Flinders Street Station is among Australia’s and Melbourne’s most recognisable landmarks. The terminus was the first city railway station in Australia and is the best-known railway station in the country. Over the years, Flinders Street Station has become a famous Melbourne landmark, emerging as a symbol of Victoria’s capital city and is an institution in the daily routine of nearly a quarter of a million people.

This is why the reconstruction of dual tram tracks on the corners of Flinders and Swanston Streets was always going to be difficult. This project required the closure of Melbourne’s busiest intersection to enable the replacement of old worn tram tracks and roadway with new infrastructure including electrical conduits, cable pitts and crossovers. Timing was also critical and the job needed to be done fast. This work was crucial to ensure the safety and reliability of Melbourne’s train and tram network system that carries millions of commuters annually in Australia’s second biggest City.

Coleman Rail was formed in 2002 to undertake construction and maintenance contracting in light rail and related activities in Australia, South East Asia and New Zealand; with sub-contractors also employed to carry out demolition and construction work on all major projects. For this assignment, Coleman Rail was the major contractor employed to break out the old tram tracks and out-dated infrastructure, but due to the strict guidelines for Melbourne’s Tram and Road system, reconstruction work had to be carried out over an extremely stringent period of time. They also faced substantial fines if the project was not completed on time.

For this reason up to seven excavators and different contractors were employed to get the job done – and when they turned up, ALL were equipped with an Indeco Rock Breaker. With productivity crucial to getting the job done on time, all contractors were determined to set high standards and quickly set about breaking up the road and tracks. Casabene Excavations and Drainage were one of the major sub-contractor employed, and are also one of the largest Indeco customers in Australia. Located in the Western Suburbs of Victoria, Casabene’s run a fleet of twenty three Indeco Rock Breakers, ranging from HP 150 for small domestic work up to HP 7000 for deep trenching projects.  Pip Casabene formed a relationship with Indeco Australia in 1995 and has complimented his excavator fleet with Indeco Rock Breakers for drainage and excavation work in Melbourne ever since.

Working along side each other, each contractor compared notes on their Indeco breakers, but more importantly were successful in meeting the stringent deadline to complete one of the most vital projects the footsteps of Flinders street has seen.

One of the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the double-decker Airbus A380, has forced a major redevelopment of Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport. Melbourne has already spent $220 million and is spending another $330 million on upgrading its airstrips and terminals.

Although the Airbus, with its 30-metre-wide wheelbase, can operate on some standard 45-metre-wide runways, many runways around the world – including Melbourne’s – have had to be widened. In Melbourne’s case, the runway had been widened 15 metres – 7.5 metres each side – for a new total width of 60 metres. The widening was done as with accompanying work on the tarmac, taxiways and parking spaces for the aircraft, as well as a major expansion of terminal buildings to cope with increased traffic.

Armstrong Construction was one contractor employed for the removal and replacement of the tarmac. A civil engineering contractor since 1975, Armstrong’s specialise in all aspects of pipeline works: sewer, water, drainage and gas. For over 35 years, they have undertaken construction works for all major water companies, regional water and sewerage authorities, local government, statutory authorities, land developers and other private clients.

With a fleet of existing Indeco breakers, Armstrong’s quickly put their Indeco HP9000’s to work. While the tarmac proved no problem for the HP9000, the timing to complete the runway widening and breaking of new rock was once again significant. Impressed with their existing HP9000’S, Armstrong’s also decided to add a bigger HP12000 to their fleet. The project provided an unusual backdrop to the usual sites around Melbourne, but the main obstacle this time wasn’t the rock, but rather the heavy schedule of planes circling the surrounding runways.

As well as Indeco hammers, an Indeco IFP1250 Pulverizer was also used in the redevelopment and demolition of the terminal buildings, by contractors G and M Aldridge.  This was the first Indeco pulverizer purchased by Aldridge but has been working constantly since being contracted. Stage 1 of the terminal redevelopment is just one part of a five-year expansion plan for Melbourne Airport that represents one of the largest infrastructure investments undertaken in Victoria over that period, with approximately 1000 people employed in its construction.

The expansion plans represent the largest upgrade to Melbourne Airport’s facilities since it was built in the 1960s. With 27,450 tonnes of concrete, 2000 tonnes of steel, 20km of cabling, 15km of hydroponic heating pipes, 5900 square metres of tiling and 3800 square metres of glass being used in the expansion, the Indeco pulverizers and other equipment have been kept extremely busy but kept up to the high demand.

Elfie’s Plant Hire owner David Alford has been contracted by BORAL for approximately 10 years for secondary breaking requirements at their Colac Quarry.  Equipped with Indeco HP5000 and 9000 whisper breakers, they have proved to be very productive and successful.

With Indeco’s constant pursuit to improve performance and reliability, David has also been testing the new ABF ( anti-blank firing ) system and range of retaining axles specifically in secondary breaking applications. His testing over a period of nearly two years has now enabled Indeco to provide customers with a proven and far superior product.

“The introduction of the Indeco Anti blank firing (ABF) system has been a huge development” said Elfie. “I have always been happy with the productivity and power of my Indeco’s, but the ABF has without a doubt helped improve the reliability and wear and tear on my hammers. It has been fantastic and will certainly prolong the life of my equipment”.

The ABF system eliminates the necessity to install a dump valve on the return to tank oil line in certain applications.  Without the ABF system, oil in the line can fire the Rock Breaker after it has broken through the rock, resulting in blank firing. If this happens regularly, it can have a detrimental effect on the life of the breaker.

Elfie has also found with the improved components and ABF fitted to the Indeco larger breakers, maintenance of his hammers has been significantly reduced. “The improvements in turn have actually increased my productivity and have enabled me to maximise the breaker to its full potential” said Elfie.

Indeco also believe that they have also developed the optimum retaining axle for increased longevity and reliability.  Having the right combination of specially selected metal and heat treatments has significantly extended the working life of the retaining axles in a secondary breaking application. This has also reduced maintenance costs and possible downtime in a quarry application, again where blank firing has been a major concern.

Another improvement has seen Indeco equip automatic greasing units on their breaker fleet enabling them to be easily fitted to excavators that don’t have an existing greasing system. This has also been very successful, saving the operator from manually greasing the breaker, guaranteeing chisel lubrication as well as preventing premature wear on the top and bottom bush. “Anything that saves me time or can help with the maintenance of my hammer has to be a good thing” says Elfie. “and we couldn’t agree more.

Indeco Australia continues to break new ground with its HP12000, the biggest hydraulic breaker on the Australian market today. Standing 4 meters high and weighing in at 7.8 tonne, this monster has a 215mm chisel and a power rating of 18,900 joules; a destructive potential that is far and away the best of any breaker on today’s market.

Despite its size, the Indeco HP12000 is still extremely versatile, achieving a strike rate up to 550 blows per minute. While the market has seen an influx of “so called” innovations that have brought no real advantages with them, Indeco have concentrated on what really matters to the customer. Performance, reliability and running costs. How much the breaker actually yields.

One happy customer currently using the Indeco HP12000 is Azzona Drainage Contractors.  Established in 1980, Azzona is a well respected market leader in the civil construction industry, specialising in a diverse range of projects from earthworks to sewer and stormwater drain construction. With over 28 years experience, Azzona has constructed thousands of kilometres of pipelines throughout Melbourne and its surrounding suburbs. They have worked extensively on new estate developments in the Northern and Western Suburbs to the current excavation at Laurimer Estate in Doreen.

Ezio Di Giandomenico from Azzona has been operating the Indeco HP12000 and has been very impressed by what he’s seen. “The rock here has been really hard, but the Indeco hammer has handled it without any problem at all” said Ezio. “Normally with rock this hard we would have needed to pre-drill and blast it, but not with the new breaker”. As well as its performance, Azzona have also been amazed by the increased productivity of the HP12000. “The work rate has increased dramatically; it has taken the new Indeco hammer one week to do what our previous big breaker would have taken one month to do.” said Ezio. “It has significantly increased our productivity which in turn has lead to a huge saving in both time and money”.
In addition to the HP12000, Azzona is also operating a fleet of other Indeco equipment including 14 rock breakers and 5 compaction plates. “We’ve had Indeco hammers for years. We know how good they are and they’ve never let us down” says Ezio. “As well as the performance, Indeco’s back up and service is also excellent”.

Indeco’s development of the HP12000 breaker is another example of the company’s commitment to introducing truly innovative products that bring real advantages to their customers. But a high quality product still needs to be equally complemented with high levels of service, support and back-up; and this has been the real key to Indeco’s long established and continued success in Australia.

Indeco have designed, manufactured and installed a Hydraulic Power Pack, Arm Assembly and Breaker for Hanson Quarry, Hobart.  This unit can be operated from the safety of the operators cabin using electric joy stick controls.

The unit was specifically designed for this installation to enable the Breaker to reach into the crusher as well as clear any blockages on the feeder or in the hopper.

Indeco fitted the latest series HP 700 Whisper Breaker offering exceptional power with reduced sound levels.

Hanson chose Indeco having operated an Indeco 5000 Breaker on their 30 tonne excavator for 5 years.

The Indeco 5000 have proved its productivity and reliability in this extremely hard rock which proves that in extremely hard rock Indeco’s automatic power and speed variation boosts production which other competitive Breakers cannot match.