The Civil Engineering Contractor May 2019 | Page 27

Eamonn
FEATURE: PILING AND LATERAL SUPPORT
One of Franki’s lateral support projects. The quality of equipment makes a difference.
the industry and worked their way
into senior posts.
MegaPile Inland MD Greg
Whittaker describes this as a changing
of the guard. There are exceptional
engineers in the industry, but most
are in their late 60s and are being
forced to retire from the corporate
arena. As a result, some piling and
lateral support companies are run
by corporate or non-geotechnical
people and this is bringing about
a distinct change in management
style, with a focus more on business
and commercial management at the
expense of technical knowledge. Being a piling supervisor, senior rig
operator, site manager, or contracts
manager requires a certain passion
for managing the unknown.
www.civilsonline.co.za
Home-made
Royce?
or
Rolls
Each piling and lateral support
company has its favourite brand
when it comes to equipment. In the
case of Megapile Inland, Whittaker
attributes the growth of his business
to his decision at the beginning to
opt for the ‘Rolls Royce’ of rigs:
Bauer. Construction professionals are
notoriously slow to change, and an
illustration of this, says Whittaker, is
that many piling companies tend to
stay with the same equipment they
started out with. This is because the
equipment is rarely traded in, and
they enjoy long lives — so strong
relationships develop over time.
Whittaker says: “In 1996, we were
the first to import a Bauer rig, from
Poland, whereas at that time, the large
competitor companies tended to have
Soilmec and Casagrande equipment
(both Italian). Today, we are the
biggest private fleet owner of Bauer
equipment in South Africa. Bauer is
the most expensive — it is also the
most technically specced to operate
and the most reliable and hardy. The
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