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.
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. Using advanced trenchless techniques to replace pipelines in fragile and complex environments, Esor Tuboseal gained a reputation for successfully completing jobs.
“ 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.“ Pipelines will inevitably have to be replaced or rehabilitated, but in busy urban areas or major industrial installations, gaining access by digging is simply not an option.
Van Zyl also makes the point that to restore the integrity and efficiency of pipelines that are 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. As if this was not bad enough, resurfaced areas would be a fertile breeding ground for the South African motorist’ s biggest bugbear: the pothole.
A CCTV inspection was the first and vital step in the rehabilitation process that ensued. The city conducted several viability studies and finally appointed Aurecon Consulting Engineers to manage the trenchless rehabilitation project, comprising the cured in place pipe( CIPP) lining of more than
The cured in place pipe( CIPP) afterwards.
3 300m of bulk sewer pipes ranging from 800mm to 1 200mm in diameter, crossing underneath the N2 freeway and Baden Powell Drive.
“ With services as varied as CCTV inspection, pipe cracking, pipe cleaning, patch lining, CIPP, and robotic cutting, we can provide a range of options and methodologies under each of these categories,” Van Zyl adds.
Esor