InfraStructures - October 2007 - Major Investment by Precast Concrete Structures Specialist

Major Investment by Precast Concrete Structures Specialist

Civil engineering precast concrete structures specialist, ABM Design & Build, located at Tuxford in the East Midlands, UK, has completed the first phase of a major expansion program. Investment in new high-capacity cranes and additional moulds has boosted capacity and provided greater production flexibility.

As licensees for the innovative Matière modular concrete buried box and arch systems, ABM has had considerable success in Ireland. The company has identified further major opportunities for these robust soil stabilized structures in UK highway, railway and other infrastructure projects where speed of construction, minimization of possession time and low long term maintenance are priorities.

Mike Sanderson, business development manager, commented, "The investment reflects the considerable further potential in the UK for the Matière bridge and underpass system. There are hundreds of these systems in Ireland and thousands throughout the world. The structures are a highly competitive alternative to conventional construction that allow projects to go forward more rapidly."

Two new semi-Goliath cranes, each operating at 30 t safe working load and fitted with 5 t auxiliary hoists, used in tandem routinely handle concrete structural elements of up to 60 t. Using mobile cranes, the company has a capacity to manufacture and transport precast concrete elements of up to 100 t.

Serving a new casting floor of 2400 m2, the cranes are used for mould positioning, casting, de-moulding and handling precast units. The yard's own concrete batching plant formulates the optimum concrete mix design for each application. Using only CARES approved bar; the on site bar-bending and cage making facilities provide appropriate reinforcement with end-to-end quality assurance systems on all production processes.

ABM provides a complete service including project evaluation, design, casting, transport and on-site structure erection. The company has a design team of 9 people, in addition to the 30 strong workforce on site. All installation teams are directly employed so that QA standards are followed right to the end of the process.

In addition to producing Matière units ABM produce bridge beams, parapets, tunnels, car park components, earth-retaining systems, tanks, buried structures and other precast concrete elements.

Source: ABM Design And Build