For Van Elle, one of the country’s leading geotechnical specialists, 2007 has been yet another successful year. The company has just invested over £2 million in rigs and equipment and has grown to employ over 400 people.

With the downturn in the economy, 2008 has not been a great start for many in the construction industry. However Van Elle is bucking the trend and is looking to achieve more organic growth by providing cost effective solutions for customers looking to save money this year. Van Elle’s Open Site Piling Division is a major part of this success. The division is winning more large scale work so has acquired three brand new Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) rigs to expand the division’s already comprehensive piling capabilities.

Along with investment in the new rigs, the division has employed 15 new people in various roles across the division and bought a host of new equipment and machinery ranging from new vans to concrete mixer drums, jet washers to rigs.

The rigs are the Soilmec CM70, Soilmec SF-50 and Juntann PM16. They have an even broader range of diameters and applications that elevate Van Elle into a new league.

All three rigs are self-erecting and represent the latest developments in CFA and Driven technology. The piling capacity of the division has grown significantly from 600mm to 1000mm pile diameter.

Andy Sneddon, Managing Director of the Open Site Piling Division says,

“We invested in these rigs as business is strong and we are winning work across most of the construction sectors. They are powerful compact rigs which give us many new options. It really reflects the new growth in the business.” Van Elle’s Restricted Access Micro Piling division is another success story at the company, with a turnover increase of 40% in the last 5 years. The division has acquired a new SOILTEK rig as part of the £2 million investment in rigs across the company in 2008.

The Director of the Restricted Access Piling Division Dave Warner says,

“The division is expanding its civil engineering work, in restricted situations and sites. SOILTEK is very powerful with a high torque capability. Because it provides more torque than our conventional rigs it is suitable for more difficult ground conditions making it more versatile; this allows for higher production rates, quicker turnaround and therefore reduces costs for the client. The rig also requires a minimal piling mat requirement which is a real benefit, saving on site preparation time.”

The SOILTEK is a small but extremely powerful piling rig. It is ideal for use in urban environments where it can work between the existing buildings. The rig is on tracks, making it more manoeuvrable when working on restricted sites where large piling is required. It has lower mobilisation costs so is suitable for multiple site visits.

As well as major civil engineering works in urban environments the SOILTEK has a multitude of uses and applications. It is ideal for work on brownfield and greenfield sites, piling contiguous & secant retaining walls. The rig can also work near rail lines and highways due its restricted height capability and low centre of gravity.

The SOILTEK’s technical capabilities are extremely impressive. It can install piles up to 600mm CFA diameter, has a 1 metre rotary bore capacity and a weight delivery of 15 tonnes. It is a single pass rig with a standard 7 metre auger with a 3 metre extension pole capacity that allows the depth capacity to increase to 10 metre.

In addition to new rigs, Van Elle has installed NDT’s latest onboard piling computer system the PL3000, universally throughout the CFA and Driven fleet. The new computer system ensures quality control is kept to the highest standard throughout the project. The PL3000 has been a major success, giving better control of costs, improving performance and quality.

Costing over £100k, the PL3000 represents the very latest in CFA and Driven piling rig instrumentation. The operative can view the data readouts, see models and determine the progress of the pile throughout the installation. The system shows drilling progress concrete flows, every 10 minutes in real time. The on-board computer sends data to Van Elle’s head office so engineering staff can inform onsite workers of any problems immediately; this allows for instant collection and distribution of piling data plus the upload of schedules and messages from office to rig.

With the success and investment of 2007, Van Elle is set-up for huge organic growth and an exciting year in 2008.