Boddingtons Australia supplies a large range of plastic-based products to protect, identify, warn for and detect buried underground utility services. For the pipeline industry, Boddingtons manufactures and distributes plastic underground warning tapes and meshes for all pipeline applications.

Boddingtons National Sales Manager Michelle Moreira says that there are many benefits related to being able to manufacture tapes in Australia.

Customers can expect quality products with short turnaround times in a quality-controlled facility. “Being a small company, Boddingtons has the ability to react quickly to customer requirements. We usually have stock available off the shelf for most services.

“Should a customer require a unique text, tape width, thickness or length, the usual turnaround for the first order would be two to three weeks from receipt of artwork approval from the customer,” Ms Moreira says.

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Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project

Boddingtons supplied approximately 600 km of non-detectable marker tape to the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project, located in northwest Victoria.

The project commenced in October 2006 and was constructed in stages, reaching completion in April 2010. The pipeline has helped ensure water supply for around 36 townships and 9,000 farms in the region.

Wonthaggi Desalination Project

Boddingtons was approached by PIHA to supply a custom-manufactured underground marker tape for the Wonthaggi Desalination Pipeline, located in southeast Victoria.

Boddingtons was able to manufacture the tape with little problem and supplied 80 km over a three-month period.

Ensuring the highest standards

Boddingtons’ WAVELAY detectable and traceable underground marker tape has recently been approved by the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA).

WAVELAY is a polyethylene (PE) underground warning tape incorporating one or two stainless steel tracer wires for the marking and location of buried pipes and cables.

“Using virgin grade PE, non-corrosive, annealed stainless steel wire and a closely monitored manufacturing process ensures that the WAVELAY tape will last long term allowing for the pipeline to be located at a later date,” says Ms Moreira.

In order to achieve WSAA approval, the WAVELAY product had to undergo a number of different tests to the Australian Standard including chemical resistance, impact resistance, tear resistance and elongation at break.

WAVELAY has also been tested and approved by the UK independent testing company Smithers Rapra Technology Ltd.

All of Boddingtons’ products are tested and certified to the relevant Australian Standards. Boddingtons also has its quality management systems accreditated to ISO9000:2008.

Using a quality underground warning tape is imperative for pipeline owners because they have to be confident that the product is going to perform correctly for years to come.

Other products

Boddingtons also manufactures DETECTAMESH detectable underground warning mesh and Protectamesh Rockshield for detection and protection of water pipelines.

Protectamesh Rockshield mesh is an extruded plastic mesh used as a protection mesh for ductile iron and steel pipelines to prevent damage to the pipeline’s anti-corrosion coating from rocks during the backfilling operations.

It offers protection from abrasive objects after pipeline installation, prohibiting geologic movements from damaging the pipeline, and may be installed in pad or roll form, depending on pipe diameter. The product has a consistent thickness throughout the width of each roll or pad to provide full-width protection for pipelines during backfill operations.

Boddingtons is based in Melbourne with a parent company based in the UK, and businesses offices in Germany, New Zealand and the USA.