Watercare’s proactive upgrades program is full steam ahead as final preparations are made to commence work on the new Warkworth-Snells wastewater pipe north of Auckland. Read more
An extra 1.5 km has been added to the Central Interceptor project as Watercare’s massive tunnel boring machine reaches Manukau Harbour. Read more
Yarra Valley Water is searching for an expert in trenchless construction to consult on the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) activities included in its Community Sewerage Program.
A rare opportunity exists for a suitably qualified and experienced individual to deliver trenchless construction advice through field-based assessment of horizontal directional drilling works being undertaken to deliver Yarra Valley Water’s Community Sewerage Program.
This unique contract offers the right person a minimum of 10 hours of work per week, on an as-need, hourly-rate basis, and is being offered for an initial period of two years.
The Trenchless Construction Advisor role will provide support services in the form of advice to the Superintendent’s Representative throughout the review and construction phases of current and future Community Sewerage Program projects.
This advice will be requested on an as-needs basis, to verify latent ground conditions that are considered different and more challenging than indicated by the tendered geotechnical information.
The Advisor’s responsibilities include:
Yarra Valley Water’s Community Sewerage Program is delivered via a panel of delivery partners with well-established relationships. Numerous construction projects are currently underway with future projects being rolled out over the next 10 years.
For more information about the Community Sewerage Program and the location of the projects, visit yvw.com.au/CSP.
For full details of the opportunity, and to tender an application, visit eProcure.com.au/yvw.
When horizontal directional drilling (HDD) emerged in the mid-1960s as a new way to install utility lines under immovable or unavoidable obstacles without significant surface disruptions, crossings spanned up to a few hundred feet guided by frequent potholing. That changed in 1971 when a 4-inch gas line was placed under a river in Watsonville, CA, USA, a location where potholing would not be possible.
At about that same time, Michels was growing its utility line construction business in the Midwestern United States. Driven to meet customer needs and offer specialised services, the company expanded its geographic footprint and markets served.
Today, Michels is an international, diversified energy and infrastructure contractor and leading provider of construction services to the energy, transportation, communications, power and utility industries.
In 2021, Michels added Michels Asia Pacific, a permanent trenchless operation in Wangaratta, Victoria, to the Michels Family of companies. Michels Asia Pacific selectively specialises in technically challenging trenchless installations in Australia to allow customers to provide reliable, unobtrusive service in metropolitan and remote areas.
The team consists of Wangaratta-based project management and field staff supported from industry experts at Michels’ headquarters in Brownsville, WI, USA.
Flash back nearly 35 years to 1988 when Michels was one of the first contractors to recognize the potential of the new technology of HDD, a safe, environmentally sound way to install utility lines where traditional open-trench construction would not be practical or feasible.
Intrigued by HDD’s prospect of allowing energy and infrastructure construction in previously unsuitable areas and soil conditions, Michels dedicated personnel and resources to learning about the technique and introducing it to customers.
In keeping with Michels’ spirit of innovation and determination to provide customers with the best solutions, Michels set out to master the art and science of HDD. As the operations team completed HDD projects for energy customers, Michels in-house design and fabrication team got to work developing its own equipment to provide more opportunities than commercially available products at the time.
In 1996, Michels designed and built what was then the largest machine of its kind: the Hercules 1200, a HDD rig with 1.2 million pounds of thrust/pulling power. Not content to stop with one success, Michels continued to improve and expand its HDD equipment, eventually owning the world’s largest fleet of high-capacity HDD rigs with more than 1.2 million pounds of thrust/pulling power.
At the same time, the Michels team developed best practices for mitigating the risk of inadvertent fluid returns, managing bentonite and drilling fluid pressures for proper hole conditions, lubrication and cutting removal.
Michels also developed proprietary cutting tools and casing systems to maximize the potential for successful crossings and established processes for land-to-land, water-to-water, land-to-water projects.
As HDD’s reputation as a safe, accurate option for trenchless crossings grew, so did requests for longer and larger diameter crossings under transportation corridors, waterways, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive or challenging areas.
As lengths extended into the thousands of feet, Michels Trenchless team pioneered the pilot hole intersect method in a 2003 crossing in Boston. A powerful drill rig set out from each side of the alignment with a mission to follow an engineered path and meet at a predetermined spot, essentially doubling an HDD’s potential based solely on the drill rig’s push/pull capacity.
The Georges Island HDD crossing was a 1577 m hard-rock, water-to-water crossing to install 30-inch diameter pipe.
That technique was a watershed moment in the HDD industry. In passing years, demands for increasingly longer crossings with more complex alignments surfaced around the world from diverse industries, including energy, electrical transmission, water and wastewater and renewables.
In 2021, Michels completed a 4702 m installation of an NPS-24 steel utility line, the likes of which had not previously been attempted at the 24-inch diameter in the world.
Looking to the future, Michels is committed to building infrastructure to support projects in traditional and emerging industries and to continue providing safe, proven and innovative solutions to customers in Australia and wherever needed.
“In Australia, North America and throughout the world, there is an ever-increasing need for obstacles to be trenchlessly crossed, particularly in a time when there is a very real need for expanded infrastructure for traditional and transitioning markets,” said Matt Smith, President, Michels Trenchless, Inc. “We are honoured to have the skills, expertise, equipment and opportunity to deliver solutions that will build the future.”
For more information visit Michels’ website.
This article appeared in the August edition of Trenchless Australasia
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The Woodman Point Waste Water Treatment Plant in Munster, Perth, has experienced deterioration of the concrete structure around its channels due to gas attack.
Fixing the damage was broken into two stages. McRoberts Contracting Services (MCS) were brought in on the first stage of the project, which required the lining of a channel totalling 12 lineal metres.
The success of the first stage saw Woodman Point engaging MCS to continue the work on the second stage. This required work on a further 16 lineal metres of channel with similar damage and included both an ‘S’ bend and four launder channel entries on the PST channel.
MCS were called in to use its patented HDPE lining to restore the damaged infrastructure, which included the floors, walls, and roof of the channel, up to the horizontal deck.
Before the lining could be attended, MCS undertook a thorough cleaning process using high-pressured water jet cleaning of all concrete surfaces, as well as scabbling works to improve adhesion.
MCS used layers of 12 mm high-density polyethylene (HDPE), striped to 25 mm wide and fixed to the perimeter of the channel lining. The process allowed them to extend the lining, including pouring high strength grout behind the lining and existing concrete surfaces.
A minimum of 12 mm of grout was injected into each section using and injection tubes and funnel system. This worked to both secure the lining in place, and to rebuild the existing deteriorated concrete. While rebuilding the internal concrete maintained structural integrity, the HDPE lining also provides corrosion protection.
MSC used an internal bracing and scaffolding systems to stabilise the HDPE lining while the high-density grout was injected and dried.
The entire process was undertaken in stages, lining 2.6 m sections at a time.
The Woodman Point Water Resource Recovery Facility was upgraded in 2020. The upgrade increased the facility’s capacity to 180 megalitres per day and included improvements to its odour control system.
MCS channel lining comes before further upgrades to the Woodman Point’s sludge processing system, which is expected to commence later this year.
By upgrading the system, Woodman Point aims to recover 100 per cent of the biosolids, or ‘sludge’, in the Perth metro region.
MCS have developed a name as leaders in the fields of pipeline maintenance and plastic welding, among others. Its HDPE patented innovations were designed with the safety of staff and clients a priority, and with interest in remaining environmentally friendly and beneficial in terms of cost.
In order to tackle the task, MCS were able to utilise a number of its innovative patents to ensure the safety of its workers and success on the project.
The work is covered by MCS’s 50 years guarantee, which will allow Woodman Point to move into the upgrades to its sludge processing system without worry.
For more information visit McRobert’s website.
This article appeared in the August edition of Trenchless Australasia
Dedicated to delivering expert advice to its customers, Ditch Witch CEA has helped businesses like Walker and Gray Earthworks establish themselves as reputable contractors throughout the trenchless industry.
Walker and Gray Earthworks has come to be recognised as one of the leading and most well-respected directional drilling companies in the whole of South Australia and Western Victoria since it was first established in 1998 by Greg Walker and Dave Gray.
With well over a decade’s worth of experience in civil construction, Walker and Gray has the expertise, experience and professionalism to complete an ever-widening range of projects to the loftiest of industry standards. Thanks to its partnership with Ditch Witch CEA, Walker and Gray Earthworks is more well equipped than ever to tackle any project that comes their way.
With 14-years’ worth of experience working for Gambier Earth Movers under his belt, Greg Walker was the one to reach out to his brother-in-law, Dave Gray to ask the question that would alter the trajectory of their careers for the better: Do you want to get into the earth-moving business?
The answer, of course, was yes.
Sitting down to speak with Trenchless Australasia, Gray spoke about his experience of building the company from the ground up. A glazier by trade initially, Gray explains that stepping outside of his comfort zone and his area of expertise to begin his career in the trenchless industry was a daunting in the beginning.
“When we first got into the telecommunications side of the industry, we started directional drilling,” says Gray. “At the time neither Greg nor myself knew anything about it.”
With time, a bit training and a whole lot of determination the two men taught themselves the tools of the directional drilling trade. Since that humble beginning, Ditch Witch CEA has helped Walker and Gray develop company-wide expertise in an expansive selection of horizontal directional drills (HDD), excavators, trenchers a myriad of high-quality earthmoving equipment.
Ditch Witch CEA provides the most complete line up of directional drills, drill pipe, HDD tooling, vacuum excavators, trenchers, chain, teeth, sprockets, mini-skid steers, and vibratory plows, available on the market today.
But Ditch Witch CEA is about more than just selling clients equipment; the company prides itself on finding the right product for every customer and getting to know every business so that they receive the most accurate sales advice possible.
“We’ve had a good relationship with Ditch Witch over the years; we’ve been with them since we started. Being able to work alongside likeminded people who are not only excellent at what they do but have the best interest of you and your company at heart is always a pleasure,” says Gray.
Ditch Witch CEA is dedicated to delivering the highest level of product support to its customers. Employing factory trained sales and service specialists who are dedicated to supporting clients and all machinery requirements, Ditch Witch CEA is equipped with the expertise and knowledge to help businesses like Walker and Gray Earthworks develop a strong reputation in the industry.
“From the beginning, we were always taking small steps toward our goals of being bigger and better but thanks to the telecommunications industry and to partners like Ditch Witch, we always had plenty of work to do and the best equipment to do it,” says Gray.
One of the first jobs Walker and Gray Earthworks completed was demolishing an old and unsafe office building, on behalf of Telstra. Since then, the company has had a steadfast relationship with the telecommunications juggernaut that has continued to progress largely thanks to the high level of workmanship and professionalism Walker and Gray commits to every project.
One of the most noticeable and major places of growth within the company, explains Gray, is in the growth of employees. As Walker and Gray became more well-known and began to draw the interest of the likes of the National Broadband Network (NBN) for contracts, the scope and size of the business began to shift as well.
Subsequently, the company has completed civil construction projects on behalf of major Australian stakeholders including ESTA Utilities, Telstra, SA Water, Origin Energy, VisionStream and ServiceStream among several others.
“There have been a couple projects that we have all felt particularly proud of. One big job, the team was over in Orange, NSW, alongside Robin Johnson Engineering,” says Gray.
“From memory, we were pulling back three 225 conduits and two 100’s, all through the township of Orange. Because we aren’t local, we didn’t know the ground conditions of Orange before starting the job. The existing services of telecommunications and gases and the like all work in different assets of each other in NSW, which was different to what we were used to.
“That was a yearlong project, and it went off without a hitch; it went smoothly. We didn’t have any hiccups, nothing went wrong at all…So that was definitely an outstanding point of our career for the whole team.”
As of mid-July 2022, Walker and Gray Earthworks are currently completing works as part of a major infrastructure upgrade project in Mount Gambier, SA. The project centres on the construction of the Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre which has endured delays due to sourcing issues thanks, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The almost $60 million project is set to improve quality of life for residents across the Mount Gambier area, with Walker and Gray Earthworks playing a large role in the continued progress of the project.
“It’s been a fairly big infrastructure project for us; we’re still completing works on it now,” says Gray. “That’s involved installing multiple conduits around the streets and around the hub to accommodate for the construction of the hub itself. That’s definitely still ongoing at the moment, but the goal is definitely to have the works completed and the hub ready to open by the end of the year.”
A crucial aspect of what drives the Walker and Gray Earthworks team is not only their uncompromising work ethic but also their honesty and accountability.
“If you say you’re going to be somewhere at a certain time, if you’re going to reach a certain deadline or achieve a certain goal; you’re going to do it.”
“I think leading by example is a great way to keep that outlook present on a day-to-day basis. We’ve got a lot of ongoing, long-term employees that really follow our lead in maintaining those values,” says Gray. “And we’re working bosses too, so we’re on site as much as anyone else on the team to lead by example and put the best foot forward, so to speak.”
Looking to the future, there is a lot more to come for Walker and Gray as it set its gazes firmly on breaking into the quarrying business to coincide with the civil work they already perform.
“That’ll be our next big step. Limestone and rock supplies will be the next phase for the business that will look even further into the civil side of things, whereas in the past we’ve spent a lot of time working on the telecommunications aspect of the trenchless industry,” Gray says.
“This will give us the chance to branch out a little bit, try our hand at something that’s a little bit different. It’ll be exciting to see how we go.”
Supporting them during this exciting time, Ditch Witch CEA is committed to continuing to provide the company with expert advice on what equipment best suits the company’s needs and ensuring each piece of machinery is of the highest quality.
For more information visit Ditch Witch CEA.
This article appeared in the August edition of Trenchless Australasia
A greenlight on the Forrestfield-Airport Link
The $1.86 billion METRONET Forrestfield-Airport Link, jointly funded by the federal and WA state governments, is set to deliver a new rail service to the eastern suburbs of Perth – with three new stations at Redcliffe, Airport Central and High Wycombe.
The TBM has been powering away beneath NZ’s surface, excavating the second 3.45 km underground rail tunnel and removing dirt and rocks to the surface. However, the TBM is doing more than excavation.
The machine has also been busy installing precast concrete panels to line the tunnel walls.
Once it reaches its destination, which is anticipated to happen by mid-July 2022, the TBM will have travelled 840 m from the Link Alliance Maungawhau (Mt Eden) Station construction site, placed 519 segment rings and removed 74,000 tonnes of soil.
The CRL is New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project in the nation’s history and is continuing to expand.
The CRL is a 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail link up to 42 m below the Auckland city centre. The goal of the project is to transform the downtown Waitematā Station (Britomart) into a two-way through-station that better connects the city’s rail network.
The tunnels will connect Britomart with a re-developed Mt Eden station on the western line. Additionally, two new underground stations, Karanga a Hape and Aotea, will open up central city access.
The project allows the rail network to have at least double rail capacity.
An ambitious $4.4 billion project, the CRL will double the number of people within 30 minutes of central Auckland which is the country’s largest employment hub. When fully operational 54,000 passengers an hour will CRL stations at peak hours. This is the rail equivalent of an additional 16 lanes of road or three Auckland Harbour Bridges.
More than 2,000 jobs have been created for the project, the complexity and innovation of which will upskill the workforce and benefit future generations.
To see any progress on the City Rail Link project, visit the project’s social media.
For more information on the City Rail Link, visit their website.
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The announcement is the second major contract to be awarded to the leading Australian water industry supplier, Iplex Australia, as part of the project, which will provide water security to the growing city of Townsville.
The Hunter Water Sewer Relining project located in Newcastle, NSW, has made promising headway as of mid-May 2022. Wilmot Pipelining has completed several sewer relining projects for the water industry company.
The use of the 3D model will enable the work being diligently executed by the CRL team to be seen with more ease.
The model itself is a cross-section and shows a view of the station as if it were cut in half, looking outward toward Victoria from Mayoral Drive.
It is hard to show a real-life cross-section, although the three photos City Rail Link posted on social media manage to provide at least give some perspective to the works being undertaken. The photos convey the basement levels, the superstructure, and the station between Wellesley and Victoria Streets, where excavation is underway.
The CRL is New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project in the nation’s history and is continuing to expand.
The CRL is a 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail link up to 42 m below the Auckland city centre. The goal of the project is to transform the downtown Waitematā Station (Britomart) into a two-way through-station that better connects the city’s rail network.
The tunnels will connect Britomart with a re-developed Mt Eden station on the western line. Additionally, two new underground stations, Karanga a Hape and Aotea, will open up central city access.
The project allows the rail network to have at least double rail capacity.
An ambitious $4.4 billion project, the CRL will double the number of people within 30 minutes of central Auckland which is the country’s largest employment hub. When fully operational 54,000 passengers an hour will CRL stations at peak hours. This is the rail equivalent of an additional 16 lanes of road or three Auckland Harbour Bridges.
More than 2,000 jobs have been created for the project, the complexity and innovation of which will upskill the workforce and benefit future generations.
To see the images of the CRL model, click here.
Subscribe to Trenchless Australasia for the latest project and industry news.
With the connection of Watercare’s Hūnua 4 pipe to the Khyber Pass reservoir marking the colossal pipeline’s completion, it will now undergo a series of tests before the final stage is put into service.
The CRL is a 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail link up to 42 m below the Auckland city centre. The goal of the project is to transform the downtown Waitematā Station (Britomart) into a two-way through-station that better connects the city’s rail network.
NDDU is the southern hemisphere’s only large-scale conference and exhibition dedicated to trenchless technology. Trenchless technology is important for installing new services, as well as rehabilitating and maintaining existing pipelines and infrastructure, without having to dig multiple trenches, disturbing traffic, business and residential locations.
With major utilities located underground and requiring ongoing upkeep and extension, No-Dig Down Under is a crucial event for local government representatives and those involved in planning decisions for major infrastructure projects.
The No-Dig Down Under 2022 conference will feature three dedicated session streams: installation, rehabilitation and condition assessment and utility location.
The No-Dig Down Under conference promises to bring attendees the very latest information about products designed to make trenchless installation and rehabilitation easier and more efficient.
Attendees will be able to hear from Katharina Helming from SAERTEX multiCom. Helming will be discussing the revolutionary SAERTEX-LINER® H2O (winner of the 2019 ISTT No-Dig Innovation Award). Sean Wharton from HammerHead Trenchless will also be discussing the newly developed Steel Extractor system and trenchless extraction process.
The No-Dig Down Under conference will also feature a number of project case studies that will discuss successes and areas for improvement, to help keep industry members up to date on best practice.
Hear from John Stuart-Robertson from HDI Lucas, Will Zillman from Interflow, Matthew Lyon from SFPJV (a joint venture of Abergeldie, Downer and Stantec) and Matt Beswick from McConnell Dowell, as they examine the successes of rehabilitation and improvement projects.
Research and development undertaken over the past few years proposes new classifications and solutions designed to improve and support targeted decision making for those involved in the trenchless industry.
Attendees will hear from Professor Marjorie Valix from the University of Sydney, discussing new proposed levels of corrosion classification for wastewater environments, Steven Nash from the Golburn Valley Water Authority, looking at the draft Asbestos Cement Water and Sewer Pipe Management Guidelines developed by the Water Pipes Working Group.
Cherdphong Seedao from the University of Sydney will also be discussing the development of one-part geopolymer mortars and their usefulness as a protective sewer coating.
NDDU is set to be held at the International Convention Centre Sydney from 14-17 June.
To get your free ticket to the NDDU exhibition, register for the conference, or find out more information about the event, click here.
Located in Mount Gambier, the Blue Lake is a volcanic crater made of porous limestone. It contains a considerable amount of groundwater – around 36 gigalitres – which seeps through the limestone from local aquifer systems.
Amanda Lewry, the general manager of sustainable infrastructure at SA Water, said that the bores will help determine how the lake interacts with the surrounding groundwater network.
“Water is fundamental to the economic and social prosperity of our regions, and we’re taking action to adapt to climate change by exploring how we can potentially augment Mount Gambier’s sources to secure ongoing reliability and support further growth in the regional centre,” she said.
“The Blue Lake is Mount Gambier’s main source of drinking water, and we’re currently using around 3.5 gigalitres each year to supply local homes and businesses.
“While its supply remains steady, we’re proactively looking at diversifying our sources for future generations.”
An eight-metre-high drilling rig has already been deployed to the lake, while will establish three observation bores . These bores will be 15 centimetres in diameter and 150 metres deep, and they will enable SA Water to collect data about the geology, chemistry and groundwater flow of the Blue Lake. This information will then be used to inform modelling of the aquifer system.
The drilling rig will also extract soil samples for evaluation, and install bore casing pipes to allow for long-term access to the groundwater samples.
“Once we’ve analysed the data, we’ll be able to build a comprehensive model of the groundwater network and explore potential options to supplement Mount Gambier’s water sources,” Lewry said.
As the lake is a popular tourist destination, Lewry has confirmed that the drilling will not take place during holiday periods, to minimise the impact on the local community.
For more information visit the SA Water website.
The company was selected for the project due to its commitment to collaborate with all stakeholders and experience with carrying out projects which require a high level of commitment to safety.
“This project is 10mts in depth and in extremely challenging ground conditions, along with a very restricted working footprint,” Adept Civil outlined in a LinkedIn post.
“Our micro-tunnelling machine is required to install 250 m of 300 mm sewer which includes construction of four maintenance chambers 10mts in depth.”
Adept Civil has also been engaged to upgrade the water supply to service the entire site, requiring us to install 1.6 km of dual DN180 watermain by method of trenchless methodology.
Click on this link to see the company’s ability to perform some of the most difficult of projects.
Adept Civil Group is fully accredited, specialising in the supply and installation of water and sewerage drainage pipelines, pump stations and associated services for the Melbourne Metropolitan water boards and tier one contractors of Victoria.
The project is being delivered in a partnership between the Victorian Government and Transurban, and will be built by construction contractors CPB Contractors and John Holland.
Contractor John Holland said TBM ‘Bella’ has begun its 18 month journey to carve out one of the twin tunnels that will create a vital alternative to the West Gate Bridge.
According to John Holland, ‘Bella’ is the biggest TBM currently in operation in the southern hemisphere.
With a cutting diameter of 15.6 m, it will take a crew of 20 to operate the machine.
Excavation on the 4 km tunnel will continue around the clock, with crew working in shifts, seven days a week.
‘Bella’ was named after the first woman to graduate from university in Australia, and is digging the outbound tunnel between the West Gate Freeway and the Maribyrnong River.
In a few short months, a second John Holland TBM, ‘Vida’, will start digging the 2.8 km inbound tunnel.
The West Gate Tunnel Project will deliver a much-needed second river crossing, reducing congestion and clearing thousands of trucks from residential streets.
It will provide better connection to the CityLink, Footscray Road, Dynon Road and Wurundjeri Way, easing the journey for the 200,000 cars that use the West Gate Freeway daily.
The West Gate Tunnel project is set to become one of Victoria’s largest ever urban road projects and has an estimated completion date of 2025.
For more information visit the Big Build Victoria website.
McRobert Contracting Services is an Australian-owned and operated industry leader in the refurbishment of underground assets and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipeline technology. Operating since 1988, this Perth-based company has more than 30 years and nine patents behind it.
Country Manager Kevin Woolf tells Trenchless Australasia that IMPREG recognised early on that trenchless pipe rehabilitation using cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) liners is the technology of the future.
Further developing this avenue, the company’s CIPP liner systems are developed using innovative high-tech processes, and set new standards.
“Our success proves us right. IMPREG CIPP liner systems for UV curing are used all over the world,” he says. “We are a reliable solution partner at all times, and commit ourselves to the highest future-proofed quality and to environmentally conscious conduct.”
Woolf says the IMPREG liner GL16 was developed in 2016 for all common pipes from DN 150 up to DN 2000.
As a result of good material characteristics and new fibreglass design, IMPREG was able to develop a more finely nuanced gradations of wall thickness.
Not only does this benefit the company’s customers financially, but the IMPREG liner GL16 makes it easier to deal with large dimensions.
“Through the IMPREG liner GL16, the company has consistently extended its position as a technology leader in the market segment from DN 1200 upwards,” Woolf says.
“The unique construction of the IMPREG liner allows a certain level of compensation for dimensional variations in the pipe. We can produce defined dimensional changes in our factory.
“In the Australian Pacific region our range js GL16 which is made up of 0.8 mm fibre glass layers and inner foil, outer fleece and a yellow UV protection sleeve from DN150 to DN2000 with wall thickness ranging from 3 mm to14.6 mm.”
Woolf highlights that the high-tech CIPP liners from IMPREG are simply inserted into the pipes via the manholes, and cured using UV light. The rehabilitated pipe can then be returned to operation immediately after curing, with the company able to rehabilitate up to three pipes in a single day.
With a warehouse located in Brisbane, standard liners in Australia and New Zealand are available to be shipped across the nation, with the liners ready to go for: DN150, DN225, DN300, DN375, DN450, DN525, and DN600.
Woolf says the main aim for IMPREG this year is to continue supporting its customer both onsite and technically.
“Our biggest goal for 2022 is to continue our after market care,” he says. “The customers’ success is our success, meaning our after care is just as important as our product quality.”
As part of the company’s after market care in Australia, Woolf is able to help with structural designs, review CCTV on job sites and provide onsite technical support.
“New customers will also have the opportunity to attend a training session and find out how we already implement the trenchless pipe rehabilitation of the future,” he says. “Our application engineers are onsite for your first project, and support you with advice and assistance during the installation of the IMPREG liner.”
With no need to bring a project to a stop, IMPREG is also able to rapidly and effectively rehabilitate pipes which carry aggressive or higher-temperature waste waters.
“IMPREG CIPP liners are future-oriented, high-tech products which provide all options for the rapid, effective, and economical rehabilitation of pipes of very differing diameters,”says Woolf. “With our liners, we at IMPREG set new standards that will lead us into the future.”
For more information visit the IMPREG website.
Metro Tunnel crews are preparing to lay track through the completed tunnels, moving the project one step closer to enabling more than half a million extra passengers every week on the rail network.
The first of almost 40km of rail has been delivered on freight trains to the Metro Tunnel’s western entrance in the past week as works gear up to install rail systems and tracks through the project’s twin 9km tunnels.
The tracks are made up of 165 m lengths of steel rail that will be progressively clipped to concrete panels and welded to form a continuous rail line along the lengths of the tunnels.
According to City of Melbourne, installing the track will take up to a year, beginning with crews laying 4000 high-performance precast concrete panels through the twin tunnels.
There are 300 different panel shapes to account for the varying curvature and elevation of the tunnels as they wind from Kensington to South Yarra up to 30 m underground.
All rail will be installed by mid-2023 when trains will begin their first test runs through the tunnel.
The Metro Tunnel is expected online by 2025.
For more information visit the Big Build Victoria website.
Pezzimenti Trenchless, now a third-generation family business, was incorporated in 2011 by Joe, Anthony and Stephen Pezzimenti as part of a family succession plan.
Managing director Joe Pezzimenti says he joined the family-run Pezzimenti Laserbore in 1989, followed by Anthony in 1995 and Stephen in 1997.
“My cousin and uncle run the Sydney business, while we operate the Victorian business and work with Victoria’s leading sewer and water contractors,” says Joe Pezzimenti.
The company uses its own Pezzimenti-developed laser-guided micro tunnelling systems and specialises in free boring, sleeve boring and pipe jacking methods.
“We use laser-guided micro tunnelling that involves vacuum extraction for the most effective and efficient method of installing new services for the sewer, water, drainage, gas and telecommunications, along with vacuum-loading and non-destructive digging services, using our state-of-the-art vacuum units,” says Pezzimenti.
The managing director says the company offers unparalleled expertise and technology to provide clients with the best solution for their projects, whatever size.
“From gas and water lines to new constructions and the latest telecommunications installations, our seven crews located throughout Victoria and South Australia work to service our clients’ needs, equipped with the latest technology and decades of experience and expertise,” he says.
The company was recently sub-contracted to complete the Ravenhall Outfall Sewer works, a project issued by Califam Constructions and Greater Western Water to construct 894 metres of DN900 mm branch sewer and 181 metres of DN225 mm reticulation sewer as part of the development works on Palm Springs Rd, Ravenhall in the City of Melton.
With nearby road crossings, some parts of the project had to use a micro-tunnelling method to bore under the road crossing.
“We were engaged by Califam Constructions to undertake two sections of micro tunnelling where open cut, a method of pipeline installation that requires opening up the surface of the ground, wasn’t an option, being under two major roads,” Pezzimenti says.
Pezzimenti Trenchless utilised the free boring method to drill directly into an existing manhole without requiring a retrieval shaft, which was a major advantage of its free bore method.
Joe Pezzimenti says free boring offers an ideal way to install services utilising conventional pipes.
In cohesive, stable clays, mudstone and rock, free boring is the most economical method of service installation as conventional pipes can be inserted into the bore.
From the company’s perspective, it says these types of installation are generally the simplest, as the bore self supports.
Pezzimenti says he’s eager to put COVID-19 behind him and looks forward to the year ahead.
“We’re looking at adding another crew to the ranks this year and hopefully expanding our projects and getting a better foothold in the South Australian market,” he says.
Pezzimenti says the company has grown its capabilities to tackle more challenging jobs, and that its major focus has been on developing its equipment to tackle basalt ground conditions.
“We’re always investing in better technology but our biggest focus at the moment is on basalt ground conditions and improving our cutters to handle that,” says Pezzimenti.
“When you work with Pezzimenti Trenchless, you are accessing the very latest in technological developments.”
For more information visit the Pezzimenti Trenchless website.
This article appeared in the February 2022 issue of Trenchless Australasia. Click here to view the digital edition of the magazine.
In 2019, Rangedale Group launched Rangedale Drainage and Industrial Services (RDI) – a locally owned arm of the business focusing on servicing regional Victorian and New South Wales markets. This division of the group has extensive experience in heavy industrial cleaning, high pressure water jetting applications, pipeline CCTV, jet cleaning, relining, Smart Lock installation and more.
Justin Triffitt is one of three directors in the RDI business. “The RDI business is a trading entity that sits under the Rangedale Group, established in 2019,” says Triffitt. “We have a branch based in Wangaratta, a site in Western Sydney, and we’re in the process of setting up another site in Wodonga which will be operational from the end of February.”
RDI Services covers markets including oil and gas, petrochemicals, mining, manufacturing, water and municipal councils. Triffitt, along with Vince D’Alessio and Chris O’Conner, joined the Group in 2019 after carrying out high performing roles in the corporate sector.
“Joining Neil Kermeen and the team at Rangedale has been a refreshing change, allowing us to set up a delivery model that suits industrial services contracting, providing a great delivery model for our client base,” says Triffitt.
Rangedale had historically been a Melbourne-based business, and the company’s long-term strategy has been to push the business into regional Victoria and regional New South Wales. Collectively, the RDI directors have more than 40 years of industry experience.
“The Rangedale business in Melbourne has been in the drainage market for a long time,” says Triffitt. “We have solid experience in the drainage and civil market. From a service perspective, our background also gave the group an opportunity to extend the service offer into industrial services: heavy industrial cleaning and high-pressure water jetting in the oil and gas market, petrochemical market, and the mining industry as well.
“While RDI has a solid service offering in non-destructive digging and pipeline maintenance, our point of difference is our ability to deliver tank cleaning and plant cleaning applications – for example, heat exchangers, boilers, vessels and various applications requiring the use of cold cutting and industrial vacuum loading technology.”
Back in 2019, Triffitt and the team started the arm of the business with one drain cleaning combination unit at each site. “We had a very focused team that put a lot of work into both business development and quality delivery. We now have over 20 units working between Wangaratta and Sydney sites,” he says.
“It has certainly been a very chaotic and challenging two years, but we are really looking forward to the future. We are committed to strategic growth and to providing sustainable employment opportunities.”
With scale of fleet, personnel, industry knowledge and expertise, RDI Services is a logical choice for Industrial Services anywhere on the east coast. RDI has depots based in Wangaratta, Wodonga and St Marys (Vic & NSW).
RDI has the expertise to tailor specific solutions for a variety of problems, as well as a large equipment fleet to allocate high priority to emergency works and the ability to work 24/7.
For more information visit the Rangedale website.
This article appeared in the February 2022 issue of Trenchless Australasia. Click here to view the digital edition of the magazine.
Established in 1967, SECA is a top distributor throughout the Australasian region of international CCTV brand iPEK and promises to deliver a solution that gets workers back on the job as soon as possible.
National technical services manager Colin Handley says the company has continued to expand its product range from many leading overseas suppliers and local manufacturers, to offer the most up-to-date and advanced equipment available.
“SECA has been in the trenchless industry for over 50 years, and the company has grown exponentially since introducing iPEK CCTV cameras to the Australian market,” he says.
With a niche focus in CCTV inspection equipment and a large team of 10 technicians located across Sydney, Victoria, and Brisbane, SECA’s CCTV service team are an in-house crew that are European factory trained to support SECA’s range of cameras.
“We have a very large team of technicians to support the products and we have a large offering of spare parts to keep all the products we sell operating at peak performance,” he says.
“We service all our equipment and cameras in-house, which is our point of difference in the industry.
“Anyone can sell the camera’s, but we make sure we keep people operating and running.”
SECA’s workshops are equipped with specialist tools and exclusive software from the manufacturers
These tools and software allow their technicians to quickly diagnose any problems and get customers operational as quickly as possible.
Despite what were uncertain times, the company has expanded even further, constructing SECA Academy, the company’s brand-new training facility in Sydney’s southwest.
It hosts anything from nationally recognised courses to its how-to short courses, which will be available later this year.
“In our new facility we’ve built a mock sewer system to test equipment and train students safely and have plans to add more classes to the Academy,” says Handley.
The new facility can accommodate up to 10 students, offering state-of-the-art equipment for students to use during their practical assessments.
SECA currently has nationally recognised CCTV courses provided by its RTO Asset Training (RTO number 91255).
The company uses the latest in asset management software, WinCan VX, so students will be armed with the most up to date knowledge and skills that are expected of a qualified CCTV operator undertaking conduit inspections and reporting on the condition of conduits in Australia.
SECA’s mission is to train its students to embody its evolving goal, which is to ensure its customers have the best experience by providing a one-stop-shop where customers are provided with sales, support and service, plus training for the products they buy.
“The service department is what keeps people coming back; the fact that we can keep the equipment operational and running, that’s just as important as the equipment itself,” says Handley.
The SECA team, will be in attending the No-Dig Down Under Expo, and will be displaying its top-quality products ranging from CCTV equipment, pipe plugs to the world’s first emission free jetter, the eCityJet.
For more information, visit the SECA website.
This article appeared in the February 2022 issue of Trenchless Australasia. Click here to view the digital edition of the magazine.
Queensland Drilling Sales & Supplies managing director Luke Spaninks talks to Trenchless Australasia about maintaining a successful equipment supply business while faced with severe delays in logistics and freight.
Yarra Valley Water (YVW) has completed a $34 million project to upgrade the sewer network to support Melbourne’s fast-growing northern suburbs.
In addition to being the official publication of the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology (ASTT) it is also the official media partner of the biggest specialist trenchless technology event in the Southern Hemisphere, No-Dig Down Under.