The Australian Pipeliner sat down with Primus Line Director ANZ Heiko Manzke to hear how the company is delivering complex pipeline projects.
If you ask Primus Line Director – Australia and New Zealand Heiko Manzke what the best part of his job is, he’ll tell you it’s the variety that the role demands.
Whether he’s answering technical engineering questions, on the road to a trade show, or analysing a pipeline project, Manzke wears a lot of hats.
For the past six years, Manzke has managed the Australia and New Zealand interests of Primus Line, a German-based company that manufacturers its flagship flexible pipeline under the same name. It’s a big job, but Manzke has the backing of an international team of experts to help deliver client projects reliably and efficiently.
The Primus Line solution is a robust, flexible pipe that is able to rehabilitate pressure pipes. The technology is self-supporting and does not require impregnation, curing or gluing.
One important part of Manzke’s job is identifying high quality partner companies to install the Primus Line product.
“In Germany, Primus Line has been manufacturing, engineering and installing our products with our own teams for decades,” he said.
“Outside of central Europe, we look for local specialists in the trenchless relining field to partner with.
“We train them to use the Primus Line solution, certify them, and continue to support them.”
This means that Primus Line is no ‘off-the-shelf’ product. The company’s local installation partners are experts in their own right, working with Manzke to apply the technology in the most effective way.
“A large part of my job is consulting with partners, engineers and asset owners to determine whether Primus Line is the right fit for their project,” Manzke said.
“In cases where the pipeline can be easily replaced – such as a shallow grassland – it may make more sense to simply tear up the pipe and relay a new one.
“But where pipeline assets are harder to reach, this is where Primus Line does what it does best.”
The Ann Street pipeline repair project in Brisbane is an excellent example of this – one that is particularly memorable to Manzke.
The work involved rehabilitating a 130-year-old pipeline under one of Brisbane CBD’s busiest streets.
With the pipeline located on a major arterial road, the open excavation works required would have been extremely costly and disruptive.
That’s where Primus Line came in.
“This pipeline runs along one of the main roads into the heart of Brisbane,” Manzke said.
“We only did night works for this project, and during the day, just had a couple of steel plates that closed the pits because the access points we require are so tiny.
“During the day, people weren’t even aware that works were going on.”
With minimal disruption to the public, Primus Line was able to return the legacy asset to operating condition for decades to come.
“With the Primus Line product, we were able to provide a new pipe inside the old pipe, taking pressure off the asset and extending its lifetime by over 50 years,” Manzke said.
“And on top of that, we calculated that by relining with our product rather than replacing the pipeline, the project’s carbon footprint in construction was reduced by 90 per cent.”
Beyond high density urban environments, Primus Line is also an excellent choice for pipeline rehabilitation where there are digging restrictions in place, such as cultural heritage areas. When an underground pipeline passes through such an area, excavation is often not an option.
Fortunately, Primus Line can rehabilitate large sections of pipe in a single drive. This means asset owners can dig a small access point in an unprotected area, and – thanks to the significant length of each pull – conduct rehabilitation works in sensitive areas without breaking ground.
“With a solution like ours, you can rehabilitate large sections of pipe in a single pull, allowing for the seamless repair of assets even in sensitive or technically complex areas,” Manzke said.
“For instance, we completed a 1.4km water pipeline in Victoria in a single pull using an access point at either end.
“And over in New Zealand, we have done a 1.1km pipeline under open ocean, again, only with two access points.”
As cities expand, regulation changes, and the demands on pipeline projects become more technically complex, trenchless solutions are becoming increasingly relevant. Luckily for the pipeline industry in Australia and New Zealand, Manzke and Primus Line are here to help.
For more information, visit the company website.
This feature also appears in the November edition of The Australian Pipeliner.
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