CFA and other advanced trends like micro piling are slowly being accepted, says Surajit Mukherjee, Managing Director, Suretech. Excerpts from the interview.

How do you look at the demand-supply scenario for foundation equipment?
The demand has completely dropped this financial year but we expect some positive movement from October 2012 and the growth for foundation equipment to spurt in 2013-14.

Which are the major verticals Suretech expects more business from?
We expect business from metro projects and ports.

How do you view the current fiscal in terms of target and actual growth?
We were able to achieve the targets in the last fiscal but this year, we expect a negative growth.

How constructive are our codes and specs that help the adaptation of advanced technology?
Our codes are outdated. There are specific areas where codes have to be updated and implemented, for example rock socketing and codes for CFA and micro pilling etc.

How have the CFA and other advanced trends like micro piling been accepted here?
CFA and other advanced trends like micro piling are slowly being accepted.

Is there a shift from Kelly bar piling rigs towards cast in-situ integrated piling rigs?
Yes, a little. These integrated piling rigs have a standard length up to 40 m. The best example of an integrated piling rig can be seen in cast in-situ piling, where a closed bottom tube is first driven, then concrete and reinforcements are put inside and followed by the extraction of the tube; this is done, in a matter of minutes, thus increasing production capacity drastically, as compared to the cumbersome and time-consuming methods in use currently.

Tell us about the safety features in-built in the machines.
All the power packs for vibratory hammer are the latest Tier-3 compliant power packs. They have the feature of working in high ambient temperatures. The engine will shut down on reaching high water temperatures and the power engine will shut down on low oil pressure. Even in case of a sudden burst in hydraulic hoses, there is an emergency stop switch on the power pack canopy, to stop all operations. The hammer cannot be put in operation when the clamp is open.

Is there any new product launched recently or on the anvil?
Yes, we have recently acquired the dealership of buma of korea. They specialise in manufacturing and supplying rcd rigs, which are used for drilling large diameter piles in hard rock.

RANGE OF PRODUCTS

We offer specialised machinery and equipment for infrastructure and foundation engineering. We are the distributors for the following globally renowned equipment manufacturers:

1. Dieseko Group - ICE BV, Netherlands: Hydraulic vibratory hammers and extractors, excavator mounted vibrators, diesel impact hammers and submersible dredge pumps (DOP).
2. BSP International Foundations Ltd, UK: Hydraulic impact piling hammers for on-shore projects and rapid impact compaction equipment.
3. IHC Hydrohammer and IHC Fundex BV, Netherlands: Hydraulic impact piling hammers for off-shore projects, integrated driven piling rigs.
4. Taets Techniek BV, Netherlands: A range of hydraulic pile breakers for prefab and cast in-situ piles.
5. STA srl, Italy: Manufacturers of hydraulic vibrofloatation equipment for soil consolidation and stone columns.
6. Watson & Hillhouse Ltd, UK: Kowan Still Worker ? noise and vibration-free hydraulic pile pressing machines.
7. BUMA CE Co Ltd, Korea: Reverse Circulation Drilling (RCD) Rig for drilling in rock (RCD for large diameter piles up to 3 m and depths of 60 m.
8. Thyssenkrupp Bauservice GmbH, Germany: Trench shoring equipment for protecting trenches from cave-ins.
9. Damen Shipyards Group, Netherlands: An extensive standard range of efficient and robustly constructed Cutter Suction Dredgers (CSD).