“W e are a young, vibrant com- pany that prides itself on a job well done and that is looking forward to a future that we regard – in spite of the many prophets of doom around – as full of opportunity.” The opti- mism displayed by Mr Diaz Cruz seems to permeate throughout Terratest, the Spanish Foundations giant, who – we are told – is about to confirm its dominance of the Spanish market with a record- breaking turnover this year “that will be near, €350 million, very far ahead of our most direct competitors”. “Today”, Mr Diaz Cruz adds, “we are a Group of companies with more than 2,500 staff operating not only in Spain but also in countries such as Portugal, Chile or – more recently – Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and France. We are unique in that unlike so many others in the construction sector we hardly ever subcon- tract staff. We work mainly with our own people, people we fully train to carry out the wide scope of activities we deal with”. A distinct approach The story of the Terratest Group dates back to 1959, when the original Terratest was set up to offer ground engineering and piling serv- icesfor the construction industry. Terratest grew as a result of “both organic growth and acquisitions, until a year ago when – as a result of our entry into the Italian market with the acquisition of four further compa- nies there – we found that we had to bring some sort of logic into the myriad of com- panies constituting Terratest and under- went what I would define as a structural reorganisation to bring order out of chaos. Today, under the umbrella of Terratest Tecnicas Especiales SA, constituted as an international public company, the various companies of the group are organised along rational lines. I am more than happy for people to think of Terratest as the Terratest Group, since this reflects our fundamental unity in diversity.” Terratest products – which include the likes of piles, diaphragm walls, micropiling, ground improvement technics, jet grouting, anchors and nailing – are of capital impor- tance for the success of both major civil engineering projects and special residen- tial erections. The ground engineering techniques developed by Terratest pro- vide the foundations for some of the best known Spanish infrastructure projects of recent years such as the Expo92 in Seville, the extensions to some of the largest airports – such as Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona – and the development of Madrid’s metro. “We have so many fingers in so many pies I do not know where to start from,” jokes Mr Diaz Cruz. “We are heavily involved in Madrid’s urban renewal BUILDING ON SOLID FOUNDATIONS The Spanish leader in ground engineering and special foundations has been in con- stant expansion for the past 30 years. With a successful joint venture company with the British PLC Keller firmly established, and good prospects for their environmental systems and bioremediation technologies, Terratest seems poised to continue pro- viding essential groundwork for the construction sector both at home and abroad. Oscar Del Santo talks to Rafael Diaz Cruz, Terratest Marketing and Sales Director, who reveals the reasons for their unabated optimism. 116 Industry Europe Industry Europe 117
Transcript
“We are a young, vibrant com-pany that prides itself on a jobwell done and that is looking
forward to a future that we regard – inspite of the many prophets of doomaround – as full of opportunity.” The opti-mism displayed by Mr Diaz Cruz seemsto permeate throughout Terratest, theSpanish Foundations giant, who – we aretold – is about to confirm its dominanceof the Spanish market with a record-breaking turnover this year “that will benear, €350 million, very far ahead of ourmost direct competitors”. “Today”, Mr DiazCruz adds, “we are a Group of companieswith more than 2,500 staff operating notonly in Spain but also in countries such asPortugal, Chile or – more recently – Italy,Switzerland, Germany, and France. We areunique in that unlike so many others in the
construction sector we hardly ever subcon-tract staff. We work mainly with our own people,people we fully train to carry out the widescope of activities we deal with”.
A distinct approachThe story of the Terratest Group dates backto 1959, when the original Terratest was setup to offer ground engineering and piling serv-ices for the construction industry. Terratestgrew as a result of “both organic growth andacquisitions, until a year ago when – as a result of our entry into the Italian marketwith the acquisition of four further compa-nies there – we found that we had to bringsome sort of logic into the myriad of com-panies constituting Terratest and under-went what I would define as a structuralreorganisation to bring order out of chaos.Today, under the umbrella of TerratestTecnicas Especiales SA, constituted as aninternational public company, the variouscompanies of the group are organised alongrational lines. I am more than happy forpeople to think of Terratest as the
Terratest Group, since this reflects our fundamental unity in diversity.”
Terratest products – which include thelikes of piles, diaphragm walls, micropiling,ground improvement technics, jet grouting,anchors and nailing – are of capital impor-tance for the success of both major civilengineering projects and special residen-tial erections. The ground engineeringtechniques developed by Terratest pro-vide the foundations for some of the bestknown Spanish infrastructure projects ofrecent years such as the Expo92 in Seville,the extensions to some of the largest airports – such as Madrid, Malaga andBarcelona – and the development ofMadrid’s metro. “We have so many fingers inso many pies I do not know where tostart from,” jokes Mr Diaz Cruz. “We areheavily involved in Madrid’s urban renewal
BUILDING ON SOLID FOUNDATIONS
The Spanish leader in ground engineering and special foundations has been in con-stant expansion for the past 30 years. With a successful joint venture company withthe British PLC Keller firmly established, and good prospects for their environmentalsystems and bioremediation technologies, Terratest seems poised to continue pro-viding essential groundwork for the construction sector both at home and abroad.Oscar Del Santo talks to Rafael Diaz Cruz, Terratest Marketing and Sales Director,who reveals the reasons for their unabated optimism.
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projects such as Metro Madrid or the M-30 ring road; we are also carrying outessential work for the AVE (high-speedtrain) link between Cadiz and JerezAirport and the Seville Metro; in Valenciawe are involved in the OceanographicPark project; the list never ends”.
Taking the environment seriouslyThe other great area of activity for the groupis – through Terratest Medioambiente (TMA)– the care of environmental systems throughthe application of environmental technolo-gies including bioremediation. As Mr DiazCruz reminds us, “until very recentlyindustry was not held liable for polluting thesoil, and it was down to the state and ulti-mately the taxpayer to carry the financialburden of de-contamination. With thepassing of a recent very restrictive law, thesituation has changed dramatically in Spain.Now industry knows that whoever pollutespays. A national register of contaminatedareas was set up and companies are legallyresponsible to notify the authorities if anarea becomes contaminated as a result oftheir activity”.
TMA uses a number of state-of-the-arttechnologies to return the environmentaltered by contaminants to its original con-ditions. “I am especially proud of the workwe did not that long ago in Navarre, in
northern Spain, where we used , amongother techniques, bacteria to attack spe-cific contaminants that had been origi-nated by a smelting foundry in situ. This bioremediational operation was aresounding success and it made us feelso proud and so green”. TMA also dealswith geotextiles, drainage systems, rein-forced earth structures and erosion control “with the design, supply andinstallation of permanent and biodegrad-able geomats in slopes and river banks.”Mr Diaz Cruz believes that there is yet alot to do before industry takes its environ-mental responsibilities seriously: “It is truethat, as a society, we are more aware ofenvironmental issues, but that interesthas not always been materialised in con-crete steps to reduce the level of contami-nants dumped by certain industries, orminimise the impact of our dump sites.We are behind many of the efforts cur-rently undertaken for the integral treat-ment of dump sites and are constantlyresearching new ways to improve theseoperations and truly contribute to a betterenvironment for all.”
Joining handsLate in 2002 it was reported that the globalconstruction group Keller PLC and Terratesthad entered into an agreement to create a
joint venture company to provide geotech-nical services in Spain. The new concern wassuitably christened KellerTerra, with Kellerretaining a 51per cent stake, and Terratestthe remaining 49 per cent. This attractivemarket partnership came up to both parties’expectations. As Mr Diaz Cruz clarifies, “weare not really talking about a joint venture inthe usual sense, but rather the creation of anew company participated by both groups.We thought that we couldz both benefitfrom this operation – in terms of exchangeof know-how and an expansion of specialistservices. The Keller Group brought theirexpertise in small diameter engineering andground improvement techniques and wecontributed with our expert knowledge ofground engineering techniques to createa company that could put together the bestof both worlds, so to speak”. We can claim,with the full benefit of hindsight, that timeproved them right. KellerTerra soon attainedsignificant turnover levels of circa €30 mil-lion; earlier this year it hit the headlines as itintroduced Deep Dry mixing techniques intothe Spanish market at a site in ZaragozaExpo 2008. Ground improvement, one ofthe main activities of KellerTerra, is essentialfor the construction industry, as the groundneeds to be prepared prior to the startof the building work; it is also vital inareas of seismic activities. The soil hasto be compacted and stabilised and thisis achieved by a combination of vibro-compaction with stone or concretecolumns, soil mixing and/or injectionsystems. The use of advanced ‘Vibro’technology means that projects arecheaper and quicker than those using
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traditional piling methods. “Hundreds of sites all over Spain give evidence ofthe reliability and cost-effectiveness ofthese technologies” claims Mr DiazCruz, who leaves the door open forfuture joint ventures abroad as Terratestcontinues its expansionary policies inforeign markets.
Building the countryI asked Mr Diaz Cruz if he expected a slow-down in the seemingly booming Spanishconstruction market. “I have been hearingrumours of a slowdown for so long that Ifrankly do not take much notice anymore. I imagine that we will not be able to keepthe current levels forever, but the truth isthat there remains a lot to be built in thiscountry. Spain is amongst the six largestconstruction markets in Europe, and thelevel or infrastructure expenditure remainshigh. At present we divide our business infour large areas: industrial – representing a10 per cent of our projects – civil engi-neering (40 per cent), residential (30 percent) and non-residential such as shoppingmalls, office buildings, hotels and hospitalswith 20 per cent. These figures swing wildlyfrom year to year, but I cannot see projects
drying up in the near future. There is a lot ofunjustified pessimism around. We intend tocontinue growing both at home and abroad.”
Has Terratest eyed any foreign marketsfor future operations? “There is no doubtthat eastern Europe has a huge potential interms of infrastructure and major construc-tion projects, and we are following the evo-lution of those countries very closely.However, our most immediate interest lies inCentral Europe and Mexico, where we areproviding the groundwork for a future oilrefinery for the petrochemical giant Pemex.We also want to expand the scope of ourenvironmental interventions, since webelieve that as time goes by, western soci-eties are increasingly demanding that tech-nology be used to solve some of thenegative environmental impact caused byindustry. In this sense we will continue withour policy of foreign acquisition of small to medium-sized businesses in this andrelated fields if they fit into our overallstrategy. All in all we are a young company– it may surprise you to hear the averageage of our top management (and thatincludes me) is only 40 – with a brightfuture ahead of us. We do not have highnumbers of staff turnover. I think we have
created the right working conditions forpeople to develop their full potential withus, and this is why so many of us haveremained loyal to a company in which webelieve. Being involved in so many differentand exciting projects keeps us all focusedand motivated. We feel we are playing ourpart in the building of the future.” ■■
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Angarma Industrial, founded in 1989, is a company specialising in the production andreparation of machinery for public works.
Our company policy is based on a continuous improvement in our production capacity, in the aptitude of our facilities, and our commitment to quality for our clients.
We produce all types of tubing for drilling:
Tubes for micropiles • A.P.I. tubes • O.D. tubes • Tubes for jet grouting
Tubes for inverse drilling • Extenuit tubes
SPECIALISTS IN PRODUCTION& REPARATION OF MACHINERY
Offices & Workshop C/ de la Loma, 2 y 4Pol. Ind. COMPISA Ctra. de Torrejón a Ajalvir28864 AJALVIR (Madrid)Tel: 91 884 48 97 Fax: 91 884 41 38
