Humes IpswichManufacturing pipes and precast concrete products
A guided tour of our $75m 14 hectare Ipswich facility
offers a unique insight into the world-class technology
and engineering utilised to create Humes precast pipes
and products. The tour will guide you through the various
manufacturing and quality control processes, automated
machine operations, pallet inventory robotics, remote
concrete transfer and moving curing floors.
Cameras and recording devices are not permitted.
To request a tour please contact:
Brendan Brown
Operations Manager, Humes
(07) 3814 9029
Holcim is proud to welcome you to the most advanced pipe and precast
production facility in Australia.
Welcome to Humes Ipswich
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About us
Humes is a division of Holcim Australia which is part of
the Holcim Group, one of the world’s leading suppliers
of cement and aggregates. The Group was founded
in Switzerland in 1912, and is now a global company
employing some 80,000 people, with production sites in
around 70 countries.
Humes reached a significant milestone in 2010, marking
100 years since entrepreneur Walter Hume invented
his revolutionary method of making concrete pipes. His
process, using centrifugal spinning, transformed the
pipe manufacturing industry worldwide, and formed the
foundation of Humes.
The business has come a long way since those early days
of 1910, by improving our manufacturing methods,
embracing new technologies, and evolving our product
range to meet the changing needs of our markets. With
ongoing research and development, and by bringing
together the best technologies and products from around
the world, Humes has maintained our market leadership
throughout the decades.
Our product portfolio encompasses a diverse range of
applications including stormwater management, sewage
transfer and storage, bridges and platforms, tunnels and
shafts, walling, potable water supply, cable and power
management, and rail.
Today the Humes business employs more than 1,000 staff
across 13 manufacturing facilities, which ensures we are
responsive and economical for our clients wherever they
are based across Australia.
We are now proud to welcome you to our flagship
production facility at Ipswich, where we have set a new
benchmark for the manufacture of pipe and precast
concrete products.
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1. All visitors MUST sign the visitor’s book on arrival and
departure, and complete a site induction.
2. It is a Holcim Policy that there is no smoking or illicit
drug use on site.
3. All site visitors must be escorted by a Holcim
Employee if entering a “Restricted Access” Area.
4. Safety footwear, safety helmet, eye protection and
long sleeve long pants high visibility clothing/vests
must be worn by all visitors in all areas outside the
office, amenities and car park.
5. Hearing protection must be worn in designated/
signposted areas.
6. Portable devices such as mobile phones (to transmit
or receive calls and SMS), MP3/iPods, personal music
devices or similar are prohibited for use on site with
the exception of approved designated areas such as
office and employee amenity areas.
7. All incidents must be reported to the office
immediately (including hazards and near misses).
8. Children are not permitted on site.
9. Exercise caution when interfacing with site mobile
plant, never approach operating mobile plant
from behind, ensure mobile plant operators have
acknowledged your presence before proceeding.
10. All persons in vehicles or mobile equipment must
wear a seatbelt.
11. Vehicles are to be parked only in the marked vehicle
parking areas.
12. Observe all safety and traffic signage. Site speed
restriction is 15 km/h unless signposted differently.
13. Adhere to designated walkways and beware of trip
and slip hazards.
14. Ensure three points of contact are maintained when
using ladders and steps.
15. Safety personnel and first-aid attendants can be
identified by green hard hats or by hard hat stickers.
16. Emergency wardens are responsible for ensuring all
employees, visitors and contractors are accounted
for, and if necessary evacuated. Emergency wardens
are identifiable by red hard hats, or red stickers
on their hard hat. Obey all directions issued by
an emergency warden. The emergency warden
will escort you to the emergency assembly area if
required. The site’s emergency assembly area is
marked with a green cross on the site map opposite.
17. All visitors agree to keep confidential and NOT
disclose, any Holcim information to any person.
Safety rules
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Product storage
Product storage
Assortedprecast products
Batchplant
Exit
Office
Meals/Training
Amenities
Reo shed
Reo shed
Fairbank Place
Workshop
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Dis
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Nob
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Incominggoods
Staff andvisitor entry
Emergency assembly point
Parking
Product storage
Product storage
End Begin
Pipes andaccess chambers
Green line showstour route
Site map
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Manufacturing process
Humes has always been synonymous with quality precast
production, and our new facility introduces a level of
technology never before seen in Australian precast
manufacture. After extensive research across Europe,
Canada and America, we identified the world’s best and
safest in pipe and reinforcement machines, concrete
batching facilities, and curing systems; it was imperative
that our new facility would not only deliver exceptional
results for our clients today, but also well into the future.
The capabilities of our new facility have enabled us
to become a more flexible and responsive partner to
better meet the needs of our clients. We are capable of
modifying a standard product or designing a new, custom
solution. Our team of civil, structural, and hydraulic
engineers approach each project with a focus on
delivering the best outcome for our clients. Customisation
includes (but is not limited to) cast-in items (Humes
products or from external parties), special concrete
mixes or marine grade concrete, skews and deflections,
penetrations, and built-in cathodic protection.
All products manufactured on site comply with the
Australian Standard.
Dry cast manufacturing
Our new facility incorporates dry vertical cast technology
to produce our concrete pipes. This technology delivers a
consistently, high quality product which includes:
• joints with a tighter tolerance
• pipes with consistent end squareness
• pipes with slightly different dimensions and masses
(refer table below)
• pipe lengths that comply with Department of Transport
and Main Roads (DTMR) regulations.
Humes Ipswich pipe weights (each)
Internal diameter(mm)
Class 2(kg)
Class 3 (kg)
Class 4 (kg)
Class 6 (kg)
300 340 340 340 342
375 412 414 415 417
450 517 519 522 528
525 645 647 650 657
600 769 773 775 787
675 903 908 915 932
750 1,079 1,084 1,093 1,110
825 1,254 1,263 1,271 1,290
900 1,421 1,432 1,444 1,460
1,050 2,533 2,542 2,550 2,572
1,200 3,192 3,202 3,213 3,239
1,350 3,954 3,967 3,978 4,010
1,500 4,764 4,780 4,795 4,843
1,650 5,685 5,704 5,720 5,775
1,800 6,619 6,641 6,661 6,722
1,950 7,697 7,721 7,751 7,820
2,100 8,809 8,835 8,868 8,947
2,400 11,313 11,346 11,402 11,503
Notes:1. Please contact your Humes Account Manager for dimensions.2. Weights are approximate only and subject to change
without notice.
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Wet cast manufacturing
The wet cast facility has been laid out to improve safety
and process flow through the various manufacturing
stages, and bring the related activities closer together for
improved efficiency and reduced movement. The main
casting area is completely covered to improve the safety
and amenity of our workforce, and to provide greater
security of meeting our production program without
impact from weather.
Two purpose-built reinforcement processing facilities
have increased our capacity and capability, and improved
the safety and efficiency of processing stock bar into
steel reinforcement cages for our range of standard and
non-standard precast solutions.
We have an extensive mould fleet for manufacturing our
standard range of products and precast items, and we
continually add new custom moulds to meet project and
market demand; these are manufactured in accordance
with Australian Standards to assure mould safety and
product quality.
Process control
All of our production is in accordance with engineered
designs, which include details of reinforcement
requirements, concrete strength and durability,
engineered lifting points and particular applicable
specification requirements.
Our steel and concrete raw materials are all sourced
locally, and are tested regularly to ensure our inputs
continue to satisfy the requirements of Australian
Standards and local Authorities.
Concrete is supplied into the casting area from the
state-of-the-art batch plant via two flying buckets each
delivering up to 2 m3 every 3 minutes. Our concrete
mix is designed to exacting standards to ensure high
specification requirements for strength, durability, and
workability are satisfied.
The concrete is fed into our moulds from remotely
operated spreader buckets, which are manoeuvred on
overhead cranes. This eliminates the need for agitator
trucks and manually operated kibble buckets, which
provides enhanced control over concrete feed rates, and
improves our safety and product quality.
Quality control
Our NATA Certified concrete testing laboratory also
confirms our concrete quality for initial product handling
after casting, and prior to delivery of our products to
our customers’ projects. Our skilled staff are all trained
in the requirements of our safety and quality processes,
and all of our operations are carried out and checked
in accordance with our Third Party Accredited Quality
Assurance Program. This combined with our NATA
Laboratory and TMR Certification, means Humes product
quality is assured.
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National sales 1300 361 601
humes.com.au
This publication supersedes all previous literature on this subject. As the specifications and details contained in this publication may change please check with Humes Customer Service for confirmation of current issue. This publication provided general information only and is no substitute for professional engineering advice. No representations or warranty is made regarding the accuracy, completeness or relevance of the information provided. Users must make their own determination as to the suitability of this information for their specific circumstances. Humes accepts no liability for any loss or damage resulting from any reliance on the information provided in this publication. Humes is a registered business name and registered trademark of Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd (Holcim). “Strength. Performance. Passion.” is a trademark of Holcim.
© March 2014 Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd ABN 87 099 732 297. All rights reserved. This guide or any part of it may not be reproduced without prior written consent of Holcim.