Family-owned drainage and pipe rehabilitation specialist Pipe Doctor is marking 18 months of operations in Gippsland, with its Traralgon branch, the company’s fourth in Victoria, now a permanent fixture servicing the region’s water authorities, councils, builders and civil contractors.
Regional Manager Benjamin Hoskin, who leads the branch, says the decision to establish a permanent presence in the area was driven by sustained demand.
“There was an opportunity for the business to grow,” Hoskin said. “Gippsland is an area that we had been receiving numerous requests for, and we had done some work around there prior via travel.”
Eighteen months on, the branch is delivering on that opportunity. Pipe Doctor is now working under contract with the local water authority, alongside council and commercial work spanning CCTV inspection, mains and sewer cleaning, and domestic residential blockages, a service range that runs from single pipe repairs through to full municipal drainage network projects.
The branch also offers UV relining, sewer compliance work, manhole rehabilitation and robotics, backed by full Wincan Web reporting capability, part of a broader push by Pipe Doctor to stay ahead of the curve on emerging pipe technology.
Pipe Doctor was recently brought on as a design partner with Puralink, the Australian robotics company behind the Ferret autonomous pipe inspection robot, with Hoskin playing a key role alongside Puralink’s team as the technology moves toward wider rollout.
Hoskin was appointed to lead the Gippsland expansion after five years at Pipe Doctor’s Bendigo headquarters, where he worked as a project manager specialising in robotics and relining alongside the company’s domestic crews. He had worked as a plumber since 2014 before joining Pipe Doctor.
A Traralgon local, Hoskin says the connection to the region has helped him build relationships with local trades, councils and builders as the branch has grown.
“Being that I grew up here and lived most of my life here, I was in a good position to spearhead the expansion,” he said. “It’s great being able to support the local community and my hometown.”
On the scope of work the branch can take on, Hoskin says the team isn’t limited by job size.
“We have the ability to go right the way through, no matter what size your drainage is,” Hoskin said. “We’re starting to really make some headway, and we’ll continue building up the business.”
Growth in the region shows no signs of slowing. Ageing infrastructure, combined with rapid outer-suburban expansion on Melbourne’s south-eastern fringe, continues to drive demand for the branch’s services. New estates in Clyde, Officer and Botanic Ridge, along with housing developments in Drouin and Warragul, now fall within the Traralgon branch’s service area.
Hoskin says one of the more notable shifts over the past 18 months has been a rise in the number of builders requesting sewer and stormwater inspections during construction.
“We’re seeing a lot of builders coming on board now as a way of being proactive. They’re taking the initiative to do these inspections to avoid costly trenchless repairs and relining.”
“Getting these checks done is a way to eliminate those kinds of hassles later down the track, and those additional costs.”
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