Omniflex Blog

 

Early switch-mode CP adopters vindicated by years of successful protection and system management

Cathodic protection (CP) specialist Omniflex has completed a system upgrade for the switch-mode CP system installation protecting Yarra’s Edge, a premium residential precinct on Melbourne’s Yarra River, Australia, upgrading its remote monitoring with 4G connectivity. As the system upgrade coincides with the company celebrating its 60th anniversary, Omniflex is reflecting on the successful protection afforded to Yarra’s Edge as well as what the system represents for a global CP market that was initially hesitant about adopting switch-mode technology.

The switch-mode CP system at Yarra’s Edge, first installed in 2009, was one of Omniflex’s first CP projects and an early example of switch-mode CP in practice. It is a six-zone switch-mode CP system of six amps per zone and twelve reference electrodes and has benefited from remote monitoring and control from day one.

The system has run successfully since installation under the management of Infracorr, a leading CP consultant, and has only required upgrades to its communications protocols in that time. In light of Australia closing down its 3G network, Omniflex has just upgraded the system to 4G.

While commonplace now, when the system was first installed in 2009, switch-mode CP systems and web-based remote monitoring were still greeted with a lot of scepticism by industry experts who were accustomed to conventional phase control systems without any monitoring. Omniflex, through its relationship with Ian Godson, a leading CP consultant, was an early pioneer of these technologies, championing its ability to provide ongoing protection while lowering power loss and improving system visibility.

“Early adopters of switch-mode CP systems and web-based remote monitoring had the foresight to recognise the benefits to the industry and invest in this new technology. It would have been so easy to continue doing things in the same way as they had always been done, but it was clear to some of us that switch-mode technology represented a leap forwards in terms of system capabilities. In fact, this technology has led to a rethink of how concrete CP systems are zoned for CP, with smaller zones, with better control and monitoring becoming the industry norm,” explained David Celine, managing director at Omniflex.

16 years after first being installed, the system continues to provide reliable 24/7 protection with 24/7 oversight. This is a testament to Omniflex’s ongoing commitment to lifetime system support and servicing.

Now, as Omniflex celebrates its 60 year anniversary this year, as well as looking back on milestone projects in its history like the Yarra’s Edge CP system, Omniflex continues to look to the future. It is continuing to push the global CP market to embrace relevant new technologies such as they did with switch-mode CP and in-built remote monitoring, pointing to the success of projects like this as evidence of the benefits of adopting these new technologies when appropriate. Download CP sector overview brochure here!

The emergence of Control Logic abv Conlog. As Omniflex celebrates 60 years of engineering excellence, we are diving back to the decade where it all began – the 1960s – where bold ideas, hands-on problem solving and transistor-powered disruption were at the forefront of innovation.

The birth of a vision

In 1965, in the coastal city of Durban, South Africa, a chemical engineer named John Moshal saw the potential of the transistor. Then it was a brand-new invention, but Moshal saw it was about to change everything. He founded Control Logic Pty Ltd, or CONLOG, to lead this new era of innovation.Moshal was on a mission to replace bulky wiring intensive, power-hungry mechanical relays with nimble elegant, electronic modules. His secret weapon was an octal-based transistor logic that slashed complexity and boosted maintenance performance in industrial systems.

Engineering with grit

Moshal was joined by Alan Murray soon after, who had a design mind as fearless as the technology they were developing. Together, they began working with local industries – starting with the sugar mills of KwuZulu-Natal – but this was just the start.

Not just suppliers, Moshal and Murray worked closely with customers, taking on mission-critical challenges previously untouched. It was gritty, hands-on, and often under intense pressure – but produced results. The Engineer-to-Engineer mindset became the foundation of Omniflex’s approach.

No templates, no fear

From day one, the company was about listening, designing, tweaking, and delivering exactly what the customer needed even when that meant pushing the limits of what was technically possible at the time.

This flexibility became their hallmark, earning the respect of engineers across sectors, and establishing CONLOG as the go-to team for complex, high-stakes industrial automation.

People power

Moshal believed that great technology is built by great people. One such legend was Sidney, a team member who stayed for 47 years – and somehow knew where everything was. Stories like that aren’t just sentimental – they’re proof of the deep loyalty and shared purpose that still fuels Omniflex today.

A legacy that lasts

Today, under CEO David Celine, Omniflex continues to innovate on a global scale. But those early values of customer closeness, technical bravery, and relentless reliability still guides every product and every partnership. It has stood the test of time, like some of the systems first designed back then still running today.