De Waal Solid Foundations

What De Waal Solid Foundations does

De Waal Solid Foundations SA is a Belgian specialty construction contractor focused on deep foundation solutions and retaining wall systems for large and small building projects. The company is the legal successor formed on June 30, 2017 by merging three entities — SA Les Pieux De Waal, Wig Palen bvba, and Olivier Funderingstechnieken SA — and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Belgian construction conglomerate NV Willemen Groep. Its predecessor operations trace back to 1959, when the Belgian department of Dutch parent De Waalpaal BV was established; in 1987, then-director Frank Poorteman took the Belgian operation private and developed the proprietary GVS double soil-displacement screw pile system that remains a core technical differentiator. Today the company offers eight pile types (vibration-free double soil-displacement screw piles, partial-displacement screw piles, cased auger piles, energy piles, precast driven piles, cast-in-situ driven piles, tubular piles, and micropiles), four retaining wall techniques (soldier pile walls, secant pile walls, Soilmix/CSM walls, and ground anchors), deep foundation pits, and special applications including noise barriers and tubular pile retaining walls.

The company's technology is built around specialized, internally engineered execution machinery paired with the proprietary GVS pile system and supporting techniques for vibration-sensitive and constrained-headroom environments. Equipment capabilities include hydraulic grapples for cylindrical deep foundation pits (800–2200mm diameter, 2–6m length), CSM cutters for soil-mixed walls up to 18m depth, and rigs capable of installing micropiles under headroom as low as 2.50m. Notable project references include 4,800 piles for the Nike Wings high-bay warehouse in Ham, 1,283 precast driven piles plus 785 double soil-displacement screw piles on the A11 motorway, 1,120 soil-displacement screw piles for the Ghelamco Arena in Ghent, and 720 linear meters of secant pile wall as a storm flood barrier at Wenduine. Operations span five countries — Belgium, Netherlands, France, Poland (via De Waal Polska, est. 2007), and Romania — coordinated from headquarters in Lokeren with a secondary office in Oostende.

The business model is project-based B2B construction services, with revenue generated through direct contracts with general contractors, project developers, and infrastructure owners. Pricing is quote-driven and project-specific; no public pricing exists, and customer acquisition runs through a multi-language website with a quotation request form (offerteaanvraag), supplemented by direct phone/email contact. Headcount sits in the 51–100 range, the company is privately held with no public listing, and no venture or independent private-equity backing is indicated.

Name

De Waal Solid Foundations

Legal name

De Waal Solid Foundations

Website

https://dewaal.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

De Waal Solid Foundations SA is a Belgian specialty contractor that designs and installs deep foundations, retaining walls, and foundation pits for B2B construction projects across Belgium, Netherlands, France, Poland, and Romania, and is a subsidiary of NV Willemen Groep.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Deep Foundation and Retaining Wall Construction Services

NAICS

Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors (23811), Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors (2381), Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (237990)

SIC

Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600)

akta.pro primary industry

Piling & Deep Foundations (Driven, Bored, CFA, Micropiles) (IMAFAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Earth Retention & Excavation Support (Sheet/Soldier Piles, Diaphragm Walls, Bracing) (IMAFAOAD), Shallow Foundations & Ground Support (Footings, Rafts, Ground Beams) (IMAFAOAB), Mass Excavation & Bulk Earthmoving (Cut/Fill, Grading) (IMAFAKAC)

Keywords

• Deep foundation services
• Pile driving systems
• Retaining wall construction
• Soil displacement piles
• Foundation engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Lokeren

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Deep Foundation Services: Project-based B2B construction services providing deep foundation solutions including pile driving, retaining walls, and specialized foundation engineering. Revenue generated through direct contracts with construction companies and project developers based on technical specifications and project scope.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

De Waal Solid Foundations is a B2B construction services company that delivers deep foundation engineering, pile driving, and retaining wall solutions for buildings, industrial facilities, and infrastructure projects. The company installs eight types of piles (including vibration-free double soil-displacement screw piles, precast and cast-in-situ driven piles, tubular piles, micropiles, and energy piles), four retaining wall techniques (soldier pile walls, secant pile walls, soilmix walls, and ground anchors), deep foundation pits, and noise barriers across Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Poland, and Romania. Projects are awarded through direct, custom-quote-based contracts with construction companies, developers, and infrastructure clients.

Product overview

De Waal Solid Foundations offers a comprehensive portfolio of deep foundation and retaining wall solutions, formed from the 2017 merger of De Waal Palen, Wig Palen, and Olivier Funderingstechnieken. The company operates as a single unified construction services provider offering 8 distinct pile types (including vibration-free double soil-displacement screw piles, precast driven piles, tubular piles, micropiles, and energy piles), 4 retaining wall techniques (soldier pile walls, secant pile walls, soilmix walls, and ground anchors), deep foundation pits, and special applications (noise barriers, tubular pile retaining walls). The integrated offering combines specialized equipment fleet, experienced personnel, and an internal engineering department to deliver complete foundation solutions across Belgium, Netherlands, France, Poland, and Romania.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vibration-free double soil-displacement screw piles (Trillingsvrije dubbel grondverdringende schroefpalen) Vibration-free double soil-displacement screw piles that laterally displace soil during installation; load capacity 700 to 1800kN with pile lengths of 10 to 24m. Used for vibration-sensitive environments and large-scale foundations.
• Screw piles with partial displacement (Schroefpalen met gedeeltelijke wegpersing) Screw piles that partially displace soil during installation, suitable for various soil conditions and high-tensile-load applications up to 600kN.
• Cased auger piles (Verbuisde boorpalen) Cased auger piles where a steel casing is drilled into the ground and concrete is poured, providing stability for deep foundation applications.
• Energy piles (Energiepalen) Piles that combine structural load-bearing capacity with geothermal energy exchange for sustainable building heating and cooling.
• Precast driven piles (Prefab Heipalen) Precast concrete piles pre-manufactured and driven into the ground using pile-driving equipment; available in sections of 29 to 40cm with lengths of 15 to 24m.
• Cast-in-situ driven piles (In de grond gevormd geheide palen) Cast-in-situ piles created by driving a casing into the ground, placing reinforcement, and filling with concrete.
• Tubular piles (Kokerpalen) Tubular steel piles (diameters 219 to 406mm) installed with welded flanges; can be filled with concrete and reinforced with rebar cages for wall stability.
• Micropiles (Micropalen) Small-diameter piles for restricted access areas, existing building basements with limited headroom (as low as 2.50m), and specialized foundation scenarios.
• Soldier pile walls (Berlinerwanden) Classic soldier pile retaining walls using steel I-beams or H-piles driven into the ground at regular intervals with concrete or steel plate infill between piles.
• Secant pile walls (Secanspalenwanden) Secant pile walls of overlapping primary and secondary piles forming a continuous water-tight barrier; diameters 530mm and 630mm.
• Soil-mix walls (Soilmixwanden / CSM walls) Soil-mixing retaining walls via CSM (Cutter Soil Mixing), combining soil with cementitious grout to create durable underground walls to depths of 18m.
• Ground anchors (Grondankers) Ground anchors providing additional structural support to retaining walls by transferring tensile loads into stable soil layers.
• Deep foundation pits (Diepfunderingsputten / Faux puits) Cylindrical wells excavated with hydraulic grapples with optional metal casing; diameters 800 to 2200mm and lengths 2 to 6m. Ideal when a bearing layer is at shallow depth and vibration-free installation is required.
• Noise barriers (Geluidswanden / Mür anti-bruit) Noise reduction walls using metal profiles vibrated at regular intervals with concrete elements between them; spacing 3 to 5m, heights 3 to 6m for highway and railway noise attenuation.
• Retaining walls with tubular piles (Beschoeiingen met kokerpalen) Retaining walls using driven tubular piles placed close together (500-1000mm spacing) with metal lamellae and concrete or steel plates for excavations in existing buildings.

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Jan De Nul Group: Belgian-based global civil and marine construction contractor. Larger player with some overlap in heavy foundation and infrastructure work, though De Waal focuses on building/infrastructure foundations while Jan De Nul covers dredging, marine, and large civil works.
• Willemen Groep (NV Willemen Groep): Belgian diversified construction conglomerate and parent company of De Waal Solid Foundations since 2006. Broader construction group providing capital and portfolio context; included to capture parent-ecosystem dynamics affecting De Waal.

Direct peers

• Bauer AG: German foundation engineering specialist offering pile driving, diaphragm walls, soilmix, and ground improvement with proprietary equipment. Direct competitor in European deep foundation contracting with comparable proprietary techniques (e.g., CSM mixing).
• Trevi Group: Italian specialty foundation contractor providing piling, ground improvement, and earth retention across Europe, Middle East, and Americas. Direct competitor in deep foundation services with comparable pile type portfolio and European geographic overlap.
• Strukton Civiel: Dutch specialty contractor with foundation engineering division offering piling, ground improvement, and retaining walls in the Netherlands and broader Europe. Geographic overlap in Netherlands and comparable specialty foundation service offering.
• Franki Construct: Belgian deep foundation and geotechnical contractor specializing in pile driving, secant pile walls, and ground engineering. Already appears as a customer/partner in De Waal's project portfolio (Wenduine Zeedijk with Franki Construct). Directly comparable specialty foundation services across Belgium.
• Menard (part of Soletanche Bachy): French-founded ground improvement specialist (now within Soletanche Bachy/VINCI) providing vibration techniques, soilmix, and ground engineering. Direct overlap in soilmix walls and ground improvement techniques offered by De Waal.

Broad incumbents

• Soletanche Bachy: French global geotechnical contractor (part of VINCI Construction) specializing in deep foundations, diaphragm walls, and ground improvement. Directly comparable in pile driving, retaining walls, and CSM/soilmix techniques across European markets.
• Keller Group: UK-listed global geotechnical contractor with ~10,000 employees offering piling, ground improvement, and earth retention across 40+ countries. Larger incumbent with overlapping pile types and ground engineering capabilities across the same European markets as De Waal.

Regional players

• Engeser GmbH: German specialty foundation contractor offering driven piles, screw piles, and ground engineering across DACH region. Comparable specialty services with geographic focus in Germany/Switzerland/Austria rather than Benelux.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about De Waal Solid Foundations