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PLUMBING CONNECTION
SUMMER 2016
INDUSTRY NEWS
VIEGA HITS 10 YEARS IN LOCAL MARKET
Viega is celebrating 10 years since it introduced its
Propress system to Australia.
“Viega was the pioneer of copper press-fit technology
and we were the first to market in Australia,” says
technical manager/strategic projects for Viega in
Australia Robert Hardgrove.
“Since launching in 2006, Viega has established a
steadfast reputation for quality, innovation, efficiency
and cost-effectiveness. While we had humble beginnings
as plumbers and contractors learned about the many
benefits of our products, their use increased rapidly.
“The early adopters were predominantly from
regional areas, however today Viega’s products are used
extensively across metropolitan and regional areas
by some of the country’s largest plumbing groups and
contractors – many specified at the design stage.”
The growth in demand for Viega solutions led the group
to open a purpose designed showroom and seminar/
training facility in Sydney’s northwest in 2012.
“The Viega Group is renowned for its training in
Germany, and we wanted an Australian facility to enhance
the local market’s understanding of Viega’s products and
technical capabilities,” Robert adds.
“This facility represents many things, not least of which
is our commitment to our Australian industry partners,
customers, employees, and end users. It also represents
Viega’s commitment to being best-in-class in everything
we do.”
And what of the future? After starting with press-fit
technology, Viega has also introduced its concealed
cistern and flush-plate systems to the Australian market.
And Robert hints at more to come.
“Viega has a range spanning 17,000 products.
Innovation is key and we will be releasing further,
innovative products in years to come.”
OFTEN QUOTED, INFREQUENTLY PURCHASED
Our thanks go to readers who responded to last issues’
cover story Mind Games - the dilemma with regulations.
It again confirmed how this industry fly’s by the seat
of its pants when it comes to having any real depth of
understanding with codes and regulations.
When things go wrong and a plumber fronts a court
room, the judge will rightly assume that the plumber is
fully conversant with such industry information – that’s
why you are licensed....
The licence is not there to keep others (who don’t
have the knowledge or skills) out of the industry; it is to
acknowledge your training and
experience.Ifthat’s the
case, then you’d expect a resource like AS 3500 would be
found on most street corners. Wrong! As we pointed out
in last issue, the eye-watering $1200 price tag puts paid
to that. How many plumbers coming out of their time and
into contracting are really going to stump up $1200?
And the proof is in the pudding. It has been put to us
that over the past 10 years, only around 750 copies of the
full set of AS/NZS 3500 have been sold. That’s a catch
situation, the lack of volume means there is no economy
of scale, which means it is out of the hands of so many.
So, how does anyone come up with the price tag of
$1200 you may ask, when there is no authoring cost to
the publisher/marketer who holds the exclusive licence to
sell the Standards. It is a fact that the plumbing industry
and regulators are the ones who put the time into the
committees that produce new and revised Standards,
under the guidance and support of Standards Australia.
Once everything is approved, the documents are then
handed over to SAI Global (an ASX listed company) who
have the marketing rights and who then produce print or
online editions of the Standards for sale.
The challenge for Standards Australia and industry is
to see how it might move forward with new marketing
arrangements, when the current arrangement sunsets in
a couple of years time.