N.V. Van Alen’s Beton Industrie, or VABI for short, has specialised in manufacturing concrete products of the highest quality for more than 60 years. In addition to a wide range of concrete products, this also includes prestressed concrete piles. Steel moulds are used to produce these. Armand van Alen explains how the moulds are used: "Until now, we have only produced 400 x 400 mm piles. For this, we use a steel mould that we purchased from Hendriks, just like a diver mould. We got to know the company through a business contact, who pointed out that Hendriks is the largest mould manufacturer in Europe. We were very pleased with the first mould we ordered from them, so the choice of supplier for a new mould was quickly made."
Piling piles are mainly used in Suriname for the construction of large buildings, bridges and other major works. Piles measuring 400 x 400 mm are usually sufficient for this purpose. However, the new mould is necessary because VABI wants to be ready for the future.
"We expect a lot of work in the offshore and gas and oil business in the coming years," says Armand van Alen. "This requires a larger pre-stressed pile mould. Based on our previous positive experiences, we turned to Hendriks again for a mould for 450 x 450 mm piles. The new mould enables us to respond to the expected future demand. Because the mould is equipped with inserts, we can also use it to produce 400 x 400 mm piles. Like the previous pile mould, this mould also consists of five boxes with a total length of 50 metres, which we can use to produce prestressed piles. This allows us to produce two 25-metre piles at the same time, ensuring optimum utilisation.”
The concrete for the piles is supplied by Subema, which, together with VABI, belongs to VABAM Holding. This means that everything can be supplied from a single source. "For the production of the piles, the desired concrete quality is poured into the moulds," explains Armand van Alen. "The piles are prestressed and the demoulding is fully automated." When asked about the collaboration with Hendriks, he replies enthusiastically: "The collaboration is very pleasant. And what's important is that the service is excellent from start to finish and any questions are always dealt with quickly."
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