Director digs trenchless award nom

THE country’s first Trenchless Woman of the Year could be a Ballarat local.

Co-director of Pipe Pro Directional Drilling and James Vac Solutions, Dannielle James is one of three female finalists in her category of the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology Awards.

Ms James said she discovered she was in the top group last week and feels proud to be highlighted as part of the trenchless tech industry’s night of nights.

“The other two women who are nominated are doing amazing things as an engineer, and a project manager,” she said. “It’s humbling to be nominated alongside these women.

“Because it’s a national awards night with hundreds of people, companies, and project managers coming together there from all over Australia, it’s a massive opportunity for us to boost our profile.

“As a business owner, I don’t know of any other women who are owner-directors in this space, so I’m pretty excited. It should be fun.”

This year marks the inaugural Trenchless Woman of the Year honour at the ASTT awards night.

“It’s great that they’ve incorporated that this year to celebrate the women in our space,” Ms James said.

Alongside her husband, Pipe Pro and James Vac Solutions’ co-director Jason James, Ms James has headed up to Brisbane for the event, alongside two of their employees, and the staff of another Victorian drilling company.

James Vac Solutions launched in 2021, and two of their six employees are female operators.

“It’s been a great business to get some more women involved in our industry, and in terms of work, we can’t keep up, so it’s a good problem to have,” Ms James said.