Tunnel boring & Infrastructure projects – Hydraulic services in Melbourne and across Victoria
Flotek has worked with most of the major infrastructure and tunnel boring projects across Victoria. From the Metro Tunnel and Suburban Rail Loop to the West Gate Tunnel Project and North East Link, our team has been on the ground keeping critical hydraulic systems running safely, reliably and on schedule.
We understand that when you are lining up a TBM drive, launching a bridge span or working in a live shaft, hydraulic downtime is not an option. Often 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Flotek brings deep experience in tunnel boring projects, large‑scale civil construction and heavy lifting operations, backed by trusted brands such as Enerpac and Herrenknecht, to deliver responsive, technically sound solutions that keep the project moving.
Specialists in tunnel boring hydraulics
Tunnel boring projects are a core (excuse the pun) part of what we do, and our team knows the unique constraints of underground work in Melbourne’s geology and tight site footprints across Victoria. We support civil construction companies, head contractors and TBM suppliers with commissioning, maintenance and breakdown support on key hydraulic systems including:
Hydraulic power units feeding TBM thrust, erector and auxiliary circuits
Thrust jacks and thrust cylinders providing the main drive force for the TBM
Segment erector hydraulics for safe, accurate placement of precast tunnel segments
Screw conveyor and mucking drives handling spoil removal under variable ground conditions
Cutterhead drive hydraulics where hydraulic motors are used for rotation and torque control
Gripper / bracing cylinders that anchor the machine and manage alignment under high loads
We are familiar with Herrenknecht equipment – some of our team have even worked with Herrenknecht overseas, and the hydraulic architectures commonly used on modern Tunnel Boring Machines. Whether you need troubleshooting on a misbehaving valve bank, flexible hose replacements in confined spaces, or support to redesign part of a circuit to improve reliability, Flotek has the practical tunnelling experience to make it work.
To see how hydraulics underpin Melbourne’s biggest tunnelling projects, read our blog:
Proven experience on Victoria’s biggest infrastructure projects
Flotek has provided hydraulic support across some of the most complex infrastructure jobs in Melbourne and throughout Victoria, including:
Metro Tunnel – Support services on TBM and surface works, including fault‑finding on hydraulic power units, repair and replacement of hydraulic cylinders and motors, and on‑site response to hydraulic oil leaks and hose failures. Read more in our case study:
Metro Tunnel case study 2025 and Metro Tunnel case study.Suburban Rail Loop – Assistance with early works and tunnelling support equipment, including hydraulic jacks, hydraulic gantries and skidding systems used to move TBM components and heavy structures in constrained urban environments.
West Gate Tunnel Project – Field service, shutdown and commissioning support on a range of hydraulic systems for tunnelling and bridge works, including large Enerpac lifting systems and project‑specific hydraulic power units. Read more here:
West Gate Tunnel project also has bridges.North East Link – Support for tunnel and surface civil packages, including fault‑finding on hydraulic valves, repairs to hydraulic submersible pumps used for dewatering, and service work on hydraulic cylinders and motors in piling, lifting and earthworks equipment.
Our team understands the documentation, safety and QA expectations on tier‑one and tier‑two infrastructure projects in Victoria, and we are used to coordinating with site engineers, OEM representatives and project planners to minimise disruption.
End‑to‑end hydraulic services for major projects
On a large civil or tunnelling project, hydraulics will appear everywhere: on the TBM, on gantries and launch frames, in jacking systems, piling rigs, cranes, earthmoving plant and dewatering equipment. Flotek offers a complete service suite to manage that hydraulic risk across your project lifecycle:
Diagnostics and breakdown support – Rapid response for unexpected issues such as hydraulic oil leaks, pressure loss, overheating, or erratic movement. We diagnose faults in hydraulic valves, pumps, motors and cylinders and get you back online as fast as possible.
Routine maintenance and shutdown works – Planned servicing for hydraulic power units, hydraulic jacks, thrust jacks, segment erector hydraulics, hydraulic submersible pumps and more, scheduled around your possession, blockade or shutdown windows.
Workshop repairs and overhauls – Full strip‑down, inspection and rebuild of hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic motors, valves and pumps in our Melbourne workshop, including machining, resealing, testing and certification to project requirements.
System upgrades and modifications – Engineering input and implementation when you need to upgrade an under‑performing circuit, integrate new tooling, or re‑purpose existing plant for another stage of the project.
Testing and commissioning – Pressure testing, flow checks and functional testing of hydraulic gantries and skidding systems, jacking arrangements, and TBM support equipment before and after mobilisation.
We can work directly with OEMs such as Enerpac and Herrenknecht, or as the hydraulic partner to your mechanical or electrical contractors, providing both site‑based technicians and workshop capacity.
Equipment and components we service
Flotek’s technicians are comfortable working across a wide range of hydraulic equipment typically found on tunnel boring and infrastructure projects in Melbourne and Victoria, including:
Hydraulic power units (fixed and variable displacement)
Thrust jacks and thrust cylinders for TBMs and jacking frames
Hydraulic jacks for lifting, bearing replacement, bridge launching and structural work
Segment erector hydraulics and ring‑build manipulators
Screw conveyor and mucking drives in TBM and shaft applications
Cutterhead drive hydraulics and associated cooling and filtration circuits
Gripper / bracing cylinders and articulation cylinders on TBMs
Hydraulic gantries and skidding systems for heavy, precise moves
Hydraulic submersible pumps used in shafts, tunnels and excavations
Hydraulic cylinders on cranes, excavators, piling rigs and specialised plant
Hydraulic motors for winches, conveyors, rotary heads and drive systems
Hydraulic valves and manifolds, including proportional and load‑holding valves
Because we work across so many major jobs, we have a strong understanding of which components typically fail under Melbourne’s conditions, and how to improve reliability through better hose routing, protection, filtration and maintenance practices.
Why major project teams choose Flotek
For large civil and tunnel boring projects in Melbourne and across Victoria, there’s only one hydraulic partner that has the technical knowledge, capability and responsiveness (Flotek is 24/7) to support these massive projects. Project teams work with Flotek because:
We have real, on‑site experience with tunnel boring projects and heavy infrastructure works, not just workshop theory.
Our technicians are used to working under strict safety systems, permit regimes and rail or road authority rules.
We can provide both emergency breakdown response and planned maintenance, so you deal with one partner from launch to demobilisation.
We are locally based in Melbourne, which reduces response times and simplifies logistics across Victoria.
