BAUER Maschinen Group, which is poised to showcase its innovative developments in the machinery sector at Conexpo in the US this month (March 21 to 26, continues to be involved in some of the niche projects that are under way in the Gulf region.

Among its most prominent recent projects in the region are the New Doha International Airport and the Louvre and Guggenheim museums in Abu Dhabi.

For the new Doha airport, Bauer International Qatar was entrusted with the foundation works that comprised a 900 linear m of diaphragm wall, 1,200 mm and 1,500 mm thick; 16 bored piles, which are 1,800-mm in diameter; 119 bored piles, 1,200 mm in diameter; and 470 ground anchors.

The company together with its UAE subsidiary Bauer International Abu Dhabi carried out the deep excavations and the entire foundation construction works for the Louvre and Guggenheim museums located on the seafront of the Arabian Gulf in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island Cultural District.

Foundation works for the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi ... a Bauer project.

The two buildings are located in close proximity to each other on a large reclaimed area of gravel fill in the tidal zone on the seaward side of Saadiyat Island. The enabling works made the construction of the two excavation pits possible and were executed using the mixed-in-place (MIP) process, which uses the soil as construction material for the retaining walls.

On the 24,000-sq-m site of the Louvre, which consist of a circular structure topped by a 180-m diameter shallow cupola, Bauer carried out all specialist foundation works.

“Within a period of eight months 1,250 m of MIP wall and 170 linear m of secant pile retaining wall were constructed, together with 503,000 cu m of bulk excavation for the basement, vibro-compaction, sounding and dewatering. The drilling operations were carried out with various types of Bauer rotary drilling rigs,” a spokesman for the German company points out.

The model of the Guggenheim Museum exudes considerably more dynamics than the rather tranquil, seemingly floating structure of the Louvre.

The foundation construction works for the museum were awarded to Bauer International Abu Dhabi.

Elaborating on the works, the spokesman says: “Initially, measures were required to protect a coastal strip of the island against the erosion of localised sandy deposits with shell inclusions at a depth of 7 m. Between November 2009 and May 2010, a permanent slurry cut-off wall and a temporary cut-off wall with a combined length of around 2,000 m were constructed under the overall management of Bauer International Abu Dhabi together with joint venture partner Spie Batignolles. A Bauer BC 40 trench cutter and a Bauer BG 28 rotary drilling rig, were deployed to carry out this work, together with numerous service cranes.”

Both these exclusive buildings are being developed in highly imaginative 21st-century architecture designed by internationally renowned practices. Whilst the architects for the Louvre are Ateliers Jean Nouvel of Paris, the architectural design of the Guggenheim Museum has been created by Frank Gehry of Los Angeles. The construction of both museums is managed by Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC).

Meanwhile, the company aims to take centre stage at Conexpo in Las Vegas, Nevada, with an extensive line-up of some of the most advanced machinery in the ground engineering field produced by its group companies.

“The Conexpo CON/AGG 2011 in Las Vegas is an extremely important platform for launching new developments in the machinery sector to the North American and international construction markets and this year again the Bauer Maschinen Group will exhibit a broad spectrum of its specialist foundation equipment, showcasing new and innovative ideas,” says the spokesman.

The highlights of this year’s expo are Bauer BG 24 H and BG 28 rotary drilling rigs, which are equipped with the latest engine technology to fulfil the extended requirements of Tier IV regulations and also have the multifunctional concept of the BG rig series. While the BG drilling rigs are ideal rigs for Kelly drilling, they easily can be converted for other special foundation applications. The BG 24 H is showcased with a depth vibrator TR 17 for constructing stone columns, while the BG 28 is shown as carrier for the exceptional soil mixing system CSM.

Under the slogan “All from one source” many interesting and innovative products are also developed by the affiliated companies of the group. These include the multi-purpose leader rigs of RTG Rammtechnik, which is launching its telescopic leader rig, the RG 21 T with its updated quick coupling system. The RG 21 S features its MR 150 hydraulic vibratory system with the innovative AVM (active vibration management system). This combination is the first choice for the installation of heavy-duty sheet piles or steel sections with length of up to 21 m, the spokesman says.

Other companies exhibiting include Klemm Bohrtechnik that will promote two of its multi-purpose anchor drills KR 806 and KR 702; and MAT Mischanlagentechnik, a mid-size company dedicated to designing and manufacturing equipment for slurry mixing, materials handling and mechanical separation technology, which will show two compact units: a mixing plant SCC 40 and a desander BE 100.