By 2000, the pair had finalised the design for the 380 Series water well centraliser and commenced offering the product to others within the water well industry. Historically, all alternative solutions available consisted of wood or metal and had many disadvantages during application. Kwik-ZIP products are manufactured from high-grade thermoplastics, which meet industry standards.
Established in 2001, the company has since engaged in the design and manufacture of non-metallic centralisers and spacer systems for a wide range of industries including the trenchless, pipeline, resources and civil construction industries.
Headquartered in Bunbury, Western Australia, Kwik-ZIP now markets its products both domestically and internationally, owning the patents and intellectual property. Co-founder Jason Linaker is still the company’s managing director today.
Kwik-ZIP centraliser and spacer systems have been developed to solve supporting, grading and centralisation challenges in the trenchless, HDD, pipeline, vertical production drilling and ground engineering industries.
Using thermoplastic has a number of significant advantages such as corrosion protection, low co-efficient of friction, flexibility in sizing and reduced insertion forces.
Fabricated metallic spacers are subject to corrosion and can cause damage to the pipeline. Kwik-ZIP spacers and centralisers have no metal parts, which assists in overcoming some of the corrosion issues associated with traditional products.
Products are made from Kwik-ZIP’s engineered thermoplastic blend that has a low co-efficient of friction, which allows for quick and easy insertion inside the carrier pipe.
Kwik-ZIP spacers and centralisers are a segmented design, meaning that the same spacers and centralisers can be used for varying pipe diameters by the addition of more segments, adding an supplementary layer of flexibility.
Finally, the reduced insertion forces allow for greater run lengths as well as the use of lower insertion forced during installation in trenchless projects. The use of lower insertion forces in particular allows contractors to reduce the size of machine required to complete an installation, saving money, energy and space at the job site.
While the company’s initial focus resided in solving production casing centralisation challenges in vertical drilling applications, the Kwik-ZIP range has grown into a multi-industry series of innovative models that handle bar and pipe diameters from 18 mm to 1600 mm and above.
Manufactured from Kwik-ZIP’s engineered thermoplastic blend, all products are specified, used and recommended by pipeline and civil contractors, water and gas utilities, drilling companies and engineering firms across the world. Kwik-ZIP products are suitable for use on steel, DICL, MSCL, GRE, PVC, HDPE and other pipe material and are a completely non-metallic solution.
General manager Paul Jeffreys says Kwik-ZIP centralisers and spacers are available in six specific product series: HDXT, HDX, HD, GT, 380, and 155 all with varying models within each series. These are widely used in the water-well, trenchless, pipeline, mining, oil and gas, civil engineering and construction sectors.
“Each is more applicable to specific business sector, ensuring solutions can be found by end users,” says Jeffreys.
The products are certified against Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) product specifications and certified by the Australian Water Quality Centre (AWQC) for use in contact with drinking water. They are also approved for use within many utilities’ infrastructure including Melbourne Retail Water Association, South East Queensland’s Infrastructure and Materials (IPAM) list, Sydney Water and the WA Water Corporation.
Kwik-ZIP is also a member of the Australian Water Association, Water Industries Operators of Australia, American Water Works Association, US National Ground Water Association and the ASTT.
The company maintains a focus on price effectiveness, simplicity and rapid on-site assembly, to ensure that their systems deliver significant cost, time and operational advantages to their customers.
Ensuring the product is simple to install and cost-effective is a key cornerstone to the company’s offering. Kwik-ZIP also now has five strategically-located international warehouse facilities, which ensure short lead times for delivery and lower freight costs for consumers.
“We are regularly told that as well as a technically superior product, our short lead times are another one of the key reasons customers support our business,” says Jeffreys.
Jeffreys says significant time and effort has been invested in the development of the current range of products. This ethos informs the base of future development, backed by a range of Australian and international patents.
The business has a proven track record serving a wide range of markets in diverse geographical locations including United States of America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and Europe. Kwik-ZIP’s expertise, customer service, cost-effectiveness, innovative range of products and applicability across multiple industries continues to satisfy customers the world over.
For more information visit the Kwik-ZIP website.
This article appeared in the ASTT 30th Anniversary Edition.