LOS ANGELES (Feb. 22, 2:30 p.m. ET) – Pipe extruder JM Eagle continues to have an eye on expansion in China.

The company on Feb. 22 appointed Josh Randell to the new position of vice president of international development. His duties will include being in charge of procurement of necessary equipment for two plants that the company has under construction in China.

Randell comes to JM Eagle from owning Maskell Pipe & Supply Inc., a Fontana, Calif., distributor specializing in high density polyethylene piping systems and fusion equipment leasing and training.

“With the majority of his focus on the China expansion, he also will help identify new opportunities internationally,” the Los Angeles-based company said in a news release.

He also will assist in an effort to convert two existing PVC pipe plants to manufacturing HDPE pipe. Those plants are in North America.

The two new plants in China will make both PVC and HDPE pipe, the company said Feb. 22. The company had first revealed plans to build the plants in 2011, when President and CEO Walter Wang visited Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, to meet local officials and see a test road project that the company had supplied with pipe. Wang also visited Deqing in Zhejiang province and Luan County in Hebei province, according to reports..

At the time, the company said it planned to invest $400 million on three new plants in China to make PVC pipe, HDPE pipe and energy-efficient steel-reinforced plastic doors.

“I look to Josh to create solid and binding partnerships internationally as he brings great contributions and opportunities to our company,” Wang said in the Feb. 22 news release.

JM Eagle makes PVC and HDPE pipe at 22 plants in North America. According to Plastics News’ most recent survey, the firm has estimated pipe sales of $1.8 billion, making it the largest pipe extruder in the world.