While the list of people who make up the staff at CuraFlo of BC is not the same list as it was 20 years ago, many of our employees are the same and they are now our most experienced employees. CuraFlo of BC evolved out of two old time plumbing companies that had been operating in Greater Vancouver since 1955 and 1979 (Jack K. Lillie and Xpert Mechanical).
1996 was the year that saw a crew of B.C. plumbers travel to Germany for training, learning a new way of restoring plumbing systems (the insitu epoxy lining of metal plumbing systems) that was less intrusive, more durable, and less costly than pipe replacement.
Several companies in Germany had already been using this ‘blow through’ lining technology to restore metal plumbing systems for 20 years’ prior to the arrival of the Canadians. The Canadian crew spent a month learning and working with the German crews and the German Crew followed the Canadians back to Vancouver to work with them on the very first epoxy lining project in Canada.
The first project was a mid-rise apartment tower located in Burnaby and since then over 500 hundred local buildings have had their plumbing systems restored from the inside out, using this technology. The list of Clients accumulated since then is extensive and includes all the local higher education facilities, many of the hospitals and care facilities, CBC, commercial properties owned by Cadillac Fairview and other leading Owners and a vast array of rental and condominium buildings.
Once CuraFlo of BC had the plumbing ‘crisis’ in greater Vancouver largely under control it was time to take on the plumbing issues south of the border. These days the US operations dwarf the two Canadian operations located in Vancouver and Toronto, but the US still counts on expert advice from the original Vancouver crews.
Now with the 20th anniversary of insitu Epoxy lining in the Vancouver operations approaching, it’s time to step things up a notch! Offering lining technology to other types of piping systems is our way of celebrating this anniversary.
In 2015, CuraFlo of BC began offering CuraFlo FS for restoring fire suppression/sprinkler systems and this year we are introducing CurFlo CIPP for the structural lining of pretty much any kind or size of pipes (metal, cement, clay, or plastic). This new technology cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) is a no cut / no dig rehabilitation method used to repair existing pipelines. CIPP is a joint less, seamless, pipe-within-a-pipe with the capability to rehabilitate pipes ranging in diameter 2″ to 26″ in diameter. CIPP can be used to rehabilitate water, sewer, gas, and chemical pipelines constructed of metal, ceramic, cement or plastic material. CIPP even restores cracked and collapsing pipes building a new structural pipe to replace the existing pipe and the best news is that the pipes do not have to be completely dry for this technology to work.