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From strength to strength, paving the way for microtunnelling

For more than three decades, Rob Carr has been an Australian leader and pioneer in microtunnelling for the design and construction of utilities infrastructure projects in the water, energy and transport space.

Covering an extensive range of tunnel diameters for varying ground conditions, it has constructed some of the most complex microtunnelling and pipe jacking projects in Australia.

Paired with its expertise in civil engineering, which covers niche areas such as deep excavation, caisson construction, rehabilitation, pipeline installation and pump station construction, Rob Carr provides a total project solution for its clients in a variety of markets.

General Manager Angelo Soumboulidis says in 1999, Rob Carr invested in its first trenchless machine, starting a long and successful journey to where it is today.

“Trenchless operations were only in their infancy, however the company possessed significant technical nous and a hard-working mentality which allowed Rob Carr to take on major trenchless projects from the offset. The first trailer mounted Iseki TCZ250 proved to be very successful and perfect for the WA market which required compact and efficient microtunnelling machinery to construct pipelines in difficult ground conditions in dense urban environments,” he says.

Not long after migrating to WA, the company re-entered the market on the east coast of Australia in 2001 and began to hit several project milestones around the country, achieving project wins for Sydney Water in 2002, Brisbane Water and South East Water in 2003. Since joining Rob Carr in 2003 from Sydney Water, Soumboulidis has overseen several critical phases of business operations.

“The business quickly turned to trenchless operations with a focus on slurry pressure balanced microtunnelling technology. This allowed us to swiftly expand throughout the decade to where the company now owns and operates a fleet of 30 Micro Tunnel Boring Machines covering all types of ground conditions and sizes,” he says.

“This was critical to our client’s decision making for those early projects in Sydney and Brisbane where the pipeline infrastructure being constructed was traversing below critical utility and transport assets and offering our clients a complete self-perform construction and delivery service.”

With its expertise in microtunnelling, caisson construction, pump station delivery and working with services, Soumboulidis says the company was able to complete some of its most significant and record-breaking projects, including the Alphington Trunk Sewer project in Melbourne in 2014 with a long drive of 587m on a curved alignment through rock strengths greater than 200MPa and, its largest ever project at Green Square in Sydney between 2015 and 2017, both nationally recognized and award winning projects at the National CCF Awards.

“Green Square holds a special place in the history of Rob Carr. After a successful early contractor involvement process which led to significant design changes, this critical drainage infrastructure involved the installation of 4km of DN1800 reinforced concrete pipeline exclusively via microtunnelling through multiple layers of fill, clay and rock below the water table. Pipelines were constructed in twin and triple cells over long distances with one particular triple cell section on a curved alignment with each pipe no more than 800mm apart, a significant technical achievement,” Soumboulidis says.

2018 saw founder Rob Carr retire after a long and successful tenure.

Rob and Catherine Carr started from humble beginnings. Having emigrated to Australia in the mid 1980’s, Rob was working for another civil contractor on subdivisions at the time where the entrepreneur in Rob saw an opportunity to start his own company. After some considered thought, in 1989, both Rob and Catherine took the plunge into contracting in suburban Melbourne.

With a young family in tow, Rob and Catherine combined their respective skills to lead the new entrepreneurial venture and moved the company in 1995 to Western Australia where opportunities were plentiful and became the real turning point in the company starting its journey to becoming an established player in the utilities market.

The company was acquired by the Seymour Whyte Group in 2014, one of Australia’s leading transport infrastructure contractors and later part of an acquisition of the Seymour Whyte Group by Vinci SA, a global contracting leader with over 200,000 employees and a turnover greater than $40 billion euro. Since 2018, Rob Carr is part of Soletanche Freyssinet, a world leader in soil, structural and nuclear engineering, the specialties business division within Vinci. Since 2018, the company is led by current Managing Director Damien Maitre, who brings 20 years of tunnelling experience to the role.

Soumboulidis says after being part of two acquisitions of the business and a close to 30 year tenure, Rob decided to move on to other new opportunities where he could apply his entrepreneurial skill. Rob and Catherine Carr’s legacy is sustained by an existing and long serving loyal employee base.

2020 saw the successful completion of a major sewer project for City West Water. Part of the four stage CBD Sewerage Augmentation project scheme, the project involved the design and construction of an OD1500, 900m long tunnel along Lonsdale in the heart of the Melbourne CBD.

Soumboulidis says that the Lonsdale Street project, was another significant milestone in the company’s pursuit for excellence in project delivery.

“We worked collaboratively with our client and design partner to ensure best for project outcomes throughout, whether that was early engagement with key stakeholders and community, development of modelling to improve management of traffic in the CBD or simply ensure technical excellence in long drive tunnelling through rock up to 150 MPa,” he says. On the other side of the country, the WA Operations Team was awarded the 2020 CCF WA Earth Award for Project Excellence in Civil Construction.

The Quindalup project for the Water Corporation’s Infill Sewerage Program consisted 5.2 km of gravity sewer constructed by microtunnelling and 1.5km of pressure main by HDD to minimise the impact on the local community, environment, and conservation areas.

“The Quindalup project led by long serving WA Operations Manager Barry Crowley, was yet another great example of our operational philosophy and our strong relationship with the Water Corporation. Our self-perform capability allowed us to provide our client with a one stop shop to deliver such an important project.” Soumboulidis says.

The company’s continued pursuit for delivering key infrastructure projects has never stopped. In March 2021, the company was awarded the Design and Construction of the Quinns Main Sewer Extension for the Water Corporation, a major project consisting of 1,9km of DN1800 sewer pipeline with 1.4km constructed by microtunnelling, recognizing Rob Carr’s extensive capability in delivering large diameter microtunnelling projects in challenging ground conditions.

Today, Rob Carr continues to be a leader and pioneer within the sector and remains a trusted, collaborative, and award-winning contractor exhibiting a commitment to risk management, innovation, quality control, safe and environmentally friendly delivery.

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