With smart innovation, CloudPiling aims to conquer the Dutch market 

From rebel to a serious mature partner in the foundation world. This is how Thomas Zwaenepoel describes his company CloudPiling, which he founded five years ago. Constantly evolving, they are now ready for another big step forward: an intensive collaboration with the Belgian company Olivier and the launch of the new module for cofferdam design. 

"I believe that as an entrepreneur, you make the difference with speed and quality. That's why we invest the most in that, because that's where the real value is for my customers," said Zwaenepoel, founder and co-owner of CloudPiling. CloudPiling is a Belgian technology company that develops an online software platform for geotechnical engineers, foundation specialists and soil testing companies. The technology company developed an online platform that allows geotechnical engineers to complete the entire design process, from building pits and pile foundations, all in one integrated environment. It is the fastest software on the market for designing construction pits and foundations, according to Zwaenepoel. "Our user-friendly SaaS platform is specifically designed for foundation specialists who strive for the most optimal design in a minimum of time. Our mission is to make top engineering come to fruition in the shortest possible time frame. Engineers do not have to program anything or combine multiple tools. They can get right to work and quickly find a reliable, cost-effective design."

Even more complete

The innovative nature of CloudPiling is an important reason for Dimitry Vankeirsbilck, owner of Olivier of Rumbeke, to enter into an intensive cooperation. Olivier develops foundation technology for manufacturing foundation piles, including advanced drilling and foundation tools such as drill heads, drill pipes and associated couplings. The company offers several pile systems, including the well-known helical soil displacement pile and a new system for smooth, cylindrical piles. All these technologies do away with the traditional lost drill point; a polluting, expensive and outdated method with no added value for the foundation. Vankeirsbilck: "We serve the same customers and both come from the contracting world. Everything starts with a good design. We provide our customers with the necessary training and on-site guidance for the correct fabrication of piles. In addition, we offer targeted advice in selecting appropriate foundation machinery and associated site logistics. This ultimately results in more efficient, safe and sustainable foundation works. The cooperation with CloudPiling allows us to serve our customers even more completely in the sense that design and implementation can come together more quickly. For us, this is a very big added value."

Accelerating innovative power

When Zwaenepoel looks back on the past five years, he is especially proud that they have built a financially healthy company under their own steam. "Whereas in the beginning customers were still waiting to see which way the cat jumps, understandable with a young organization, we have now proven to be a serious partner. In our early days, I regularly felt like a preacher to move people along. Now we can actually back up the benefits of CloudPiling with hard numbers and data. Especially now that we will be working together with Olivier, I really see that as an acceleration of our innovative strength." 

Conquering the Dutch market

With the cooperation, both parties hope to further expand their market share. "In Belgium, 60 to 70 percent of foundation companies now work with our software," Zwaenepoel said. "Now we are at the point where we also want to conquer the Dutch market. One of our customers is the group C.V.R. and GVD-Palen. They were looking for an innovative partner and we had been talking to them for a long time. With every conversation, we came up with innovative solutions. As a result, they changed their minds and are now working with our software. One of the big wins is that they can do the same work with four engineers instead of six. Thanks to the efficient calculation of different alternatives, they can also filter out the most economical foundation design. As a result, they save significantly on materials such as concrete and steel."

Renewed module building pits

Innovation continues at CloudPiling. For example, it is launching an updated version of its module for building pits. According to Zwaenepoel, the changes are so radical that the name has also been changed to continue to cover the load: Retaining Walls becomes Excavations. "With Excavations, you can draw excavation and implantation plans quickly and easily. Mowing fields are automatically retrieved from the elevation model and the load reduction of adjacent buildings can be calculated with just a few clicks. Managing revisions is smoother, and comparing different design options has become much easier. All in all, Excavations allows one to gather all boundary conditions faster and make better informed choices throughout the design process."