Taking place at Brisbane’s Convention & Exhibition Centre, No-Dig Down Under 2023 brought together over 2400 attendees from the trenchless industry.
With the theme of “Better outcomes through trenchless”, No-Dig Down Under 2023 was a conference to remember for all attendees.
The event, which is the Southern Hemisphere’s only large-scale conference dedicated to trenchless technology, showcased equipment and solutions from more than 100 exhibitors at its free trade show.
Organised in partnership with the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology (ASTT), the conference has grown to become the second largest no-dig technology event in the world.
Before the conference began, the ASTT hosted three training courses, where participants gained extensive knowledge about horizontal directional drilling (HDD), new installations methods and renovation of pipes by lining.
The courses saw industry experts present case studies and provided valuable insights into the topics.
All attendees earned continuing professional development (CPD) points for attendance and completion of the courses.
This year, there were three themes guiding the conference stream and technical program: Rehabilitation, New Installation and Trenchless Services, Social & Environment.
Across the two-day show in September, the streams saw the participation of multiple speakers presenting case studies, new and emerging technologies, challenging projects and environments, industry skills and training, risk management and more.
In addition to the conference and exhibition, there were plenty of opportunities for attendees to network and catch up with friends through the sold-out social events.
On Tuesday September 12, the Welcome Reception took place at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) before the Young People in Trenchless Networking event brought together younger members of the industry.
On Wednesday, September 13, Vermeer Australia proudly sponsored the Networking Event at the waterfront Beergarden in Brisbane’s Southbank.
Attendees enjoyed drinks and food in a relaxed setting while networking with fellow colleagues and industry members.
On Thursday, September 14, the prestigious ASTT Awards and Gala Dinner, sponsored by Rob Carr, brought together the trenchless industry to celebrate the outstanding work of their colleagues.
Read more about the winners below.
Rehabilitation Project of the Year
Epsom Main Sewer Rehabilitation – Melbourne Water, John Holland – KBR Joint Venture, Interflow and Welltech Total Water Management.
The Epsom Main Sewer is part of a network transporting over 320,000 million litres of sewage a year.
CCTV found that 1.6km of sewer required relining to ensure it would operate for the next 50 years.
The team used ultraviolet cured in-place pipe (CIPP) to reline the sewer and avoided the need to install deep shafts within the roadway, reducing the impact on the community.
New Installation Project of the Year
West Gate Tunnel Project – Cross Pipes Installation, CPBJH JV and Herrenknecht AG.
Across February and May of 2023, two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) from Herrenknecht, named Bella and Vida, completed their mission for the West Gate Tunnel Project.
To link the two main tunnels with power and other small diameter services, a number of crossing points were required. Along with CPB Contractors, Herrenknecht designed the AVN 400 pipe jacking system, allowing access for other works and safe operation.
New Technology Award
AdaptX – OptionX Group.
Designed by OptionX Group, AdaptX is a modular drilling machine that enables contractors to use a single machine for most drilling techniques.
These include vacuum, pressure air vacuum, slurry, HDD, displacement pilot and many more.
The capabilities extend beyond traditional drilling or tunnelling methods and offers additional functionalities such as pipe assist and pipe bursting.
Jeff Pace Young Person of the Year
John Rutherford – HDI Lucas.
Since graduating from the University of Queensland in 2018, Rutherford has progressed from Project Engineer to Project Manager on many trenchless projects throughout the region.
When accepting the award, Rutherford thanked his clients and colleagues’ support.
“I’ve worked with some really great clients who taught me a lot about the industry and how projects should look,” Rutherford said.
“Thank you to the Spiecapag team and HDI Lucas team.
I’ve been given a lot of great opportunities at a pretty young age and a lot of support for that.”
Trenchless Woman of the Year
Andrea Edney – SYSTRA Bamser.
Edney holds over 20 years of civil engineering experience across underground infrastructure delivery.
She is also a senior member of the Trenchless Division at SYSTRA Bamser and leads junior engineers. Edney aso makes history as the first official winner of the newly added award.
Menno Henneveld Person of the Year
John Bower – Independent Civil Solutions.
Bower has been part of the trenchless industry for many years, including his work in HDD training presentations with the ASTT.
He was also a previous member of the microtunnelling special interest group (SIG) and contributed to the SIG microtunnelling design guidelines.
Following the success of the 2023 conference, No-Dig Down Under is confirmed to return in 2025.
The team at Prime Creative Media and the ASTT thank everyone who helped make the event possible.
This article featured in the October edition of Trenchless Australasia.
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