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PLUMBING CONNECTION
AUTUMN 2015
A NEWDAWN ON THE HORIZON
T
he manufacturing industry is doing it tough
in Australia and you only need to look at the
automotive sector for evidence. The headwinds are
strong and the next 12 months will no doubt shed more
light on the area’s future as a whole. With such a highly-
skilled workforce in Australia, it begs the question, ‘where
to from here?’
It seems as though, in order to survive in the plumbing
manufacturing sector, that you either need global
recognition or scale, a niche product or a solid reputation
for being able to build something better than anyone
else. With that being said, the production machine that is
China, will often find ways to make products of a similar
nature (often of lesser quality), with a cheaper price tag
and in today’s economy, unfortunately they are often the
first products picked up off the shelf.
The first edition of
Plumbing Connection
for 2015
highlights some key industry changes over the last
few months as well as touching on some anticipated
movements in the near future.
We take a look at the demise of the Crane Copper Tube
factory that until 2014 had been in existence for nearly
150 years. With such a high rate of plastic adoption in the
plumbing sector, unfortunately the demand for copper had
waned to the point that it was no longer viable to stay in
business. That’s not to say copper is dead though, far from
it in fact as you will read about in John Fennell’s
Copper
Connection
column.
You will also read about the sale of Dux to Noritz, a
Japanese company with plenty of ambition, keen to make
its mark on the Australian hot water market.
It isn’t all doom and gloom though as some shining
lights do still exist when it comes to manufacturing in
our own backyard. One such example is Pentair Valves
with their backflow prevention units still being designed
and built in Eaglefarm, Queensland. They are the sole
manufacturers of this sort of product in Australia and
their success is evident through increasing sales and an
expanding network of global clients.
NEW SOLAR HOT WATER REPAIR COLUMN
In our promise to keep up to date with the trends and
‘industry vogue’, we have enlisted the help of a solar hot
water repair expert to begin a new column which aims to
aid plumbers working with solar hot water heaters.
The introduction of solar hot water rebates by the
EDITORIAL
government and the small scale renewable energy scheme
accelerated the industry some years ago. Some products
developed during that early buzz stage were good and
performed the functions they set out to while others
didn’t fare so well. Warranties became competitive among
suppliers and while tanks and collectors were allocated
5-15 year warranties, basic components were only given
1-2 years – something consumers generally found out
after repairs were needed.
Mat Briggs, an expert in the field, explains that with
a growing need for repairs on solar hot water systems,
brings about new business opportunities too. This is of
course only possible if contractors know enough about the
systems and how to repair them when problems arise.
In his new column,
Solar Fix
, Mat will share his vast
amount of knowledge from how to approach situations,
which parts to source, where to buy them and also how
much to charge. In a competitive industry it’s always wise
to add new strings to your bow and solar hot water repairs
should be high on your priority.
Justin Felix