Change in direction
A STATE-OF-THE-ART system has turned concrete pipe manufacture on its head in Corio.
A $6 million investment in plant and equipment has slashed the time it takes for Bates Pipes to cast its pipes, with the centrepiece an automated process that casts the pipe vertically.
The innovative drycast method allows pipes that can weigh up to 2.5 tonnes to be moved and taken from a mould almost immediately after being poured.
A messy process that took up to 25 minutes using the traditional “wet spin” method, now takes less than a couple of minutes.
Operations manager Ben Bates said the company had increased its pipe throughput by more than five-fold since commissioning the ePak 150 from the international company
HawkeyePedershaab last year and there was still plenty of unused capacity.
“It’s a hi-tech investment in a low-tech industry,” Mr Bates said.
Following an earlier investment in an automated batching plant, Bates Pipes has built the capacity to provide a comprehensive package of pipes and associated precast concrete products, such as box culverts, pits, wingwalls and end walls.
“We can supply the whole project, that was our aim,” Mr Bates said. “We are one of the only ones in Victoria who can supply a complete custom package.”
He said the company’s ePak 150 had been just the seventh installation of its type in the world.
Working with the HawkeyePedershaab team on the design specifications and the logistics, Bates Pipes built a 2100sq m factory to house the new equipment.
The new system replaced the wet spin pipe production that was established when the business was founded in 1995 with his father, Bob.
But the wet spin process, which involves a mould out on a set of horizontal rollers and spun, using the centrifugal force to push the concrete to the outside, dates back to 1910.
Mr Bates said the new system had seen the company pick up work and he was yet to see evidence of a slowdown due to coronavirus.
“We are busy. We are doing a lot in Geelong and we’ve picked up a lot more of the Geelong market than we used to have because of this machine,” Mr Bates said.
“Everyone is saying private development is going to drop off, but we are not seeing that yet.”
Mr Bates said the Corio company was also doing a lot of work on railways and the State Government’s level crossing program and other civil construction programs.