EMSTEEL sheet piles used in cement plant expansion in Scotland

EMSTEEL Group's low-carbon steel sheet piles have been installed for a permanent retaining wall at Tarmac’s cement works in Dunbar, Scotland, as part of the site’s Limestone Addition Project.

Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd, EMSTEEL’s exclusive distributor and agent for sheet piles in the UK and Republic of Ireland, completed the sheet piling works for main contractor Pyramid Construction Scotland Ltd. The project includes new silo and conveyor foundations, with around 35 linear metres of permanent sheet piles installed.

The limestone bedrock at the site limited the depth to which the piles could be embedded, requiring an alternative support system. The design uses 56 self-drilling anchors, each around 15 metres long, arranged across three levels to secure the wall to competent rock. Each anchor will be tested to 110pct of its safe working load.

The piles were installed using a conventional gated system and a Liebherr LR1160 crawler crane supplied by Scottish company Weldex. The method was selected to suit the rocky ground conditions and restricted working space at the plant.

EMSTEEL’s GreenSheetPile range comprises low-carbon steel sheet piles manufactured using recycled scrap and 100pct renewable energy. The products were supplied from Sheet Piling (UK)’s UK stockholding.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, EMSTEEL has annual production capacity of 3.5 mln tons of steel and 4.6 mln tons of cement. The group exports to more than 70 markets, which account for around 30pct of total sales, and produces a broad range of steel products including wire rod, rebar, heavy sections and sheet piles.