Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd Reveals Second Rig That Can Save Tier-1 Contractors Millions
Our team of expert steel sheet pile installers here at Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd have had something new to grapple with this week, as our second game-changing long-reach telescopic leader rig has arrived in the UK.
The new TM 20 Long Reach enhances our first long-reach rig’s capabilities, even though that already stands alone as the existing sector-leader. Together, the two rigs are set to continue Sheet Piling UK’s march towards delivering programme benefits and extensive costs savings to Tier-1 contractors carrying out a wide variety of projects.
The two steel sheet piling rigs are truly peerless within the construction sector, having a reach three metres further than any other type of piling rig and needing no temporary platform or base therefore, in order to reach the pile-driving line.
So, what’s new with the TM 20 Long Reach?
Well, for a start, it can install and extract longer piles – up to 20 metres in length rather than 16 metres like its sister rig. Other enhancements include an increase in the size of the vibratory hammer, a remote control unloading and loading function, which allows the operator to rig and de-rig the machine working with unhindered visibility on the ground, and a hydraulic rapid-changing docking station. Working at height is eliminated by the latter, with this functionality enabling timely interchanging of machine attachments.
The centre slew of the base machine has an added fixed boom hinge fabrication, to enable the long reach capability to be achieved. A reduced machine footprint is delivered via a unique infrastructure mode, whilst machine overhang has been reduced through specially designed vertically stacked counterweights.
Our Sheet Piling UK managing director, Andrew Cotton, and plant manager, Bill Lloyd, were delighted to welcome the TM 20 long-reach telescopic rig to the fleet, at a handover arranged at the Northamptonshire base of manufacturer, ABI. Present was the managing director of ABI Equipment UK, Mark Lee, who proudly unveiled the rig that had been built to Sheet Piling UK’s specification, at ABI’s base in Germany.
Familiarisation with the mighty new steel sheet piling rig was undergone by all our sheet pile plant fitters and operators – essential, as the forward order book is already showing scheduled work until mid-November for the newly commissioned second rig. No time has been wasted getting it out on to site, with its first project having started on September 8, on the A421 upgrade scheme for Morgan Sindall. It is also working on a permanent basement construction project for McLaren Construction, at a manufacturing facility in Warwickshire, and on the A19 improvement scheme for Balfour Beatty.
Significant time and cost savings are now on offer to Tier-1 contractors using either of our long-reach rigs, regardless of whether they are working on road and rail infrastructure, marine and river or general construction projects. Including one of Sheet Piling UK’s long-reach rigs into the sheet piling phase makes operational and financial sense, allowing temporary enabling works to be erased from the schedule of works.
The TM 20 and the TM 12/15 LR rigs are both seen as having potentially enormous positive impacts on HS2, the SMART Motorway Alliance project – particularly with regard to Emergency Rescue Area installation – and the Road Investment Strategy (RIS2).
Commenting on why a second long-reach sheet piling telescopic leader rig was required, Andrew Cotton says:
“The demand for our first long-reach rig, the TM 12/15 was phenomenal and it quickly became evident we needed to secure a second long-reach machine. As a forward-thinking business, commissioning the TM 20 Long Reach was a relatively easy decision to make.”
“We studied the TM 12/15 LR rig’s key performance attributes, to further enhance the benefits of using these sheet piling rigs, and believe we now have two superb long-reach rigs, not just unlike anything else in the construction sector but also as suited to delivering on the requirements of Tier-1 contractors as they can possibly be.”
“For each Smart motorway ERA where a 100-metre sheet pile installation is required, we have already shown that we can deliver a financial saving of around £40,000-£60,000 on average and the same sorts of savings can be enjoyed by many other projects. At a time when costs are under such scrutiny, it makes no sense to ignore these benefits and stick to old and expensive ways of dealing with earthwork stabilisation, groundworks and infrastructure widening. With our two rigs, we believe long-reach sheet pile installation will become the new normal, once the construction sector really latches on to what they are capable of bringing to the work site.”
ABI TM 20 LR Long Reach Leader Rig
ABI Gruppe Product Information Bulletin No. 20
NOTES TO EDITORS
Sheet Piling (UK) Limited is one of the UK's leading piling contractors. Owning and operating a comprehensive range of specialist piling equipment Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd also carry extensive stocks of new and used piles enabling rapid reaction to any urgent requirements or emergency situations.