First Adoption of GRB System™ in Italy

GIKEN LTD. announced that the hydraulic pile press-in and extraction machinery SILENT PILER™ and the temporary work-free GRB System™, where machinery operates on top of already installed piles, have been adopted in a levee reinforcement project in Italy. Both systems are manufactured and sold by GIKEN. Construction is being undertaken by Chimin International Srl SB, a member of the GTOSS™ EUROPE service which gives comprehensive support to users of press-in machines from GIKEN. This is the first adoption of the GRB System™ in Italy.

In Italy, damage occurs in various places due to the overflowing of rivers partly caused by the weakening of levees. At the start of 2025, record floods hit central and northern Italy, resulting in severe damage to infrastructure and historic buildings. Therefore, there is an urgent need for preventive levee reinforcement against climate change, which is growing in intensity year after year, but the locations of these projects often come with strict constraints. GRB System™, which allows temporary work-free construction, was adopted as this project has the constraint of being on a narrow levee located between a river and housing. Safe and speedy construction is being carried out even though space is limited.

The technologies of GIKEN allow construction even at sites where the installation of temporary working platforms or large machinery is difficult, such as historic districts that are the pride of Italy, as well as on water, slopes, and places with low overhead clearances. They, therefore, have high expectations as groundbreaking solutions not only for disaster recovery or prevention work, but also in areas such as urban redevelopment and port development. GIKEN will continue to use unique technologies to protect the livelihoods and assets of local residents and regional culture, and contribute towards creating a society for the future while further strengthening collaboration with partner companies.

Approximately 1,900 Z sheet piles with a length of 12.5 m and a width of 700 mm are scheduled to be installed using SILENT PILER™ F301-700 and GRB System™, reinforcing the levee across a section that is approximately 1.3 km long.

This time, Group company Giken Europe B.V. (Head Office: The Netherlands; President: Takuya Yamamoto) is providing rental of the press-in machinery products as well as dispatching of technical instructors to the construction site.

This is a system in which all processes of press-in construction, including pile transportation, pitching, and pressing in, can be completed entirely on top of the installed piles. Basically, the system consists of a press-in machine at the front that presses pile into the ground, CLAMP CRANE™ to pitch piles, Power Unit that serves as the source of hydraulic power and is carried by UNIT RUNNER™, and PILE RUNNER™ to convey piles from the starting point of construction. Temporary working platforms, detour roads, and other temporary works are not required since the area affected by construction work is minimised to just the width of the machinery on the piles. Construction work can be carried out efficiently focusing solely on the actual objective, making it possible to dramatically reduce construction periods, construction costs, and CO₂ emissions. In principle, there is no risk of falling over as the machines are lightweight, compact, and tightly grip onto already installed piles.

In other construction methods, work is carried out at stable locations where there is no risk of large heavy machinery, cranes, materials, and such falling over. However, the site of this project is located between a river and housing, and building temporary working platforms necessary for ensuring working space will require time and incur costs. Furthermore, as the embankment is made just by piling up and compacting soil, if large, vibratory piling machines are used, the vibrations may affect the ground and cause a collapse.

With SILENT PILER™ and GRB System™, temporary works are not required. Furthermore, construction can be carried out safely and speedily without vibrations and noise. They were adopted as a groundbreaking solution that minimises impact on the surrounding environment while allowing efficient reinforcement of the levee to make it resilient to floods.

■Profile of GIKEN Group
GIKEN developed the SILENT PILER™, the world’s first reaction-based, non-vibratory hydraulic pile driving machine that operates with minimal noise impacts. The GIKEN Group now actively promotes its press-in technology worldwide and contributes to the construction industry by proposing and implementing innovative solutions. The innovative press-in technology provides a unique solution and the adoption of this technology has spread to over 40 nations and regions.

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