The 8th National ASTT Conference and Exhibition was the biggest national trenchless conference ever held in Australasia. The event attracted hundreds of local delegates as well as visitors from Canada, China, Germany, Kuwait, Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, UK and the United States.

Thank you to platinum sponsor Interflow, silver sponsor Vermeer, bronze sponsor Parsons Brinckerhoff and DCI and Westnet for supporting the industry’s premier event.

Technical talk

Victorian Councillor Chris Frangos worked tirelessly as Program Chair to put together an outstanding technical program with a range of quality papers that included an impressive range of international speakers.

The keynote sessions included addresses from ISTT Chairman Dr Dec Downey, ISTT Vice Chair Dr Samuel Ariaratnam, Director of the Water Reclamation Department PUB Singapore Tan Thai Pin, Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs John Roskam, and Executive Director of the Water Services Association of Australia Ross Young. Full details will be available in the December edition of Trenchless Australasia.

Trenchless on show

The exhibition kicked off with an opening cocktail party where ASTT Chairman Trevor Gosatti welcomed representatives from across the trenchless industry to the event. There were over 60 companies exhibiting the full range of trenchless machinery, products and services. Trade visitors packed the 2,200 square metre space and traffic was high throughout the two-day event. Exhibitors reported ‘a quality crowd’ of over 650 delegates, speakers, exhibitors and trade visitors attending the exhibition.

This year’s best booth award went to TT Asia Pacific. The impressive TT Asia Pacific booth attracted a constant stream of visitors with the genuine Grundodrill and other equipment on display and the TT Asia Pacific team on hand to answer all the questions.

The social side

The social events at Trenchless Australasia 2009 allowed networking to take place in a relaxed environment. To see all the photos from the events click here.

The River Cruise, sponsored by Vermeer, was a fabulous night. Many attendees dressed up for the gangster theme, which was complemented by a casino with roulette and black jack. The evening aboard the Voyager was made complete with a tasty buffet dinner and dancing.

The Gala Dinner and Awards, sponsored by Interflow, was a highlight of the conference. Dinner was held in the Member’s Dining Room offering spectacular views of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). AFL-themed entertainment provided by Hawthorn alumni Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico was a hit. The industry celebrated another successful conference in style with excellent food, a live band, and plenty of dancing. Trenchless awards

The Gala Dinner is the industry’s opportunity to recognise the achievements of companies and individuals and celebrate excellence in Trenchless Technology.

The finalists for Project of the Year were:

• Onslow Road Stormwater Upgrade – Advanced Pipeline Services
• Rehabilitation of sections of the North Georges Submain (NGRS) – Interflow
• Sewer Rehabilitation Program – Project Max and North Shore City Council
• Lining of Stone Arch Stormwater Conduit, Haymarket – Water Infrastructure Group

ISTT Chairman Dec Downey presented the award for 2009 Project of the Year for to Interflow’s rehabilitation of sections of the North Georges Submain (NGRS) for Sydney Water. For a detailed look at the project click here.

The Lifetime Achievement award, presented by ISTT Chairman Dec Downey, is a special award that recognises an outstanding contribution over many years to the trenchless cause. This year the award recognises Menno Henneveld. Mr Henneveld was the inaugural Chairman of the ASTT and served in the role from 1991–2009. He was instrumental in the promotion of the trenchless industry throughout Australasia and the world.

Alan Sutton from Kembla was recognised as Person of the Year and Joel Chong from Calibre Projects was awarded Young Person of the Year.

Until next year

See you next year in Coffs Harbour 17–20 October for Trenchless Live 2010!