Groundforce Shorco is continuing to add to its successful tally of projects in the Scandinavian market with another contract in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. 

The company is supplying its modular hydraulic propping system to groundworks contractor Peab Grundläggning which is carrying out ground reinforcement works in preparation for a new school to be built by parent company Peab Sverige for City of Gothenburg Property Management.

Although the basement excavation is not especially deep, it is fairly wide and poor ground conditions mean that lateral support is required to shore up the sides.

Support the steel sheet-piled retaining wall

For this, Groundforce has supplied 15 of its 150-tonne capacity MP150 hydraulic props to support the steel sheet-piled retaining wall.

Because of the excavation’s width, most of the props do not span from side to side but are installed as raking props, braced against a central concrete slab section cast into the base of the excavation.

One of the main advantages of Groundforce’s propping system is its speed and ease of installation. This was further enhanced on this project by the use of ‘birds mouth’ adaptors fixed to the base of each prop, as regional sales engineer Sam Oldroyd explained: “The birds-mouth adapters look like a bird’s open beak – hence the name. They fit over the edge of the slab or thrust block and are a very quick way of making a connection. It’s all about saving time.”

And of course, time is money. “The main reason for using Groundforce is that we think it’s cost efficient,” said Peab Grundläggning’s project manager Andreas Berntsson. The time for installing the props is much faster than the traditional way of welding steel tubes.”

There are health and safety advantages too, said Andreas: “It’s a question of working environment. For example, when we’re about to dismantle the props, it’s safer to just let the hydraulic pressure decrease. We also protect the environment by using these props instead of buying new steel tubes and welding them on site.” 

Peab Grundläggning has used Groundforce equipment several times before, says Andreas, who has a high regard for the company’s products and services.

“I think the best illustration of that is the fact that we keep coming back to Groundforce for help,” he said. “The support from Sam and the technicians is really good.”