Strong foundations Cofra

STRONG FOUNDATIONS

Market-leading civil engineering contractor Cofra BV specialises in designing and installing ground improvement solutions. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to the head of sales, Paul van den Horn, to learn more about the company and its latest developments.

With its headquarters in Amsterdam and sales offices in Stockholm, Singapore and Bratislava, civil engineering contractor Cofra BV has a solid presence across a number of interesting markets. Known as an innovative contractor, Cofra BV specialises in designing and installing ground improvement solutions and liner construction projects. Head of sales, Paul van den Horn, told Industry Europe how these projects utilise the capabilities of Cofra’s teams. He said, “Our projects are primarily concerned with making the ground stronger for localised infrastructure or impending large-scale development. So it may be that a big shopping centre or airport development is being built on land that requires some additional strength to withstand the long-term settlement demands that the project will create. Cofra is called in to offer various soil improving techniques, vertical drains and other sediment acceleration techniques. We have a broad spectrum of techniques we can offer

to make sure that the soil is able to carry the loads that will come.” The company’s ownership structure allows it to take advantage of the excellent experience and opportunities that being part of a large global group presents. Mr van den Horn added, “Cofra BV is part of Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, a major, internationally operating dredging company, and we represent the ground improvement arm of the business. As part of the Group, we can call upon its potential reach to gain awareness of upcoming projects and tenders, and we have the experience and reputation to give us strength. Of course, the Cofra name is synonymous with quality engineering solutions, so this is also beneficial.” Global projects

As the European market leader in vertical drainage, Cofra BV has built its ongoing success on consistently meeting the demands of its customers in challenging projects worldwide. Mr van den Horn continued, “We offer the total process from design to implementation. Quality and solution are

our buzzwords at every stage of the project. Our latest contract sees us installing more than five million metre vertical drains in a huge project in Mombasa, Kenya. It’s a really quick time-frame project, so we’re installing about 60,000 metres a day.” Other recent Cofra BV projects include liners being installed for a landfill site in Veendam in the Netherlands, vertical drainage for a container terminal in Alblasserdam, and CDC techniques being utilised for engineering projects in Begium and Australia.

With its broad portfolio of consolidation acceleration and ground strengthening techniques, Cofra BV can deliver full-scale, concept to completion projects anywhere in the world. Mr van den Horn explained that the company is able to draw on the widereaching network of its parent company to guarantee that everyone working on a project is on message in terms of quality and solutions-focused performance. Cofra BV is ambitious about its plans for continued growth. With its strong presence worldwide and network of skilled teams on hand, the company is able to tender for projects in a vast range of countries and situations, from airport expansions in Europe to commercial premises in developing countries. The company expects to grow considerably and consistently in the coming years thanks to its ability to complete projects in all manner of situations, and its lack of reliance on any one particular market. Ready

www.ultrapolymers.com

for growth Mr, van den Horn added, “We have two key focus areas in terms of our future growth, both of which represent our ambition and our capabilities. Firstly, we will extend our range of activities even further, yet still retaining our commitment to quality and solutions in everything we do. I expect this extension will take the form of developing and integrating several new forms of soil improvement techniques that can be successfully introduced as part of our portfolio. Secondly, we are already enjoying growth in new markets, particularly South America and Russia, and I expect that this will continue. There are a wide range of possible projects that could benefit from the experience and capabilities of Cofra. I am confident that by focusing on these two areas of growth and by developing our offer of innovative solutions, Cofra will continue to enjoy success worldwide.” n