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Success in Algeria – Inerga Completes Large-Scale Geo Project

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Success Stories27 Aug 2021

The Algerian company Inerga is now independently completing large geo projects thanks to the excellent cooperation with Leister's Algerian distributor, ChimiBat. Read more in this blog post.

Author: Silke Landtwing, Corporate Communication Manager, Leister Switzerland

Inerga is a subsidiary of Sonelgaz, one of the largest Algerian construction companies specializing in in the fields of energy, industrial and real estate infrastructure. Mainly, Inerga plans and executes various infrastructure projects in civil engineering, roads, water, housing and hydraulic engineering.

Inerga used to award underground, geomembrane welding contracts for industrial sites to smaller companies. This has changed now that Inegra has the right equipment from Leister and their employees have been trained on how to use Leister equipment to weld HDPE membranes.

Sealing the subsoil next to oil tanks

Specifically, Inerga was commissioned to seal the subsoil next to oil tanks with geomembranes at one of Algeria's largest power plants near the city of Biskra. This was to prevent oil from leaking into the ground and groundwater in the event of an accident. As with all projects, it was essential to weld the geomembranes tightly and sustainably to ensure a high standard of quality.

Service and support from Leister distributor ChimiBat

Inerga needed suitable welding machines and testing equipment and sought advice from the Algerian Leister distributor, ChimiBat. In addition to selling Leister products, ChimiBat also offers service and other support, such as training users how to operate Leister welding machines and testing equipment. This convinced Inerga.

ChimiBat has supplied Inerga with the following Leister products:

  • GEOSTAR G5 automatic welding machine to reliably weld HDPE geomembranes
  • Test Needle accessory, which is used to check the tightness of the welding seam via a test channel filled with compressed air.
  • TRIAC ST heat gun to weld detail work and for repairs
  • WELDPLAST S1 extrusion welder, which is suitable for welding large tanks and containers used in civil engineering

12,000 m2 / 129,167 ft2 of geomembranes are welded

The Leister sales consultant from ChimiBat came to the construction site at the power plant near Biskra. He trained the Inerga employees directly on site, showing them how to use Leister's welding equipment correctly.

In this project, Inerga's welders used the GEOSTAR G5 to overlap weld a total of 12,000 m2 / 129,167 ft2 of HDPE geomembranes in the area next to the huge oil tanks. The resulting test channel was then filled with compressed air to check the tightness of the welding seam with Leister's Test Needle accessory.

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As seen in the picture, Leister's WELDPLAST S1 was used to weld the thicker HDPE geomembranes around the posts next to the oil tanks. The posts now serve as supports for the oil pipes (see marking on the right side of the picture).

Project successfully completed

Inerga successfully completed this major project in cooperation with the Leister distributor ChimiBat. Rachid Benlakhouy, Sales Manager Africa and UK at Leister Technologies AG in Switzerland, is pleased, “I think this is the beginning of a great success story in Algeria. I'm confident that more, exciting projects for Inerga are sure to follow, where ChimiBat's advice, service and support will be utilized.”

Links to the mentioned companies: