Nu Flow South West use an epoxy-impregnated geofabric to reline damaged pipes without the need to dig trenches and remove the existing infrastructure.

“We repair pipes without digging them up” business owner Jay Stuart said. “We are the only business in regional Victoria undertaking this work.

“When we get to sites we assess the pipework and find the problem. Nine times out of 10 the problem is tree roots or the pipe is broken.”

An impregnated geofabric felt is then fed into the pipe and inflated by a bladder. The bladder is then removed leaving the liner against the inside of the pipe.

NuFlow South West received the Best Job of the Year award for a repair on a roadside pipe on the Genoa Road in East Gippsland. 

“This is part of the rain forest area so we couldn’t have spillage,” Mr Stuart said. “It is a very environmentally sensitive area.

“We carried out a job for Vic Roads in Mallacoota on a 1200mm pipe. No one has ever repaired a pipe this big in the 14 years that this franchise system has been running in Australia.”

They also received the Courage Award for taking on the challenge of repairing a pipe of this size.

Nu Flow South West currently employs five full-time employees locally, with two more full time employees Melbourne, and is growing rapidly.

“We are starting to reline water mains,” Mr Stuart said.  “Currently there is $5 billion in water main assets across Victoria and NSW that need to be repaired or replaced.

“We are looking to expand our group, because it’s a specialised field”.

Any type of pipe can be repaired, he said.

“There doesn’t even need to be a pipe in place because the material used is structural, the liner can be designed to be self supporting.”