Freyssinet UK – Specialist provider of Civil Engineering Projects

Foreva® repair solutions: improve, preserve and secure your structures

The ageing of structures generates a growing need for renovation, heightened by the increasing stringency of regulatory requirements. As an extension of its new-build business, over 30 years Freyssinet has developed expertise and know-how in structural repair with its exclusive solutions marketed under the Foreva® label.

Foreva® is a collection of exclusive solutions using products developed in industrial partnerships and implemented by Freyssinet teams. The Foreva® solutions portfolio covers both structural repair technologies (external prestressing, shotcrete, carbon fibre reinforcement, injection, levelling, etc.) and chemical and electrochemical repair techniques (realkalisation, chloride ion extraction, reinforcement protection, waterproof coatings, cathodic protection, etc.).

Foreva® solutions help extend the service life of structures and have numerous areas of application:
• bridges and civil engineering structures
• buildings
• water civil engineering structures
• industrial structures
• old buildings
• tunnels

For a range of materials:
• concrete
• steel
• wood
• masonry

With Foreva®, Freyssinet puts its know-how at your service and supports you at all stages of your projects, from help with initial diagnosis through to choosing the right solution to execute the works.

New Foreva® solutions are always being developed and the range of products and solutions continues to grow.

Click here to veiw the Foreva® brochure.

Freyssinet makes the Shortlist for 2012 Specialists Awards

Freyssinet are pleased to announce that they have been short listed in the ‘Concrete’ category of the 2012 Specialists Awards.

The Awards look to commend the work of specialist contractors in the construction industry, recognising the valuable role that they play in projects large and small.

Freyssinet was asked to reflect on the company’s performance between November 2010 and 2011, providing examples of notable successfully completed contracts, demonstrating client satisfaction, and describing how the company has grown and developed within this time.

Freyssinet was keen to highlight the unrivalled diverse offering and range of technical skills that they provide to their clients, along with their commitment to further developing the company through the acquisition of an in-house hydrodemolition team and the launch of their site-based apprenticeship scheme. In particular Freyssinet have experienced growth within their repair activities, demonstrating innovation and versatility.

Making the shortlist is a huge achievement and Freyssinet look forward to attending the Awards ceremony in London on March 20th 2012.

The Freyssinet Solution: Innovative Concrete Corrosion Prevention

Freyssinet Limited is able to offer clients a comprehensive, one stop service for the design and installation of concrete corrosion prevention systems.

In partnership with their sister company Corrosion Control Services Limited (CCSL), Freyssinet install permanent cathodic protection systems for the continuous protection of concrete structures exposed to chloride contamination or carbonation.

CCSL provides expert assessment, design and component supply and Freyssinet undertake the installation, associated concrete repairs and application of coatings. This provides clients with an integrated service supervised by one named contact, offering both time and cost savings for clients who would otherwise need to organise and oversee several sub-contractors. In this way, overall responsibility for the success of each concrete corrosion prevention project is clearly defined.

The Problems
Reinforcement corrosion is the major element causing concrete deterioration and requiring structural concrete refurbishment. Good quality concrete creates a high alkaline setting for steel reinforcement, but if the level of alkalinity diminishes, the steel becomes increasingly susceptible to corrosion.

Corrosive rust formation increases the volume of the reinforcement until the expansive force becomes sufficient to cause the surrounding concrete to crack and spall. There are two main causes of the type of severe concrete deterioration that requires extensive structural concrete refurbishment and long-term concrete corrosion prevention treatment:

1. Carbonation The process of carbonation occurs when atmospheric CO2 dissolves in moisture forming carbonic acid. The acid progressively penetrates and reacts with concrete, decreasing the pH value. When the contamination penetrates as far as the reinforcement layer, the steel is de-passivated and starts to corrode. Freyssinet can assist in halting this carbonation damage by applying re-alkalisation and structural concrete refurbishment methods.

2. Chloride Contamination De-icing salts, marine aggregates and sea water are common sources of chlorides. When chlorides manage to penetrate to the reinforcement layer, they attack the steel aggressively, starting corrosion. The rate of progression of carbonation and chloride contamination depend on:
• Quantity of CO2 present in the atmosphere/chlorides on the concrete surface
• Concrete permeability/density
• Concrete moisture content

Cracked or poor quality concrete in need of widespread structural concrete refurbishment will deteriorate more rapidly. Freyssinet are able to halt the corrosion process and provide concrete corrosion prevention by the application of innovative electro-chemical cathodic protection.

The Freyssinet Solution
Conventional patch repairs to damaged concrete are unlikely to provide successful concrete corrosion prevention when carbonation has penetrated behind the reinforcement layer or where there is severe chloride contamination in the surrounding, untreated concrete.

Freyssinet carries out cathodic protection as a long-term concrete corrosion prevention technique, which works by passing a small electric current through the reinforcement. This innovative method has been used in several hundred successful concrete corrosion prevention repairs around the world and offers a number of important advantages over other structural concrete refurbishment techniques:
• Continuous concrete corrosion prevention stops corrosion and prevents future attack
• Permanent solution that never requires re-application
• Highly effective even on severely damaged concrete
• Effective against both carbonation and chloride attack
• Effectiveness can be controlled and monitored – economically and simply
• Conservation of large areas of contaminated but sound concrete
• Shorter on-site work duration
• Reduced need for temporary propping
• More cost-effective than complete replacement
• Perfectly suited to marine structures and highways with recurrent contamination

One-stop service provider
Concrete corrosion prevention and structural concrete refurbishment are becoming increasingly necessary to deal with the cracking and spalling problems of ageing stone and masonry-clad buildings with steel frames.

Freyssinet is a leading provider of a comprehensive range of concrete repair and maintenance techniques – able to offer a one-stop contracting service for all concrete repairs and structural concrete refurbishments.

Owing to an outstanding track-record in all aspects of concrete repair, The Highways Agency and various Local Authorities are valued clients. Freyssinet offers valuable, impartial advice on the selection of the best methods and high-quality materials for individual projects and their experts are always available to discuss your requirements.

Bulgari Hotel wins Concrete Society Award

The 43rd annual presentation of The Concrete Society’s Awards for Excellence in Concrete took place on 10th November 2011 in London.

The Sustainability Award went to the Bulgari Hotel and Residences (formerly the Knightsbridge Palace Hotel) in London, where Freyssinet Limited undertook the design, supply and installation of a post-tensioned floor slab system.



Appointed by Byrne Bros in early 2010, the installation works were carried out by Freyssinet between August and December 2010.

The building consists of high-quality residences overlooking Hyde Park, a luxury hotel, restaurant, ballroom and a swimming pool.

The use of post-tensioned floor slabs in the structure contributed to meeting the client’s aspirations for a ‘green’ building, utilising approximately 25% less concrete and 65% less steel reinforcement compared to a traditionally reinforced structure.

Freyssinet Join Alliance to Revolutionise Offshore Wind

VINCI Construction UK Ltd., and sister VINCI company – Freyssinet International & Cie, have created a joint venture to revolutionise the delivery of offshore wind farms. Developed with support from the Carbon Trust by GBF®, a consortium of Gifford, BMT Nigel Gee, and a specialist arm of Freyssinet – the alliance’s low cost, low risk and low impact approach includes a radical solution for deploying foundations without the need for costly specialist vessels or heavy lifting at sea. The team’s approach also includes a manufacturing process for assembling entire wind-turbine structures onshore before deploying them at sea.

The team’s product comprises a Gravity Based Foundation to be slip formed on land. The tower and turbine will be installed in the construction yard in a continuation of the base production line – economies of scale and a slick methodology will ensure the complete assemblies are produced economically. The completed units will be deployed and installed on the seabed with the assistance of a Transportation & Installation Barge (TIB). The TIB is a low cost, low maintenance dumb barge, built specifically for this process.

Based on UK Government commitments, a six-fold increase in output from wind will be required by 2020. The VINCI Construction UK – Freyssinet JV will construct and deploy the GBF® concept which is set to change the economics of offshore wind farms suitable for gravity bases The JV believes that its methods will enable deployment of turbines in rougher seas and deeper waters than conventional alternatives. A further key advantage is that a completely different supply chain is called upon compared to the better known monopile or jacket solutions.

VINCI Construction UK and Freyssinet International will jointly develop the innovative solution. Close partnerships and collaboration will be critical to the success of the project, and the JV will be working with developers, turbine manufacturers and others, including other companies from the wider VINCI Group to ensure the right arrangements and skills are in place.

There are also considerable environmental benefits to the proposed offshore scheme. The foundations themselves can be made from recycled materials, and the environmental impact throughout the lifecycle of the structures will be minimal. The foundations are designed such as that they can be completely removed at the end of their useful life and hence will have minimal long term impact on the environment once they’ve been decommissioned. While providing local employment opportunities, the projects will also, of course, help the UK to meet its renewable energy targets and deliver sustainable energy in the years ahead.