This week is Australian Made Week, a time to celebrate and support local makers and growers while demonstrating the benefits of buying Australian-made products.
This is especially relevant for us at Nuflow. As a local company supporting local jobs, industries and economies, we pride ourselves on our locally developed and manufactured products. These products are backed by an Australian-based team of scientific, engineering and technical experts, as well as testing, training, and production teams. This allows us to custom-design products for scenarios specific to our local climate and infrastructure.
There has been a lot of hard work and development that has gotten us to this point. That is why we’re celebrating Australian Made Week by sharing the history of these products and looking back on the journey up till now.
Where it all began
The foundations of the Nuflow story begin in 1998 in Canada, where the company was founded. They had developed an epoxy lining of pipes within domestic, single-dwelling buildings. Then in 2000, the ‘sleeve-within-a-sleeve’ method using an inflatable bladder was patented. No sooner had Nuflow begun licencing his technology, than it caught the attention of Gold Coast businessman and plumber, Ed Ahern.
Ed saw the vast potential of Nuflow’s solution and sought to develop and adapt it for Australia. In 2004, he launched Nuflow Australasia and entered markets across Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. A patent was granted the following year for a process that enabled lining around multiple bends, further expanding our capabilities.
This led to Nuflow’s Australian operations receiving an AS/NZ 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems (QMS) accreditation. This is awarded to businesses whose QMS is able to meet customer and regulatory expectations at an exceedingly high standard. Receiving this accreditation empowered us with greater credibility within the market which inevitably led to an increased demand for our services.
This set us toward the Nuflow you know today. Thanks to the growing demand, Ed was able to establish a research facility in 2012 where he appointed scientific and engineering experts to improve the technology and accompanying processes further. This made Nuflow the only Australian pipe relining company with the capacity to design, manufacture and install our own epoxies, lining materials and certain specialist installation equipment. With research, development, and manufacturing all under one roof, we could expand our offerings and create a more comprehensive product portfolio to meet a wider variety of needs.
Bringing innovative Australian-made products across the nation
At that point, Ed had been licensing the technology his team developed to various plumbing companies across the nation. However, he realised that Nuflow had the potential to deliver quality, no-dig relining solutions to more people if we operated under a franchise model. So, in 2018 he did just that.
As a franchise, we flourished into a much larger team of committed and passionate professionals. We were able to extend our coverage and build confidence within water and council authorities, as well as hydraulic consultants and engineers. This growth led to the introduction of specialised technical, training and development courses, which has allowed our teams to grow and embrace more advanced installations.
As capabilities increased, the research and development team were able to design more advanced materials and solutions for more complex problems. This began with Blueline as the core CIPP product and has since led to acid-resistant and underwater resins with a variety of curing times. Throughout our product expansion, Nuflow developed Water Mark approval for both Blueline and Redline products, while also working on the Australian standard committee to develop installation standards for AS3500. This demonstrates our evolution into trusted industry leaders.
Investing in innovation
Today, innovation is our guiding ethos. We heavily invest in ongoing research and product development, which has established us as market leaders in the pipe relining industry. The extensive training, education and ongoing support our franchisees receive allow us to deliver high-quality, tailored relining solutions that align with the requirements of local assets.
We are proud to back our Australian-made products with a manufacturer guarantee of up to 50 years, and we are confident in the longevity of our innovative solutions.
What’s next
We will continue to push to new frontiers for what our products are capable of. We are always developing new application systems, curing methods and relining composites to improve our delivery and expand our capabilities.
In fact, our research and development teams are currently tapping into UV-curing technology with the hope to roll it out soon. This will provide new, more streamlined solutions for complex issues and allow us to reach a solution faster. We are also beginning to roll out a new application process Nu Coat, which allows the resin to be sprayed onto the pipe as a great solution for smaller assets.
As more pipe problems are solved with our products, we will continue to grow, evolve and expand into new markets.
Leverage these Australian-made products for yourself
Buying locally is always better. Our products are specifically manufactured and assembled for Australian climates and infrastructure, with the ability to be adapted to your specific needs locally. No matter if you’re a residential, commercial, or industrial client, we have the solutions to help. Reach out to us today.
