Construction World June 2017

PRECAST CONCRETE PRODUCTS

World-class TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGIES The acquisition of trenchless technology specialist Tuboseal by Esor is set to unlock a wealth of future business opportunities for the construction and civil engineering contractor. industry. It remains a key objective of Esor Tuboseal to build and retain the credibility of trenchless technology, for the greater good.

“We’ve reached a point where several municipalities and some businesses are piping water and sewage in lines that are 50 years old – and in some cases well beyond that,” says Van Zyl, making the point that what was constructed on the surface when the pipes were originally laid has often changed beyond all recognition. “Pipelines will inevitably have to be re- placed or rehabilitated, but in busy urban ar- eas or major industrial installations, gaining access by digging is simply not an option. “Safety is the first consideration. Many lines were laid at depths of between four and 15 metres, which would entail highly disruptive excavations to create a safe working area with adequate support to protect the crew. In any event, the likelihood of the presence of other utility lines like power cables would make this impossible,” he says. Van Zyl also makes the point that to restore the integrity and efficiency of pipelines installed under or alongside major freeways and link roads (he cites the William Nicol Highway as an example), would cause unacceptable disruptions to traffic flows. If this was not bad enough, resurfaced areas would be a fertile breeding ground for the South African motorist’s biggest bug bear – the pothole. Technical challenges Esor Tuboseal’s research and development technical solutions specialist, Daniel Bruwer, describes two recent projects in which trenchless technology was applied to mitigate some serious consequences. “The first concerned the discovery of a damaged underground pipe at Eskom’s Kusile power station, which required repairs to a crack at a depth of 17 metres. The pipeline was impossible to excavate as it lies beneath permanent structures. “Having established the exact location of the damaged section, we designed and installed a CIPP liner capable of withstanding ground water pressure and soil loads at a depth of 17 metres, thereby reinforcing and sealing the damaged pipe for a full design life of 50 years. The repair took less than 8 hours and there were no disruptions to services on site,” says Bruwer. The second development is the rehabilitation of the BlackMac bulk sewage pipeline, a key conduit between the Cape Town suburbs of Blackheath and Macassar. “The City of Cape Town approached

Since its founding by local pioneer Jean-Louis Frey in 1987, Esor Tuboseal has established itself as a past master in a highly specialised discipline which enables pipes to be cleaned, rehabilitated or repaired almost completely underground without disturbing the surface area over the length of the line. Through sheer drive and belief along with proven techniques and delivery, it created the Cured In Place Pipe (CIPP) market with customers and contractors in the Western Cape and a number of other provinces, before expanding its footprint as far north as Bulawayo.

Esor CEO Wessel van Zyl regards the development as a strategic diversification into the burgeoning market of infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation, with a major focus on pipelines. Preserving infrastructure Using advanced trenchless techniques to replace pipelines in fragile and complex environments, Esor Tuboseal gained a reputation for successfully completing jobs its rivals chose to avoid. A byproduct of this process was the establishment of a solid track record among municipal authorities and major players in the construction

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JUNE 2017