Owners and shipyards come to the realization that alternative composition piping and pumps represent the way forward. You cannot put a vessel to work without pumps, valves and piping. Too often, product selection is left to the discretion of those who view these items as inconsequential decisions, driven primarily by not much more than initial cost. That mindset, in an atmosphere of cost-cutting, the quest for fuel economy and reduction in total lifecycle costs, is changing – albeit ever so slowly. Led in part by success in the military and naval sector, workboat operators are now taking a hard look at both plastic and glass reinforced epoxy (GRE) piping, as well as pumps and valves built with alternative composite materials.