It stands like a house

Frame Walls in the port of Antwerpen, the slip roads of the Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco, the concert hall in Amsterdam, they have one thing in common: thanks to the foundation techniques of Fundex from Oostburg, it stands like a house.

The company started as general contractors in Oostburg, but by the director Alex (Lex Alexander for intimates and for formal occasions) Verstraeten the company specialized more and more in foundation engineering. Verstraeten enjoyed being busy solving problems.

He designed his own poles machines to contract work to be carried out in the way that he envisioned. In the early years, the fifties and sixties, not all of Verstraetens invented solutions were a success.
The eastern Zeeland Fleming became wise through his mistakes. He never makes the same mistake twice. Gradually he learned more and his tenacity eventually led to result that worldwide Fundex is indispensable in the field of foundation engineering.

Fundex made a name for the technique to "piling without piling. The piles are, as it were screwed in the soil. This means that the environment does not suffer from vibration and the work can be done in relatively small areas. Verstraeten dipped his invention the "Fundexpaal, a registered Trademark. Meanwhile the Fundexpaal, as a product already as familiar as Luxaflex for window coverings.

"In the beginning we had patents on our inventions," said Ed Revoort, one of the three directors of the Fundexgroep. "They are so expensive and relatively easy to circumvent, so we have registered our brand."

Not only the free vibration technique led to fame for Fundex, the foundations of Fundex are also renowned for their large load capacity. Fundex isn't standing still, fully in line with the inventive former director Verstraeten they still new invent new techniques. The machines mentioned before are designed in Oostburg and made in Goes. Revoort: "If we are asked for an assignment or a demonstration, the adage is still true of Mr. Verstraeten: can't, doesn't exist."

Currently, much is expected of the new generation of Fundex injection piles. A technique used in the testing stage and which has high expectations. "You know whats pity? That our work isn't really visible, "says Cees Verplanke. "While we're very proud of our work."

[SOURCE: BN De Stem]