Omega managing director Ken Moulds explains the unique process which creates the Omega glass reinforced plastic pipe liner.

Reprinted with permission from County Perspectives, the publication of the Lincoln and Minnehaha County Economic Development Associations.