Platform on concrete and steel in construction
In this episode of Concrete & Steel Construction on Wheels, we visit Fundex Verstraeten in Oostburg. Director Davy Maes talks about the family business that has been active in foundation engineering for almost 75 years. Fundex once started as a contractor, but grew into a specialist in foundation machines and methods. The company works mainly in the Benelux, but has also realized projects outside the BeNeLux.
Then we go to Rotterdam, where Fundex is working on the project The Sax on Wilhelminapier. This project consists of two residential towers that are connected at great height and will be a new eye-catcher in the skyline. For this high-rise Fundex drills foundation piles to about 75 meters deep. This is necessary to safely transfer the large forces of the towers to the underground. The piles are drilled in two parts, welded and then filled with concrete and reinforcement. A major advantage of this technique is that the work is completely vibration-free.
This keeps inconvenience to local residents to a minimum, which is essential in a busy urban area. Fundex also invests in sustainable solutions, such as machines that are prepared for electric drive. According to Davy Maes, quality, flexibility and thinking with the customer are the main reasons why clients choose Fundex. So the company contributes to the foundation of such modern high-rise projects.
00:00:09:46 - 00:00:26:41
Today we are on our way to Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, but Oostburg to be exact. We are going to visit Verstraeten. We are going to look at a company and we are going to visit a wonderful project.
00:00:26:45 - 00:00:49:01
Welcome to Funderingen Verstraeten BV in Oostburg. My name is Davy Maes. I have been a director for about six years. Working for the company for about 25 years and we will exist 75 years in a year or two. Welcome to Oostburg.
00:00:49:05 - 00:01:07:07
Good morning! Good morning Davy. Welcome to the DEX in Oostburg. Thank you Davy. Tell me, what are we going to do today? I'm taking you later to a very nice project in Rotterdam called The Sax. Well seems like a good idea.
00:01:07:11 - 00:01:41:28
En route to Rotterdam. What exactly are Verstraeten? We are a family business. It eventually started once in 1953 as a general contractor. In 1953, the Verstraeten family started developing foundation machines and then also developing foundation methods. We built our own machines. We have them the market all over the world and we are actually now specialists in the field of foundations.
00:01:41:32 - 00:01:59:32
Today, approximately 90% of Benelux sales come from projects within Europe and beyond. From San Francisco to St. Petersburg, we have been working with partners in the field of foundations.
00:02:12:25 - 00:02:39:45
Here we are in Rotterdam at that project we were talking about earlier. Where exactly are we? Actually, we are at The Sax Rotterdam. That's a new building on Wilhelminapier, an eye-catcher and a statement that will change the skyline of Rotterdam. The Sax consists of two residential towers, the Havana and the Philadelphia, and they are connected at a great height by a kind of big cloud.
00:02:40:05 - 00:03:21:27
Okay, and Verstraeten is at this location making and laying the foundation for these two residential towers. Yes, we are drilling here to a depth of about -75 meters. This will be further built by our client BAM into a safe home for the new residents. This is an impressive project, unique for the location in Rotterdam and we will work with BAM to prepare the foundation.
00:03:21:31 - 00:03:51:11
I have been here for ten months and this is a special project for Verstraeten. This is a very special project for us, even though we have already completed ten to twelve of these types of foundations for high-rise buildings in the meantime. Okay, so what makes it so special? The special thing about the project is the depth. Depths of up to 65 to 75 meters do not normally occur. We are dealing with high load-bearing capacities here.
00:03:51:15 - 00:04:17:13
So high loads coming from the high-rise and being transferred downward to the subsurface. That creates with our plywood piles a project that is quite impressive.
00:04:17:24 - 00:04:39:16
In this case, is it 75 meters that it is drilled all at once? Or how exactly is it done? We are installing pipe piles of about a small meter diameter in two sections here. It's two sections of about 38 meters.
00:04:39:28 - 00:12:12:26
The first part is drilled to depth and fitted with a piece of concrete filler. Then the second part is put on top and after welding, we drill the second part again with the same machine.
00:12:12:30 - 00:12:32:02
Once the piles are drilled and the foundation is ready, are there any aftercare things you do? We will make sure that the piles are filled with concrete.
00:12:32:06 - 00:12:51:47
Then another piece of rebar goes in about ten feet. That's ten rods around 40. That reinforcement goes in and then the piles are topped up to the top of the pipe. We don't do that until the earthwork is done.
00:12:52:01 - 00:13:14:23
The most unique part of this story is that we do everything here 100% vibration-free. This is such that even the customer is not inconvenienced by our work.
00:13:14:29 - 00:13:42:15
I can imagine that as a local resident you think you will soon be vibrating off your couch. That barrier is there with people in the beginning. That is why we spent a lot of time together with the contractor informing residents and stakeholders that we can do everything 100% vibration-free.
00:13:42:19 - 00:14:12:02
It's vibration-free and low-noise. What you will hear running is an occasional concrete mixer motor or an engine from our equipment, but that too is noise dampened.
00:14:12:06 - 00:15:41:25
You don't actually feel anything at all here. This is not only unique, but also the most practical thing you can offer to local residents. It makes it possible to make this work in such a densely built-up area.
00:15:41:29 - 00:16:12:47
Are you also involved in projects at an early stage? We are usually a subcontractor, but we are often included in the preliminary stages, for example, in a construction team.
00:16:13:01 - 00:16:34:36
As we work with the same contractors more often, we find that we are increasingly asked to participate in the preliminary process. That offers advantages for both parties.
00:16:34:40 - 00:17:01:36
Sustainability and circularity are obviously important topics in construction. We have made considerable strides. Not only in terms of machinery, but also by upgrading our machines from conventional diesel versions to electrically ready.
00:17:01:40 - 00:17:29:06
That means they are ready for drive with battery packs and a power switch to run on electricity. That ranges from our machines to electric pumps.
00:17:29:06 - 00:17:58:37
Depending on the availability of electricity at the construction site, we try to use it as much as possible.
00:17:58:46 - 00:53:48:37
An important question is always: why should a company do business with Verstraeten? We feel very strongly about quality. We want to deliver quality, relieve the customer, be flexible and think along with them.
00:53:48:41 - 00:55:01:19
We make sure that when a project is finished, the client gets a good deal. We also want us to be in the picture again next time.
00:55:01:23 - 00:55:59:49
The customer is king. That may sound trite, but we want to make sure the customer is happy with our work. Flexibility and quality are very important here.
00:56:53:15 - 00:57:43:26
If a new customer asks tomorrow if we can drill battery piles, we also need to be flexible and able to quickly switch equipment and power supply.
00:57:43:30 - 00:58:07:04
That's entrepreneurship. Sometimes that also means investing in new machinery if you expect demand to grow.
00:58:07:08 - 00:58:28:00
If you see a machine running well and the market demands it, it may be wise to buy another one.
01:06:51:19 - 01:06:59:38
Inflation also plays a role. Sometimes it is smart to buy machines a few years earlier.
Neem dan rechtstreeks contact op met Fundex Verstraeten BV.
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Verstraeten Funderingstechniek BV with offices in Oostburg (NL) and Zeebrugge (BE) is the specialist in the field of foundation works and deep foundations. The extensive range of Fundex combined with more than 70 years (since 1953) of international experience, make us the flexible and reliable partner for every foundation project. Verstraeten Funderingstechniek [...]
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