The COVID-19 pandemic has caused construction companies some major headaches with the uncertainty of supply and delivery schedules.
Over the past year, many construction companies have been warning clients of project delays as compliance, shipping and logistics face ongoing disruption. To help meet demand, the local manufacturer of DuraGal1 hot dip galvanized structural steel pipes and tubes, Austube Mills, has increased capacity at their manufacturing facilities to ensure a steady supply of steel products for the Australian construction industry.
One such initiative at Newcastle in NSW is that Austube Mills has added an additional shift at its manufacturing facilities to help stay ahead of demand. It comes just in time for Australia’s post-COVID-19 infrastructure boom. With many projects already announced, the demand for local galvanized steel products is already on the rise.
“Local sourcing of Austube Mills products will help to avoid headaches around compliance, delivery, and we’ve added capacity to our team so that we can offer products in a timely manner for local clients that are looking to get their projects back on track,” said Geoff Cooke, Sales and Marketing Manager at Austube Mills.
“We’ve got a really great team based out here in Newcastle as well as Acacia Ridge in Queensland, and we are happy to grow and welcome a new shift to help us stay ahead of demand. We hope that construction companies continue to choose to purchase high-quality compliant products like DuraGal, and support their local manufacturing industries,” Cooke said.
Austube Mills is Australia’s largest structural steel pipe and tube manufacturer and has been manufacturing such quality and innovative products for over eighty years.
Since the 1980s, Austube Mills has offered a hot dip galvanized steel pipe and tube coating branded as DuraGal. Rather than apply an electrostatic coating or use another method to apply the zinc coating, the hot dip galvanizing process fuses the zinc coating with the steel during the manufacturing stage. This results in a highly durable product with good adhesion and abrasion resistance when compared to other forms of galvanizing.
There can be a misconception that electrogalvanized coating is just the same as in-line hot dip galvanized coatings such as DuraGal, but they are far from the same when it comes to longevity and corrosion resistance. Electrogalvanizing, also known as zinc or electroplating, is a process where zinc is applied using an electrical current. While it provides corrosion protection, it is typically provided in thinner coatings which are not as corrosion resistant as DuraGal’s hot dip galvanized coating.
It is well established that for metallic coatings, the zinc thickness is proportional to service life, or the life through to first maintenance in a corrosive environment. If you double the thickness, the service life is doubled in corrosive environments. DuraGal usually has double the zinc thickness than typical electrogalvanized tubes that are available. Essentially, all gal is not DuraGal.
Due to DuraGal’s high durability, lower cost and longer-term corrosion resistance, it is well suited for use across most of the Australian landscape. The products continue to be extremely popular in Australia and used in roofing, flooring and column applications in building, posts, caravan chassis’, trailers, large and small signage, gym and recreational equipment and many fencing applications.
“Our range of DuraGal hot dip galvanized products can help meet the needs of a variety of projects. We’re always happy to help guide you through and advise what the best product is for your specific project purpose,” added Cooke.
1 DuraGal complies with Australian and New Zealand Standards AS/NZS 1163 and AS/NZS 4792.
Get in touch with the team at Austube Mills or find a branch near you for advice on which products are the best fit for your projects.