Armed with a well-earned reputation for expertise in cost-effective horizontal directional drilling (HDD) solutions, Directhitt is broadening its job capacity and bulking out the services it can now provide its clients.
The company’s new Business Development Manager for Microtunnelling, Dimce Sijakovski, marks a big step forward for Directhitt.
Sijakovski brings decades of experience to the Directhitt team. He began his career in eastern Europe in the 90s, where a large-scale cross-country pipeline in Macedonia exposed him to the brilliant innovations taking place in the industry at the time.
Around the same time as Sijakovski was cutting his teeth on the few trenchless crossings along that pipeline, Directhitt was being established to promote better understandings of those kinds of installations for both the construction and utility industries.
Since being formed in 1995 by Albert Hendrickx, the company has continued to deliver projects to satisfaction, and to earn a stellar reputation as the contractor of choice for clients across a vast array of markets.
“Albert Hendrickx has wonderful reputation, to be honest his references are simply out of this world. He commands a lot of respect in the industry for a very good reason,” says Sijakovski.
Sijakovski entered the industry in Australia in 2000, working as the International Business Manager for Cherrington Australia – one of the leading innovators in the field of HDD.
“At the time, Cherrington was one of the biggest horizontal directional drilling contractors in not just Australia but internationally,” he says.
“They were the founders of HDD back in the 60’s in the United States.”
The role came with responsibilities for quality assurance and project management. During his time at Cherrington, Sijakovski worked throughout Australia and Asia.
He says that the variety of projects being undertaken by Cherrington meant that no two jobs were ever the same.
“While Cherrington won a lot of work in Australia, I also had the opportunity to work on projects in India and South Korea while marketing the company worldwide to potential clients,” he says.
First with Cherrington, and now with Directhitt, Sijakovski has found himself consistently drawn to companies that lead the industry in terms of innovation. In the early 2000s, Cherrington designed and built a Forward Thrusting Pipe HDD rig in Sydney.
The machine was utilised by their client, OMV, in Victoria, for the Patricia Baleen Gas Field Devleopment Project. It was used to install twin 12-inch coated steel pipelines. The pipes were welded onshore before being pushed into boreholes. The method was repeated later by others who were dealing with the unique challenges presented by shore-crossing projects.
Now with Directhitt, Sijakovski is able to put his vast experience behind growing the microtunnelling side of the business. He says that the company has the capacity to continue growing.
Directhitt covers an extensive range of equipment, including laser-guided microtunnelling units. With expertise in civil engineering covering pipeline installation, Directhitt can provide a total project solution for its clients in a variety of markets.
With Dimce Sijakovski on board, combining his decades-long, innovative career with the company’s reputation for being hardworking and reliable, Directhitt’s legacy as of delivering on complex projects for a range of clients is set to continue.
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This article is featured in the September edition of The Australian Pipeliner.
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