Irish contractors will save time and money using Groundforce’s new side-grip piling hammer.
A side-grip piling hammer that saves civil engineering contractors time and money has been launched in Ireland by specialist construction services supplier Groundforce.
The Dieseko Group ICE attachment, for which Groundforce is the sole distributor for in Ireland, has already proved its worth on several jobs where it has negated the need for contractors to employ a specialist piling contractor to install long sheet piles.
Available to hire exclusively from Groundforce, the side-grip piling hammer is robust, easy to fit and operate and can install sheet piles up to 10 m long.
Designed to be simple, rigid and reliable, the Dieseko ICE side gripper was developed from an extensive study on similar attachments as well as input from operators who best understand their requirements.
The result is a unique linear side-clamping system that gives a more efficient clamping load transfer for sheet piles and H-beams up to 330mm and casings up to 550mm. The maximum weight of the drivable piles depends largely on the excavator, as the side clamp of the side gripper can handle profile weights of up to 7000kg, exceeding the limit for most excavators equipped with a side gripper vibratory hammer.
Its modular construction also results in less downtime during exchange of the side-grip inserts for various profiles, while its unique multi-directional elastomers create a more stable and predictable movement.
Groundforce customers who have recently used the new attachment have been impressed with its capabilities. Andrew Hatton, project manager with Farrans Construction said: “The I.C.E side grip hammer supplied by Groundforce allowed us to install a large cofferdam, on a very restricted site, on the bank on the river Lee in Cork City. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to install the sheet piles with our own crew.”
Ryan Buckley, owner at Castworks Ltd commented: “This is a very impressive attachment, plenty of power and very easy to operate. We used it to install 10m sheet piles in Wexford for John Sisk & Son and we look forward to using it again on the next job.”
Joseph Lenihan, general manager for Groundforce said: “This attachment is a game changer for the Irish market, never before could our customers install a cofferdam themselves if the length of sheet pile exceeded 8m, but now they can. After almost two years of market research, we eventually settled on the ICE side gripper, primarily due to the ease of fitting and simple and robust design – which we believe will result in less breakdowns than other manufactures. For these reasons, together with a fantastic back up service from ICE during the trialling period, we are very confident in this investment.”