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Veolia the exclusive Australian partner of Thermoform

Veolia - Thermoform

Veolia is teaming up with North American-based company Warrior LLC to provide an even better relining service to its customers.

Veolia is a leading environmental services provider across water, waste management, resource recovery and energy throughout Australia and New Zealand. As a globally recognised company it provides game-changing solutions for clients which are both useful and practical for the water, waste and energy sectors. 

Recently, Veolia expanded its offering to the water sector in the area of trenchless pipe relining through a new and exclusive partnership with Thermoform. 

Daniel Spiller, Veolia’s Chief Operating Officer for Water, leads the team of professionals working across Australia and New Zealand. He says this latest offering will continue to support many of its network customers, helping them achieve more effective relining outcomes in less time and with less disruption. The combination of Veolia’s deep expertise in water networks, coupled with a gold standard technology in relining, will add additional value to the market.

“Our business is water,” Spiller says. “We’re committed to working with our customers to understand their needs, because we know how integral that is to delivering ecological transformation. Right now, the market is telling us it is struggling with ageing water infrastructure and it needs fast and cost effective solutions to help address it.”

According to Spiller, the signing of an exclusive supplier deal for the Thermoform product exemplifies Veolia’s commitment to trialling and providing innovative yet proven solutions to suit its broad client base.

“Thermoform is a PVC pipe lining solution made from alloy materials which are designed to extend asset life by at least 50 years,” Spiller says. 

“It is ideal for providing structural support to pipelines that prevent sewer collapse and subsequent spillage that would otherwise adversely impact the community and the environment.

“We are seeing additional benefits for our customers who are seeking to improve pipeline serviceability by preventing blockage resulting from tree root intrusion.

“Perhaps best of all, the product is installed without the need to dig trenches, resulting in a low impact on the community and the environment.” 

The liner is structurally sound and provides a tight fit into the host pipe that prevents infiltration and ingress of tree roots, presenting a money saving opportunity from not having to install tophats (junction seals).  

Thermoform liners conform to the shape of the hosting pipeline. Despite these forming mechanisms, the liners are able to remain tight and protect against tree roots, infiltration  and other common causes of structural damage. 

The final product is a seamless ‘joint-free’ pipe with minimal reduction of the host pipe increasing and any consequent adverse operational impact. This increases the pipe hydraulic capacity and extends the underground wastewater asset by at least 50 years.  

Spiller says the product’s all-round flexibility and suitability for a host of applications means it aligns well with Veolia’s existing suite of products. 

“We are not only adding the pre-eminent product of its kind to Australia and into our toolkit, but also stability at a time when it’s really needed,” he says. “For us, this is about continuing to put our clients’ needs first and being on the front foot when hiccups arise.”

Spiller says one only needs to look back on the first half of 2022 in Australia to know just how important it is for critical service providers to be prepared.

“As the sole provider of Thermoform in Australia, we’re now more prepared than ever for any situation our clients may throw at us and we know that’s something they appreciate, particularly as managing aging assets is an increasing challenge,” he says. 

Due to its proprietary ingredients, the product itself can be manufactured with a variety of sizes and wall thicknesses that can be tailored to meet each client’s exact requirements. For example, the SDR32.5 liner is best if the purpose of the pipe relining is to provide structural support and extend the asset life. Meanwhile, a cost saving with a thinner liner – such as the SDR40 – can be achieved if the client’s objective is only to resolve an infiltration and inflow problem in the wastewater network. This approach subsequently reduces the significant load on the wastewater treatment plants. 

Veolia - Thermoform
Installing 70 metres of DN225.

Thermoform is a product that has been in use over the past decade throughout North and South America, Europe and the far east, installing over 600,000 m on average every year. Tony O’Brien of Warrior LLC, the company behind Thermoform, says his team continuously works to improve the product to ensure adaptability to meet customers’ requirements and specific needs. 

“Warrior is always looking at ways in which Thermoform can be developed beyond where it is now,” he says. “We have recently designed and built a new die that will provide diameters up to 1200 mm making Warrior the only company in the world to produce such sizes.”

Veolia has already rolled out Thermoform on several contracts across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Rehabilitation of deteriorated pipes has been the key objective of these contracts and where Veolia’s existing depth of experience in relining has combined with the flexibility of Thermoform to deliver outstanding results for clients. 

In keeping with Veolia’s aim of becoming the global benchmark for ecological transformation, the Thermoform product contains no harmful or toxic chemicals that could negatively impact the environment or the community. 

“No additional chemicals are used during installation of the product, ensuring the safety of installers while also guaranteeing accurate installation,” Spiller says. “That’s something that’s very important to Veolia because we see it as part of walking the walk, not just talking the talk.”

As a result of this collaboration, Veolia is guaranteeing its clients won’t have to endure the inconvenience of supply constraints or interruptions to ongoing and long form projects. With an already sizable stock of the product in Australia, this collaboration shows that Veolia isn’t just talking about securing the longevity of its clients’ projects and their needs – it’s actually doing it. 

“We know supply chain issues are being experienced across many industries in Australia and around the world right now,” Spiller says. “Fortunately, our exclusive agreement means that won’t be an issue. 

“Veolia’s investment in the Thermoform product is very much about giving our clients certainty at a critical time.”

By introducing another proven solution to the Australian market, Veolia brings to the table a new opportunity for ground-breaking modern pipe repair solutions. With aging underground sewer and water infrastructure increasingly becoming a noteworthy issue within Australia, Veolia is continuing to focus on providing its customers with the most efficient, agile and high-quality products to get the job done.

For more information visit Veolia.

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This article appeared in the October edition of Trenchless Australasia. Access the digital copy of the magazine here.

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