Vacuworx is a leading provider of vacuum lifting equipment, specialising in engineering and manufacturing products tailored for energy and pipeline infrastructure. The company’s equipment provides a secure and effective solution for handling pipe, which helps minimise the risk of job site injuries and improve productivity.
All Vacuworx lifters are designed to be versatile and can be used for a variety of applications, including pipeline installation, maintenance, and repair. This versatility allows companies in the pipeline and energy sectors to streamline their operations, saving time and resources while increasing safety. Vacuworx’s commitment to quality and innovation has earned the company a reputation as a leader in vacuum lifting equipment and has made it a popular choice for companies in the pipeline and energy sectors.
For Vacuworx, every pipe lift presents an opportunity to safeguard workers, protect one’s corporate image and encourage the public’s trust. Vacuum lifting in recent decades has become a mainstay in the oil and gas pipeline trades in Australia as the technology—with no necessity for hooks, slings or cables—requires less human contact with the pipe and lifting tackle.
The system’s vacuum lifting technology is designed to grip pipes firmly without damaging the coating, ensuring that the pipeline stays in pristine condition throughout the entire process. Additionally, the system is capable of handling pipes of various sizes and weights, making it an ideal solution for a wide range of pipeline projects, including water infrastructure.
According to Ledonne Constructions’ Construction Manager Shawn Zimmerman, the company has owned and utilised vacuum lifters for several years, with the use of vacuum lifting technology playing a crucial role in enhancing their competitive edge.
“It’s probably one of the reasons we won the project (St Helena pipeline). Our methodology on how we were going to handle the pipe and move the pipe forward safely without putting anyone at risk,” Zimmerman said.
“You can’t beat them when it comes to safety and efficiency. Basically, it becomes a one-man operation. You eliminate the need for 3 or 4 workers to have their hands at risk of being crushed or injured from putting slings under and around pipes.”
“We’re using one lifter to load and transport the pipes from the yard and one lifter onsite to unload and transport the pipes up and down some very steep terrain. Without the vacuum lifters it would become a safety nightmare in this environment,” he said.
The RC Series is designed to handle materials from 10-25 tonne in conjunction with larger-capacity host carriers and are perfect for large scale infrastructure projects such as the this. Vacuum lifting provides a safer methodology regarding how to move pipe safely, eliminating the risk of injury to workers all the while increasing overall efficiency.
“We can have a truck loaded within half an hour with the RC 20, where it would normally take around 3 hours plus additional workers without a Vacuworx lifter,” Zimmerman said.
Drawing from global examples, Kissick Construction also successfully utilised the Vacuworx RC 16 Vacuum Lifting System to unload up to 12 trucks that arrived daily over the course of 12 months to various staging points along on the route on a rural job in Kansas.
By using the Vacuworx system, Kissick Construction was able to accept delivery of more than 7315 linear metres of pipe, which was typically laid out in 15 metre sections along the right-of-way. Prior to its experience with vacuum lifting, Kissick had been using nylon slings to hoist heavy-duty pipe and lower it into a trench, requiring up to three additional workers. Kissick’s workforce achieved greater efficiency in comparison to traditional pipe handling methods by implementing the Vacuworx system.
Customer outcomes
Buyers in search of pipe handling tools and lifting are more regularly adding service before and after the sale, as well as access to the right parts, training and robust technical support to their equipment purchasing considerations, with overall higher expectations related to usefulness, convenience, and desirability.
The commitment to continuous innovation exhibited by Vacuworx has always been rooted in safety, realised both through listening and responding to the needs of current and future customers. It is a mindset that never tends to rest only on designing and engineering new machines but on helping facilitate exchanges that produce the most desirable business outcomes for highly productive companies.
“We’re delivering safe and innovative solutions by providing easy access to (pipe handling) applications some of the customers may have been hard-pressed to imagine just ten years ago,” General Manager for Vacuworx Australia and Southeast Asia Lou Guevara said.
“Our product is further supported by a global network of customers and distributors, engineers and service technicians in addition to both local, in-country, and global manufacturing abilities.
“We’ve found our clients appreciate access to local service and flexibility. Vacuum lifting is 100 per cent our singular focus. Clients’ results and outcomes is the number one priority.”
This article featured in the March edition of The Australian Pipeliner.
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