Ground stabilization throughout the Netherlands

And all that without having to use large equipment or cause nuisance on the surrounding area. An interview with Torben Kastelein of Grondinjectie Nederland about the many possibilities.

Grondinjectie Nederland is a relatively young organization, existing since 2017, but with a long history. "We had been doing this work for much longer, albeit on a smaller scale, from my father's company," says Kastelein. In 2017, we made the decision to separate this division from the "parent company" and continue as an independent unit. This is bearing fruit. Especially in the infrastructure sector, the demand for our expertise is very high. We are active throughout the Netherlands and Belgium on a wide variety of projects. With our high-tech (water glass injection) equipment, we can inject very accurately and efficiently."

From grist mill to building pit

The scope of soil and soil injection techniques is very broad. "For example, we are called in for projects where we create a water-inhibiting layer in a construction pit so that less groundwater extraction is required," Kastelein explains. "Not all locations allow you to drain unimpeded. We also provide soil stabilization and improvement of existing foundations and seal leaks in cofferdams with our technique, such as sheet pile walls that have run out of lock, but also leaks from parking garages, for example. We can also 'stone' a sand package with our technique, so that it can be easily excavated without disturbing the surrounding buildings. We are now doing the latter on a large scale in the country. A good example of this is the new basement being created, tight against the time-honored corn mill 'De Phenix' on Ameland. Here, too, we have petrified the sand package with our injection techniques. The grain of sand then sinks together, as it were, and becomes a solid whole. In this way, the contractor was able to excavate the 3-meter-deep basement basin right next to the mill without any problems."

According to Kastelein, the great strength of Grondinjectie Nederland is its enormous mountain of knowledge and experience of soil and ground injection techniques. "The 'compactness' of our technique means that we can actually provide a solution anywhere with little inconvenience to the surroundings and to the environment. We exclusively use environmentally friendly resources."