A pipe manufacturing business based in Lonsdale is significantly expanding its workforce to keep up with the demand of the Malinauskas Labor Government's investment in water infrastructure.
Amiblu Pipe Systems has taken on nine new staff this year and has received more than $5 million in orders from SA Water for their work on four key wastewater infrastructure projects across SA; in Munno Para, Roseworthy, Milne Road and Edinburgh.
As of this week, more than 20 kilometres of new water and sewer pipes have now been installed across Adelaide's northern suburbs, marking a major milestone in one of South Australia's largest infrastructure delivery programs enabling housing growth.
The record $1.5 billion investment in growing the water and sewer network is part of the Premier's Housing Roadmap, aimed at addressing housing affordability and availability by unlocking land supply and removing barriers to development.
In less than a year since the first pipe was laid, SA Water's program has seen extensive work carried out to expand its networks and unlock capacity for new homes to be built in growth areas such as Angle Vale, Munno Para, Riverlea and Roseworthy.
The pipe laying milestone represents approximately 25 per cent of the program's anticipated total length of pipe to be delivered, with 15 active construction crews currently working across various sites.
To achieve this milestone, more than 100,000 work hours of direct construction work have been completed to date, including the delivery of new trunk water mains to support a range of greenfield developments such as within Angle Vale and Roseworthy.
While this new infrastructure is delivered at pace, SA Water is adopting different ways of working to minimise the disruption on commuters and residents where possible – including a trenchless construction method known as microtunnelling.
The utility is currently installing kilometres of underground trunk sewer main across Munno Para and Roseworthy to unlock capacity for new homes by adopting this technique, with these new pipes certified Australian Made and manufactured locally in Adelaide.
Microtunnelling is especially beneficial in densely populated areas as it significantly minimises any interruption to road users, as well as a project's carbon footprint due to a reduced need to excavate and remove excess soil from site.
As just one of the several companies contracted to deliver SA Water's infrastructure growth projects, Amiblu's South Australian operation at Lonsdale is now the company's highest-performing outlet by revenue compared against their other facilities interstate.
The boost to the business not only drives economic growth and strengthens Amiblu's resilience but also creates flow-on benefits across their South Australian supply chain.
The Malinauskas Government's unprecedented $1.5 billion investment sits in stark contrast to the previous Marshall Liberal Government's mere $172 million spend on water infrastructure, including only $20 million in Northern growth areas.
As put by Nick Champion
Our investment in water infrastructure is not only injecting more housing supply into the market but also creating real jobs right here in South Australia.
Without the pipes in the ground, new homes simply cannot be built. That's why we're investing at a scale never seen before in this state.
That a Lonsdale based manufacturer is needing to employ more staff to keep up with demand shows how this program is strengthening our economy as well as our housing market.
As put by Chris Fraraccio, Amiblu Australia Sales Director
Amiblu has seen an unprecedented level of support from the Malinauskas Government and SA Water, with civil infrastructure investment driving significant opportunities for local industry.
Since receiving the first order in March 2025, Amiblu has delivered continuous supply to Fulton Hogan and SA Water, resulting in nine months of dedicated production capacity through to November 2025. To meet this demand, Amiblu increased its workforce by nine employees in April, further strengthening local employment and skills.
Amiblu thanks the Malinauskas Government and SA Water for prioritising local content and enabling South Australian manufacturing to play a vital role in building critical infrastructure for our communities.
