The Australian Pipeliner (TAP): When did you start in the pipeline industry?
Frank Martino (FM): I started in industry in the “˜70s.
TAP: How did you get into the pipeline industry?
FM: I was a chef and had a catering contract. I was always in the construction industry and that followed on to the pipeline industry which was a challenge and I’m a person who loves a challenge.
TAP: What was your first project in the industry?
FM: The Moomba – Sydney gas pipeline.
TAP: What projects did you head to after that?
FM: I then did Moomba – Stony Point, then the NT pipeline and Moomba – Jackson and then many more after that.
TAP: How many projects have you worked on?
FM: All up I’ve done about 24 pipelines, and pipeline camps.
TAP: How did you get into the portable camp business?
FM: As chef and camp manager working on the Eastern Gas pipeline I could see the flaws in the system and thought there should be a better a system. We now have five patents and two more patents coming on our systems. We are the only ones who can install a complete camp in three to four days but it can only use our equipment as it is built especially. We can move camps very fast – with pipeliners if you can move fast that’s what they like. On SEA Gas we were able to move 100 rooms 450 km in one day and the same night they were connected.
We have a full operation, our own trucks, wet mains, waste water treatment and so on. We are on the verge on releasing a new system to recycle all the water of the camp. It will be a world first and will be big for mining, construction, everything! The system will be easy to shift in containers and can do Effluent A.
We look at each particular project with specific buildings and try to facilitate the needs of each project so the client is happy. We have new building units with full-on self contained rooms including showers. These can be used for women or VIPs or the boss. We are trying to look at all different things, and make things more efficient. Efficiency is the name of the game. We are very proud of our system and we work with the client to the finest detail.
TAP: What’s the funniest moment from your time in the industry?
FM: One time I was delivering lunch to the line. In the old days we used to deliver the food onto the line, we’d pack the esky in the morning and used to deliver it with a ute. One day the ute I was in had a hole in the floor and the ute ran across a snake. I hit the brake and thought I killed the snake, I looked and couldn’t see it. After driving a bit more I got out and had a look under the car. I couldn’t see the snake. After I got back in I turned a corner and pressed the brake and something touched my foot. I jumped out of the ute but when I went back it turned out it was a bottle of beer. I thought it was the snake!
TAP: Why makes APC’s camps different to others on the market?
FM: We design all our buildings. For example our kitchen is a different sort of kitchen which delivers savings. In two or three units we do what the opposition can’t do in six or seven. Our design means cooks can work better because we use a gas kitchen, which also saves electricity.
Also we run all generators on parallel load sharing to minimise cost. Every camp uses 1000 kW power, but it’s only needed for two or three hours a day. We have one generator that is 600 kW that runs all time and one at 400 kW for peak times.
We go further to recycle water so it is better for the environment and water consumption. It’s all about trying to improve, having new innovation all the time.
TAP: Have you always worn the hat?
FM: I have been wearing the hat for many years and it has become part of my trademark. The hat is becoming part of me. There’s a funny story about that.
I went to a meeting in Melbourne and didn’t have much time. I said to the receptionist “I’m Frank Martino and I’ve come to see John.” She said he was busy in a meeting and she said she would tell him that I was there. I had a cab waiting and after 45 minutes I told her John can go get nicked as he’d kept me waiting. As I was about to go someone I knew passed and recognised me. He asked me what I was doing and I said I was waiting for John. He said that they had been waiting for me. He asked the receptionist why she hadn’t sent me through and she said she didn’t send me through because I didn’t have a funny hat. She’d been told when the man with the funny hat comes in, let him in, but I didn’t have my hat on so she didn’t let me through.
TAP: When you’re not on a pipeline job, what do you do?
FM: I love to play golf but I am dreadful. My first game of golf was at the last convention. I also like bike riding. I have a Harley and a trike and we also have other bikes. I love driving and like to go to watch movies.
TAP: Finally, what were camps like in the early days of the industry?
FM: There were 2 to 4 people sleeping in the same room. I remember many times the ground could be seen through the floor. Air conditioning was non-existent and if it was working you couldn’t sleep for the noise.
The whole industry has changed, everything is getting better, safer and cleaner.
I think Australia has the best systems and facilities of anywhere.