Global markets continue to embrace Mainmark’s innovative ground engineering solutions

Originally founded in Australia, our local operation has grown into a global enterprise with offices in New Zealand, Japan and the UK.

Mainmark’s global standing received a boost after it won a major Ground Engineering Award in 2016 for its work in re-levelling the Christchurch Art Gallery following the 2011 earthquake events. This was testament to the exceptional level of engineering expertise and geotechnical innovation that Mainmark continues to uphold across its global business operations.

The business has a history of innovation and doing what others can’t.  It continues to invest significant resources into developing new ways to address a variety of unique ground engineering problems such as Terefirm® Resin Injection, a proven, non-invasive soil densification and liquefaction mitigation technique that can be easily applied beneath existing structures. This initiative was undertaken as part of the Christchurch Red Zone research trials, in partnership with New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission (EQC) and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), and the outcomes are now included in the MBIE Module 5: Ground Improvement of Soils Prone to Liquefaction.

With a reputation for unwavering commitment to research, development, testing and innovation, Mainmark has also aligned with world-renowned experts such as Dr Alan Jeary, an industry pioneer who co-created STRAAM monitoring technology, to complement its business offering.  STRAAM was used to help preserve the White Rabbit, a valuable heritage-listed building in central Auckland, by monitoring the structure for building movement prior to and during construction.

In the growing UK market, Mainmark has completed a number of impressive projects that solve a range of issues relating to poor soils. The commercial sector represents a large proportion of re-levelling projects in this region, including a large factory and warehouse located in Sheffield which had suffered severe differential settlement.  The building was built on a former coal mining site with highly reactive compacted fill soil that was susceptible to voids and subsidence, and was subsequently suffering from severe cracking and sloping floors, that were out of alignment by up to 156mm.  Mainmark remediated the structure in stages using a bespoke engineered solution including use of our proprietary JOG Computer-Controlled Grouting.  A robotic survey station was also set up to provide real-time lift data to monitor the grout injection process, which required injection rods to be inserted at 112 locations to a depth of 6m.  This highly complex project was completed in 42 days without impacting the business, which continued to operate while the works were carried out.

More recently, the UK team remediated the Traders Coffee site in South London.  The commercial business unit had been built on poorly compacted ground and the weakening soil had compromised the building’s structural integrity, which had worsened after the addition of a mezzanine floor.  Ground subsidence had been progressively worsening due to poor drainage and an overflowing gutter.  Previous owners had attempted to solve the issue by pouring additional layers of concrete over the affected floor area, which had dropped by approximately 120mm. This measure did not, however, address the underlying ground subsidence.  Mainmark’s UK team was able to solve the issue by strengthening the underlying soil using Teretek® resin injection and JOG Computer-Controlled Grouting, which effectively re-levelled the building.

In Asia, Mainmark solutions and technologies are applied and adapted for the varied local conditions. A large number of commercial projects have been completed throughout the years, including several airport sites.  At Nagoya Airport in Japan, for example, Mainmark re-levelled a drainage channel on one of the airport’s taxiways. Whilst at Gimpo International Airport in South Korea, Mainmark remediated a runway that was affected by subsidence.  In Thailand, the Mainmark team re-levelled and re-supported a factory canteen floor that had suffered severe subsidence due to weak sub-base soil and had become a dangerous trip hazard. The floor was successfully remediated in seven days using resin injection technology.

For more information about Mainmark’s innovative ground engineering solutions and other global projects visit www.mainmark.com.