26
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
SEPTEMBER 2014
NORDIC REGION
the approach to Oslo Central Station, and
between the tunnel and the new Ski station.
Preparatory work is underway, and the
main construction work will be carried out
between 2015 and 2021.
David Alström, Volvo’s business director
for the northern hub, said, “The Norwegian
market has plateaued on a high level,
backed by long-term investment plans for
infrastructure and solid financial situation in
the country.
“We see that this will continue for the next
years to come and do not expect any real
downturn.”
Moving to the Finnish market, as if the
financial crisis of the past few years wasn’t
enough, there are now other pressures.
Alström said, “The Russia-Ukraine crisis
impacts mainly Finland out of the Nordic
countries and it would not be a surprise if the
already struggling Finnish market continues
to weaken if the sanctions put in place
continue for a long time.”
NO BIG INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS
Rotator’s Laitila said, “Here in Finland,
construction is mixed, from smaller housing
projects to bigger ones – but not big
infrastructure projects.”
Rotator, with offices in Pirkkala and
Vantaa, claims to be one of the leading
Finnish machinery distributors, having been
established in 1954.
It handles brands including Hitachi, Merlo,
Bomag, Furukawa and Bell. “We have a
portfolio of good brands, which is nice to
have,” said Laitila. “And we have long-term
relationships withmany of ourmanufacturers.”
Hitachi launched its hybrid excavator into
the European market earlier this year at an
open day held by Rotator to mark its 60th
anniversary.
Approximately 75% of Rotator’s personnel
are in aftersales, and it has eight workshops
and 30 service vans. Laitila said his company
was only one of three to cover the entire
country, which much like Norway, is a long
way from the north to the south.
And a long-distance record was set by
a Rotator employee in June. Leo Terqujeff
entered the record books after travelling
4,300km in 33 days driving a Merlo Panoramic
P 25.6 telescopic handler. The journey took
Environmentally-friendly drilling
Lerum, in Sweden, is aiming to be the country’s leading environmental municipality by 2025,
and local contractor Styrud has been contributing to this as in January 2014, it connected
40,000 homes there to a major waste management plant.
A variety of drilling techniques helped Styrud complete the project on time and budget –
without disrupting the natural beauty of the area.
Rolf Borrås, co-founder and marketing director of Styrud, said, “We look at the total picture
and suggest the best techniques for the budget, timeframe and application.
“For example, drilling through bedrock in Norrland requires more robust equipment than
pulling an electricity cable through soft Gothenburg clay.”
Styrud’s Ted Lundberg, consultant on the project, said, “With the varying soil conditions and
surface infrastructure, plus the time pressure, we wanted to use multiple technologies – from
open cut trenching to more complex percussion drilling and horizontal directional drilling –
simultaneously.”
He added that work had to continue while the existing grids were still in operation.
The old treatment plant was located in a protected area, so care was taken not to disrupt
animal habitats, or walking and bicycle paths.
Lundberg said some of the paths were close to a railway line, a mobile phone tower and a
protected oak tree. For these sections – totaling 1,500m – Styrud used horizontal directional
drilling and, in particular, its latest addition to the fleet, the Vermeer D60x90 Navigator
horizontal directional drill.
Borrås bought the D60x90 drill to replace
an 18-year old Vermeer D50x100 Navigator
drill after 12,000 hours of boring.
Styrud gets its Vermeer directional drills
from local Vermeer dealer Viking.
“They’re nearby should we have questions,”
said Borrås. “Communication with them is
easy. Because of their extensive experience
in horizontal directional drilling and drilling
equipment they really understand what’s
important for us and feed this back to the
Vermeer factory in the US. As a result, the
factory can provide features tailored to the
Scandinavian market.”
Horizontal directional drilling was used
by Styrud
PICTURE COURTESY OF STYRUD
Record breaker Leo Terqujeff from Rotator
Finland’s Rotator has long-term relationships
with many of its manufacturers
Stockholm’s Citibanan project
