RPC Technologies has demonstrated its confidence in the future of advanced manufacturing in Geelong and Victoria by extending the lease on its flagship Corio facility until 2025.

Bisinella Developments constructed the state-of-the-art facility in 2010 to cater for the composites manufacturer’s clients in the infrastructure, transport and defence industries.

RPC Technologies engineers and manufactures advanced solutions in composite materials and specialty fabrications.

The first project completed at the new Corio facility was the manufacture of four massive inlet and outlet risers, weighing 70 tonnes each, for the Victorian Desalination Plant.

The facility has since undertaken a wide range of work for major water and sewerage infrastructure projects as well as extensive work on Victoria’s new trains and trams.

Past and current projects at Corio include:

- Seats for Melbourne’s X’Trapolis trains (more than 10,000 to date)

- Interior fittings such as luggage racks and partitions for V/Line’s V’Locity trains

- Painting and assembly of Melbourne’s light rail vehicles

- GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) pipes and fittings for major water treatment plants

- The largest underground tank in the Southern Hemisphere (22m x 5m diameter)

- Large-scale GRP manholes (5m diameter) for the Amaroo sewer at Craigieburn

- GRP pipes for the Victorian Government’s Level Crossing Removal Program

- Composite dashboards for the ADF’s Hawkei mobility vehicle (starting next year).

The RPC Group employs more than 350 people at its facilities around Australia (Newcastle, Sydney, Adelaide and Corio) and in Indonesia.

Bisinella Managing Director Lino Bisinella said RPC’s commitment to Geelong and Victoria showed what could be done to create jobs when all levels of government and local business worked together.

“RPC Technologies decided to establish its flagship plant at Corio to take advantage of the strategic location, the proven track record of Bisinella Developments in delivering high quality purpose-built manufacturing facilities, and the funding support provided from the Geelong Innovation and Investment Fund (the GIIF) to equip the plant,” Mr Bisinella said.

“We will be working hard to kickstart more job-creating projects on the land surrounding the RPC facility when the Bisinella Industrial Estate is constructed early in 2017.”

RPC Group Managing Director Tony Caristo said the Corio facility had been developed as the company’s flagship in response to, and in support of, the Victorian Government’s commitment to infrastructure and rail development.

Mr Caristo said management and staff at Corio had recently worked together to formulate an Enterprise Agreement, reinforcing the company’s commitment to a skilled and sustainable local workforce.

“This ensures that RPC is ‘project ready’ and able to provide the Victorian Government with a skilled and stable workforce to deliver projects locally, on time and on budget,” Mr Caristo said.

“We are excited about the opportunities created by the Government’s recent ‘Local Jobs First’ changes to the Victorian Industry Participation Policy (VIPP) and our potential role in major projects such as the 65 new High Capacity Metro Trains (HCMT), recently announced by the Premier as the largest single order of trains to be built in Victoria.”

The term of the lease for 285 Heales Road, Corio, was intially 10 years to April 2020 and the new lease extends the term by five years to April 2025.

Picture: Lino Bisinella and RPC Operations Manager Darren Bishop inspect a five metre diameter GRP pipe for the Amaroo sewer at Craigieburn. Photo courtesy of the Geelong Advertiser.