BUILDING ON

SOLID FOUNDATIONS
The Spanish leader in ground engineering and special foundations has been in con-
stant expansion for the past 30 years. With a successful joint venture company with
the British PLC Keller firmly established, and good prospects for their environmental
systems and bioremediation technologies, Terratest seems poised to continue pro-
viding essential groundwork for the construction sector both at home and abroad.
Oscar Del Santo talks to Rafael Diaz Cruz, Terratest Marketing and Sales Director,
who reveals the reasons for their unabated optimism.

“W
e are a young, vibrant com-
pany that prides itself on a job
well done and that is looking
forward to a future that we regard – in
spite of the many prophets of doom
around – as full of opportunity.” The opti-
mism displayed by Mr Diaz Cruz seems
to permeate throughout Terratest, the
Spanish Foundations giant, who – we are
told – is about to confirm its dominance
of the Spanish market with a record-
breaking turnover this year “that will be
near, €350 million, very far ahead of our
most direct competitors”. “Today”, Mr Diaz
Cruz adds, “we are a Group of companies
with more than 2,500 staff operating not
only in Spain but also in countries such as
Portugal, Chile or – more recently – Italy,
Switzerland, Germany, and France. We are
unique in that unlike so many others in the
construction sector we hardly ever subcon-
tract staff. We work mainly with our own people,
people we fully train to carry out the wide
scope of activities we deal with”.
A distinct approach
The story of the Terratest Group dates back
to 1959, when the original Terratest was set
up to offer ground engineering and piling serv-
ices for the construction industry. Terratest
grew as a result of “both organic growth and
acquisitions, until a year ago when – as
a result of our entry into the Italian market
with the acquisition of four further compa-
nies there – we found that we had to bring
some sort of logic into the myriad of com-
panies constituting Terratest and under-
went what I would define as a structural
reorganisation to bring order out of chaos.
Today, under the umbrella of Terratest
Tecnicas Especiales SA, constituted as an
international public company, the various
companies of the group are organised along
rational lines. I am more than happy for
people to think of Terratest as the
Terratest Group, since this reflects our
fundamental unity in diversity.”
Terratest products – which include the
likes of piles, diaphragm walls, micropiling,
ground improvement technics, jet grouting,
anchors and nailing – are of capital impor-
tance for the success of both major civil
engineering projects and special residen-
tial erections. The ground engineering
techniques developed by Terratest pro-
vide the foundations for some of the best
known Spanish infrastructure projects of
recent years such as the Expo92 in Seville,
the extensions to some of the largest
airports – such as Madrid, Malaga and
Barcelona – and the development of
Madrid’s metro. “We have so many fingers in
so many pies I do not know where to
start from,” jokes Mr Diaz Cruz. “We are
heavily involved in Madrid’s urban renewal

116 Industry Europe Industry Europe 117


projects such as Metro Madrid or the M-
30 ring road; we are also carrying out
essential work for the AVE (high-speed
train) link between Cadiz and Jerez
Airport and the Seville Metro; in Valencia
we are involved in the Oceanographic
Park project; the list never ends”.
Taking the environment seriously
The other great area of activity for the group
is – through Terratest Medioambiente (TMA)
– the care of environmental systems through
the application of environmental technolo-
gies including bioremediation. As Mr Diaz
Cruz reminds us, “until very recently
industry was not held liable for polluting the
soil, and it was down to the state and ulti-
mately the taxpayer to carry the financial
burden of de-contamination. With the
passing of a recent very restrictive law, the
situation has changed dramatically in Spain.
Now industry knows that whoever pollutes
pays. A national register of contaminated
areas was set up and companies are legally
responsible to notify the authorities if an
area becomes contaminated as a result of
their activity”.
TMA uses a number of state-of-the-art
technologies to return the environment
altered by contaminants to its original con-
ditions. “I am especially proud of the work
we did not that long ago in Navarre, in
118 Industry Europe
northern Spain, where we used , among
other techniques, bacteria to attack spe-
cific contaminants that had been origi-
nated by a smelting foundry in situ.
This bioremediational operation was a
resounding success and it made us feel
so proud and so green”. TMA also deals
with geotextiles, drainage systems, rein-
forced earth structures and erosion
control “with the design, supply and
installation of permanent and biodegrad-
able geomats in slopes and river banks.”
Mr Diaz Cruz believes that there is yet a
lot to do before industry takes its environ-
mental responsibilities seriously: “It is true
that, as a society, we are more aware of
environmental issues, but that interest
has not always been materialised in con-
crete steps to reduce the level of contami-
nants dumped by certain industries, or
minimise the impact of our dump sites.
We are behind many of the efforts cur-
rently undertaken for the integral treat-
ment of dump sites and are constantly
researching new ways to improve these
operations and truly contribute to a better
environment for all.”
Joining hands
Late in 2002 it was reported that the global
construction group Keller PLC and Terratest
had entered into an agreement to create a
joint venture company to provide geotech-
nical services in Spain. The new concern was
suitably christened KellerTerra, with Keller
retaining a 51per cent stake, and Terratest
the remaining 49 per cent. This attractive
market partnership came up to both parties’
expectations. As Mr Diaz Cruz clarifies, “we
are not really talking about a joint venture in
the usual sense, but rather the creation of a
new company participated by both groups.
We thought that we couldz both benefit
from this operation – in terms of exchange
of know-how and an expansion of specialist
services. The Keller Group brought their
expertise in small diameter engineering and
ground improvement techniques and we
contributed with our expert knowledge of
ground engineering techniques to create
a company that could put together the best
of both worlds, so to speak”. We can claim,
with the full benefit of hindsight, that time
proved them right. KellerTerra soon attained
significant turnover levels of circa €30 mil-
lion; earlier this year it hit the headlines as it
introduced Deep Dry mixing techniques into
the Spanish market at a site in Zaragoza
Expo 2008. Ground improvement, one of
the main activities of KellerTerra, is essential
for the construction industry, as the ground
needs to be prepared prior to the start
of the building work; it is also vital in
areas of seismic activities. The soil has
to be compacted and stabilised and this
is achieved by a combination of vibro-
compaction with stone or concrete
columns, soil mixing and/or injection
systems. The use of advanced ‘Vibro’
technology means that projects are
cheaper and quicker than those using
 SPECIALISTS IN PRODUCTION
& REPARATION OF MACHINERY
Angarma Industrial, founded in 1989, is a company specialising in the production and
reparation of machinery for public works. traditional piling methods. “Hundreds
of sites all over Spain give evidence of
the reliability and cost-effectiveness of
Our company policy is based on a continuous improvement in our production capacity, these technologies” claims Mr Diaz
in the aptitude of our facilities, and our commitment to quality for our clients. Cruz, who leaves the door open for
future joint ventures abroad as Terratest
continues its expansionary policies in
We produce all types of tubing for drilling: foreign markets.
Building the country
I asked Mr Diaz Cruz if he expected a slow-
Tubes for micropiles • A.P.I. tubes • O.D. tubes • Tubes for jet grouting down in the seemingly booming Spanish
construction market. “I have been hearing
Tubes for inverse drilling • Extenuit tubes rumours of a slowdown for so long that I
frankly do not take much notice anymore.
I imagine that we will not be able to keep
the current levels forever, but the truth is
that there remains a lot to be built in this
country. Spain is amongst the six largest
construction markets in Europe, and the
level or infrastructure expenditure remains
high. At present we divide our business in
four large areas: industrial – representing a
10 per cent of our projects – civil engi-
neering (40 per cent), residential (30 per
cent) and non-residential such as shopping
malls, office buildings, hotels and hospitals
with 20 per cent. These figures swing wildly
from year to year, but I cannot see projects
Offices & Workshop C/ de la Loma, 2 y 4
Pol. Ind. COMPISA Ctra. de Torrejón a Ajalvir Production & Warehouse C/ Regato, 8
28864 AJALVIR (Madrid) Pol. Ind. LAS ARENAS 28320 PINTO (Madrid)
Tel: 91 884 48 97 Fax: 91 884 41 38 Tel: 91 692 49 29 Fax: 91 692 49 31
drying up in the near future. There is a lot of created the right working conditions for
unjustified pessimism around. We intend to people to develop their full potential with
continue growing both at home and abroad.” us, and this is why so many of us have
Has Terratest eyed any foreign markets remained loyal to a company in which we
for future operations? “There is no doubt believe. Being involved in so many different
that eastern Europe has a huge potential in and exciting projects keeps us all focused
terms of infrastructure and major construc- and motivated. We feel we are playing our
tion projects, and we are following the evo- part in the building of the future.” ■
lution of those countries very closely.
However, our most immediate interest lies in
Central Europe and Mexico, where we are
providing the groundwork for a future oil
refinery for the petrochemical giant Pemex.
We also want to expand the scope of our
environmental interventions, since we
believe that as time goes by, western soci-
eties are increasingly demanding that tech-
nology be used to solve some of the
negative environmental impact caused by
industry. In this sense we will continue with
our policy of foreign acquisition of small
to medium-sized businesses in this and
related fields if they fit into our overall
strategy. All in all we are a young company
– it may surprise you to hear the average
age of our top management (and that
includes me) is only 40 – with a bright
future ahead of us. We do not have high
numbers of staff turnover. I think we have
Industry Europe 121