Piling and compaction equipment manufacturer BSP International Foundations has expanded its product range to meet growing demand for heavier units.

BSP, which is based at Great Blakenham, near Ipswich, has added a new RIC-16000 model to its line-up of Rapid Impact Compactors (RICs) which is, depending on ground conditions, is capable to achieving consolidation to depths of more than eight metres.

RICs made by BSP have been successfully used to consolidate gravel, sands and some silts as well as industrial mining and waste fills. The ability to dump and compact sand or stone to significant depths simplifies remediation oper;ations ahead of redevelopment and is less expensive than other excavation and replacement techniques.

The new compactor has a dropweight mass of 16tonnes and is suitable for mounting to hydraulic excavators with operating weights between 75t and 92t.

Like the other models in the range the performance of the RIC-16000 is monitored by an on-board data logger to record the input energy and ground resistance of each hammer blow, enabling contractors to improve the control and monitoring of the ground being treated.

In addition to the data logged – increments of penetration, the number of blows, total energy depth reached – it is possible to add GPS positioning to the system and generate data maps for a site showing the rate of progress and presenting results in a more meaningful way to clients and consultants.

A company spokesman said: “Since the concept was developed BSP’s rapid impact compactors have become the preferred method for an ever increasing number of shallow ground improvement projects around the world.”