Taking centre stage at the annual Designbuild exhibition, organised by Diversified Exhibitions Australia , the National Plumbing Show is set to have even more on offer for its plumbing industry visitors this year.

“The National Plumbing Show 08 is back in Melbourne and is a must see event for plumbers, hydraulic and mechanical engineers, water authorities, local councils, plumbing wholesalers and distributors,” said Exhibition Director, Bill Hare.

The sustainable plumbing cause will be furthered by delivering knowledge at green building and plumbing industry seminars and inspiration in new product feature areas including the Green Plumbing Zone.

Designbuild 08 will feature more than 400 exhibitors, including major group stands from Canada, China, Malaysia and Taiwan and international exhibitors from Brazil, Germany, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Turkey. Local companies participating include: ACO Polycrete, Auspex, Gaspex, Nu Flow, Plastic Plumbing and Woodroffe.

Green plumbing comes into focus
 
The prolonged drought in Australia has led to an almost insatiable demand for cost efficient water-saving devices and the need for plumbers to enhance their skills and knowledge about the environmental aspects of their work.

To assist all in the industry to come up to speed on what is new and how to include and implement the new products and technologies, for the first time there will be a Green Plumbing Zone featuring the recent in eco-friendly products and services for the plumbing industry.

New Products on show include:

Tankmasta is launching its new T2 range of water storage tanks with new moulds designed to create a high level of installation flexibility.

Robert Bosch is showing their 5.5+ star Highflow series - the recent energy efficient water heaters. The Highflow range consists of the most advanced continuous flow gas water heaters to be sold in Australia and New Zealand.

Ausdrain is displaying EnviroModules - lightweight, durable and high strength cells that enable tank installations on just about any project, even under car parks and driveways.

Studor Australia will be exhibiting its full range of Air Admittance Valves and P.A.P.A. coupled to a HDPE stack system. This fully Australian standards approved system allows multi-storey buildings to be built to ESDP (Green Star).

Art Plastics is launching XP100 Extenda Pan –the pan connector to solve all installation problems and save hours. The unique design ensures total flexibility between offsets of 0mm to 100mm in 10mm increments.

MCE Lasers is releasing the remodelled LS.140.B pipe-laying laser with all the strengths of the original but now with the brighter beam allowed by law and the most advanced features in the world. It offers good visibility and refined operation.

Pioneer Enviro Solutions – Aqua Automation is designed for automatic delivery of rainwater with a mains water backup. Maximum recommended flow 120Lpm, Maximum pressure 850Kpa.

Stormtech Architectural Grates & Drains – 100AG Kit is a shallow lineal grate and channels that will fit in the tile bed and removes the need for rebating slabs. AS65 kit is also a shallow lineal grate and channel; but is stainless steel.

Desert National – the new waterless urinal Desert Cube is a small blue cube that is totally biodegradable and non toxic. Once placed in urinals the water is turned off and the cube does the work, saving water, cost of cistern maintenance and plumbing call out costs.

Sewer Equipment Company Australia – RootX reaches the top of the pipe with its ideal foaming action; where 90% of root intrusion occurs. Surfactants strip away grime and grease on roots and an approved herbicide kills them on contact. A proven performer in USA since 1994, RootX is being released into Australia.

Comprehensive Education Programme

Green Plumbers Training Programmes

The Green Plumbers training workshops held within Designbuild are designed to assist plumbers in understanding their role in relation to Environmental and Public Health and to be better informed and able to advise and assist customers with up-to-date information.

The workshops attract MPMSAA CPD points. Program topics include: Solar Hot Water (MPMSAA CPD 4 pts), Water-efficient Technology (8 pts) and Principles of Pumps (8 pts).

2008 Australian National Plumbing Forum:

Training – a journey not a destination

The 2008 Australian National Plumbing Forum is hosted by the Institute of Plumbing Australia. This forum will concentrate on the centre part of the journey - those upper certificates in the national training package so important to aspiring contractors, designers and teachers.

The need for access to courses, good practice delivery and nationally consistent assessment are expected outcomes for this forum to be then conveyed to government for further study and action by government and industry.

Plumbing Supply Forum 2008

Balancing water & energy savings with plumbing system functions
The annual Plumbing Supply Forum will feature a top line-up of speakers with topics relevant to the plumbing industry. The forum is the key business event for Australasian plumbing product manufacturers, importers and merchants.

Green Building Seminars

The Designbuild Green Building Seminars are staged in conjunction with the Australian Architecture Association. Leading-edge practitioners of environmentally sustainable architecture, design, building and construction will speak about the green building revolution.

Supported by major associations

Designbuild is endorsed by many industry associations including Green Plumbers, Institute of Plumbing Australia, Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia.

Designbuild Australasia & The National Plumbing Show will be staged at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre for the Trade Only from 15 - 18 June 2008.

Opening times: Sunday 15th June 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday 16th June 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday 17th June 12 noon – 9 p.m. (late night) and Wednesday 18th June 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.