Bisinella Developments congratulates RPC Technologies on 10 successful years of operations in Geelong.
RPC’s flagship, state-of-the-art facility in Heales Rd, Corio was constructed by Bisinella in 2010 to cater for the composites manufacturer’s clients in the infrastructure, transport and defence industries.
Darren Bishop, RPC’s Senior Manager of Operations in Victoria, said the selection of the Corio site was chosen for its strategic position and access to funding support from the Geelong Innovation and Investment Fund (the GIIF) to equip the plant.
“It was purpose built for composites production, particularly large diameter filament winding of FRP pipes, vessels and structures. We are very happy with the facility. It is modern and suits our needs and capability.”
RPC is a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of fibre reinforced composite (FRP) solutions.
“RPC is proud to celebrate 10 successful years of operations in Geelong, Victoria, underlining our commitment to manufacturing in Australia and providing employment for our local communities.”
“Our flagship facility was purpose-built in partnership with Bisinella Developments to supply advanced FRP composites for local and global markets. We are looking forward to the next 10 years as we continue to work with our local community and partner with primes and Government to support local manufacturing.”
Mr Bishop said the business continued to be the trusted partner to many of Australia’s and the world’s leading companies to engineer, manufacture and install FRP components in defence, transport, water, wastewater, mining and energy sectors.
Some of RPC’s major customers include Melbourne Water, Barwon Water, Bombardier, John Holland, Alstom, Thales and Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure.
RPC Group employs 500 people globally, including 24 in Corio. There are also sites in New South Wales, South Australia, Singapore, India and Indonesia.
The Corio flagship facility services RPC’s customers from Victoria, New South Wales and New Zealand.
RPC is currently working on the Central Interceptor project for Auckland, New Zealand. The largest wastewater tunnel project in New Zealand is designed to make Auckland’s waterways cleaner.
RPC is responsible for the design, supply and delivery of Cascade shafts from 3.0m to 7.5m in diameter and up to 70m deep to connect with the transfer piping.
“RPC Group has grown significantly (over the past decade) and has a wide spread of business through different sectors,” Mr Bishop said.
Celebrating the 10-year milestone, Mr Bishop paid tribute to Bisinella’s Managing Director Lino Bisinella and said it was amazing what can be done when you have a great landlord. Particularly at this difficult time, we all need to support and help each other.”
Mr Bishop said COVID-19 had impacted the business but the future was looking positive.
“Output has been slowed due to significant customer delays as well as delays in project awards and hence start up,” he said.
“However, with the Victorian Government’s Infrastructure and Rail plans, RPC Corio’s future looks bright.”
Mr Bishop said the company hoped the Federal and State Government strongly support the Made in Australia theme.
“We want to build more here in Australia to ensure our skills and capability are retained in Australia, making Australia more self-sufficient and less reliant on imports – retained and increased sovereign capability.”
Bisinella Director Richard Bisinella congratulated the team at RPC on the 10-year milestone and paid tribute to their professionalism.
“RPC is an exemplary example of how Geelong is continuing to undertake advance manufacturing and how important the industry is for our city. RPC’s flagship facility is an iconic building at the entrance of our industrial estate. We look forward to our successful relationship continuing with them well into the future,” he said.
Mr Bisinella said RPC approached the company in 2009 looking for a custom-built facility to support their work on the Victorian Desalination Plant. Bisinella built the facility to RPC’s specifications ahead of schedule, enabling RPC to meet their deadlines for the project.
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.
“In 2009, there were obstructions to the project that needed to be overcome with Council. However, with the assistance of Corio MP Richard Marles we were able to show how important the facility is to the local economy. The Government’s support of RPC has proven to be a sound decision, resulting in 10 successful years of advanced manufacturing in Geelong.
Choosing Corio as the location for their flagship facility has also resulted in significant flow-on effects to the broader community over the past decade,” said Mr Bisinella.
Over the past 10 years Bisinella has made a number of improvements to the facility to support their operations. This includes upgrading the site in 2018 (and all sites in the industrial estate) with LED lighting. Last year, Bisinella concreted an area of approximately 3000m2 to further support RPC’s storage of finished product in the warehouse.
Major RPC projects conducted from the Corio site over the past 10 years have included:
• Intake and Outlet Risers (large diameter FRP structures) for the Victorian Desalination Plant
• 21 Maintenance Shafts (5m diameter) for Amaroo Sewer Line, Victoria
• Odour control equipment for waste treatment plants - Malabar Wastewater Treatment Plant, Sydney Water; North Head Wastewater Treatment Plant, Sydney Water; Eastern
Treatment plant, Melbourne Water
• Seats, front masks and interiors - Melbourne X’Trapolis metropolitan trains for Alstom
Mr Bishop said recent work has included the manufacture and painting of train fronts for Bombardier, as well as interior fittings, such as luggage racks and ceiling panels for V/Line VLocity regional trains.
Other recent projects have included Odour Control Units for the St Marys Water Recycling Project, Sydney and manufacturing dashboard assemblies for Hawkei armoured infantry transport vehicles for Thales in Bendigo. It also includes composite front ends & interior panels for the new Melbourne trams for Bombardier.