Ghelma AG Spezialtiefbau

What Ghelma AG Spezialtiefbau does

Ghelma AG Spezialtiefbau (GSTB), headquartered in Meiringen, Switzerland, is a privately held, fourth-generation family-owned specialized foundation contractor founded in 2004 by Christian and Martha Ghelma as a spin-off of Ghelma AG Baubetriebe. The company executes complex geotechnical construction — excavation support, pile foundations, jet grouting, anchoring, protective structures, and specialized drilling — for both public-sector clients (SBB, cantonal authorities, municipalities) and private enterprises (Roche, Lonza, Actelion), with a project portfolio exceeding 3,000 completed sites and an annual run-rate of roughly 200 projects. Its competitive position rests on four proprietary in-house systems: GSTB-MPS (micropile stanchion wall), GSTB-VNM (prestressed nail wall with micropiles), GSTB-KOU (combined underpinning), and GSTB-NDJ (low-pressure jetting pile, Swiss patent granted April 30, 2020), which is fabricated via its own R&D department and on-site Werkhof with a skilled mechanics and blacksmith workforce. GSTB operates a vertical integration model in which its sister engineering subsidiary Geotek AG (3 civil engineers, 2 engineering geologists) prepares tender designs and develops "Unternehmervarianten" (contractor alternatives) that GSTB then executes, complemented by JVs in rockfall and instrumentation; this one-stop-shop enables cost and schedule optimization unavailable to competitors who must assemble separate engineering and execution vendors. Revenue is generated on a per-project, negotiated-contract basis, with pricing not publicly disclosed and procurement largely driven by Swiss public tendering for the government channel and direct negotiation for private clients. GSTB operates exclusively through direct field sales and its own crews, with no reseller or channel-partner model, and is scaling its physical footprint via an ongoing ~21,500 m² workshop expansion in Stickli-Ischlag, a Zurich-area branch opened in Kloten in 2018, and growing headcount of approximately 150-160 employees.

Name

Ghelma AG Spezialtiefbau

Legal name

Ghelma AG Spezialtiefbau

Website

https://gstb.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ghelma AG Spezialtiefbau is a Swiss family-owned specialized foundation contractor executing excavation support, pile foundations, jet grouting, anchoring, and protective structures for public authorities and private enterprises via proprietary systems and direct project delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialized Foundation Construction Services

NAICS

Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (237), Engineering Services (541330), Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (237990)

SIC

Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAFAOAA

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

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Construction & Civil Engineering/Geotechnical & Foundation Engineering (Piling, Ground Improvement)

SECONDARYIMAFAOAK

Geotechnical Design, Engineering & Consulting (Analysis, Design, Peer Review)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Construction & Civil Engineering/Geotechnical & Foundation Engineering (Piling, Ground Improvement)

SECONDARYBPAHAIAB

Geotechnical & Subsurface Engineering Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Engineering & Technical Consulting

SECONDARYIMAFAOAJ

Tunneling & Underground Geotechnics (Ground Treatment, Support, NATM/SEM Interfaces)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Construction & Civil Engineering/Geotechnical & Foundation Engineering (Piling, Ground Improvement)

Keywords

• Specialized foundation construction
• Deep foundation engineering
• Excavation support systems
• Geotechnical construction services
• Pile foundation contractors

Headquarters

HQ city

Meiringen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Specialized Foundation Construction Services: GSTB generates revenue by providing specialized geotechnical construction services (Spezialtiefbau) including excavation support, pile foundations, jet grouting, anchoring, and protective structures. Projects are delivered on a per-contract basis for both public authorities and private clients. The company is a recognized leader in Switzerland in its niche, completing approximately 200+ projects per year.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GSTB plans, designs and executes specialized deep foundation and geotechnical construction services (Spezialtiefbau) across Switzerland — including excavation support (soil nail walls, soldier pile walls, bored pile walls, ground anchors), pile foundations (cast-in-place, displacement bored, micropiles and the patented NDJ low-pressure jetting pile), jet grouting (HDI/NDI), specialized drilling (filter wells, drainage, contaminated site remediation, exploration), and natural hazard protective structures (rockfall, debris flow, rock support, flood protection, scaffolding). Engineering design is delivered through the wholly-owned Geotek AG subsidiary and custom equipment is fabricated in the company's own Werkhof workshop and R&D department. The company completes approximately 200 projects per year for both public-sector clients (cantons, municipalities, SBB) and private clients (developers, general contractors, industrial firms).

Product overview

Ghelma AG Spezialtiefbau is a specialized geotechnical construction company offering a broad portfolio of proprietary systems and conventional procedures across five main service categories: (1) Baugrubensicherungen — excavation support systems including Nagelwände, Rühlwände, Pfahlwände, Rückverankerungen, and three proprietary systems (GSTB-MPS micro pile stance wall, GSTB-VNM prestressed soil nail wall with micropiles, and GSTB-KOU combined underpinning); (2) Pfahlgründungen — pile foundation services including Ortbetonpfähle, Verdrängungsbohrpfähle, Mikropfähle, the proprietary GSTB-NDJ low-pressure jetting pile system, and Bankettstabilisierung; (3) Düsenstrahlverfahren — jet grouting with HDI and NDI procedures; (4) Spezialbohrungen — specialized drilling including filter wells, drainage drilling, contaminated site remediation, and exploration drilling; and (5) Schutzbauten — protective structures for rockfall, debris flows, rock support, flood protection, and protective scaffolding. Services are supported by an in-house R&D department and a workshop/manufacturing facility (Werkhof), and are engineered in partnership with Geotek AG. The company operates primarily in Switzerland with approximately 150 employees and has been in operation since 2004.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Profondo: Annual company magazine published since 2021, featuring stories, photos, and updates about the company's projects, employees, and industry developments.
• GSTB-NDJ
• GSTB-MPS
• GSTB-VNM
• GSTB-KOU

Products and services

• Baugrubensicherungen (Excavation Support Systems) Comprehensive excavation support services including soil nail walls, soldier pile walls (Rühlwände / Berliner Verbau), bored pile walls (Pfahlwände) and ground anchors, designed for densely built areas with challenging geology.
• Nagelwände (Soil Nail Walls) Soil nail wall systems for slope stabilization in shallow excavations, mobilizing nail forces through terrain deformation. Suitable for low-density built areas or stable soils, available as temporary or permanent structures, with productivity rates of 20-50 m² per day per equipment unit.
• Rühlwände (Soldier Pile Walls / Berliner Verbau) Temporary excavation support using vertical steel profiles installed in boreholes with timber or steel lagging, allowing flexible customized solutions with options for head-area timber removal after backfilling.
• Pfahlwände (Bored Pile Walls) High-stiffness pile wall systems for projects with strict deformation requirements, available in resolved, tangential or overlapping configurations, including permanent installations in groundwater conditions.
• Rückverankerungen (Ground Anchoring Systems) Structural anchoring services for diverse applications including temporary excavation support and permanent load transfer from structures such as suspension bridges, using tensioned or untensioned anchors with various corrosion protection levels per SIA norm 267.
• System GSTB-MPS (Mikropfahlständerwand / Micropile Stance Wall) Proprietary micropile stanchion wall system developed in-house for non-anchored or braced excavation support. Enables excavation heights up to 6.0 m without anchors (deeper excavations possible with braces or anchors). Uses compact drilling equipment with no need for a prepared drilling surface; also suitable for steep hillside terrain.
• System GSTB-VNM (Vorgespannte Nagelwand mit Mikropfählen / Prestressed Soil Nail Wall with Micropiles) Proprietary prestressed soil nail wall system combined with micropiles for deep excavations in areas inaccessible to large drilling equipment. Micropiles provide high safety in construction states and prevent displacement of the shotcrete wall due to self-weight and earth pressure.
• System GSTB-KOU (Kombinierte Unterfangung / Combined Underpinning) Proprietary combined underpinning system for underpinning neighboring buildings in urban construction. Vertical forces from buildings are transferred through piles; anchors and nails absorb horizontal thrust and earth pressure; pile dowel effect provides higher safety during construction stages.
• Pfahlgründungen (Pile Foundations) Full-range pile foundation services from micropiles to large-diameter bored piles, enabling 100% load transfer to deeper bearing strata. Includes modern procedures using piles as settlement reducers or combined pile-slab foundations.
• Ortbetonpfähle (Cast-in-Place Concrete Piles / Grossbohrpfähle) Cast-in-place concrete pile systems using three methods: Kelly drilling (Ø 620-1,800 mm), continuous flight auger / SOB (Ø 500-1,180 mm, depth up to 31 m), and cased endless auger drilling for high groundwater conditions (Ø up to 1,000 mm, depth up to 23 m).
• Verdrängungsbohrpfähle (Displacement Bored Piles) Supported large-diameter bored piles (Ø 440-620 mm) created by screwing a displacement body into the ground and pumping concrete through the drilling string, producing minimal spoil — suitable for contaminated soils with high daily production rates.
• Mikropfähle (Micropiles) Micropile foundation systems for structures on poorly bearing geology, using cased boreholes, steel load-bearing elements, and post-injection to increase load-bearing capacity. Includes GEWI bars with enhanced corrosion protection per SIA 267 for tension applications.
• System GSTB-NDJ (Niederdruckjettingpfähle / Low-Pressure Jetting Piles) Proprietary self-drilling pile system using cement mortar injected at pressures up to 250 bar; the rotating-injecting process creates an irregular surface on the grout body, activating very high skin friction for force transfer into the soil. The complete system (drill bit and nozzles) is patented (Swiss Patent granted 30 April 2020); the in-house R&D department has further optimized injection nozzles for improved efficiency and injection range.
• Bankettstabilisierung (Shoulder Stabilization) Slope stabilization using micropiles drilled through the slip surface into stable subsoil as dowels, combined with anchors and concrete beams for load transfer, restoring stability after changed road usage or external influences.
• Düsenstrahlverfahren (Jet Grouting) Jet grouting procedures that improve geotechnical soil properties by mixing in-situ soil with a binder. GSTB employs two procedures: high-pressure injection (HDI, up to 550 bar) and low-pressure injection (NDI, up to 200 bar), selected based on geology and purpose.
• Hochdruckinjektionen HDI (High-Pressure Jet Grouting) High-pressure jet grouting using cement suspension at pressures up to 550 bar, cutting and mixing the soil matrix with cement to create cement columns used as underpinning bodies, cut-off walls or foundation elements. Employs single-, two- or three-phase procedures.
• Niederdruckinjektionen NDI (Low-Pressure Jet Grouting) Low-pressure jet grouting that mixes binder into the soil during drilling at pressures up to 200 bar, creating cement columns for underpinning, cut-off walls or foundation elements, with flexible equipment options.
• Spezialbohrungen (Specialized Drilling) Specialized drilling services including filter wells for groundwater lowering or extraction, drainage drilling for slope water management, and contaminated site remediation via replacement drilling with diameters up to 150 cm.
• Filterbrunnen (Filter Wells) Filter well construction for lowering groundwater in excavations or extracting groundwater for commercial use, implemented with small or large drilling equipment using plastic, raw steel or stainless steel filter pipes.
• Drainagebohrungen (Drainage Drilling) Targeted drainage drilling to influence water conditions in soil, reducing hydrodynamic or backwater pressure effects on structures. Applied in both temporary excavation support and permanent retaining structures with controllable, flushable drainage lines.
• Altlastensanierungen (Contaminated Site Remediation) Contaminated site remediation through replacement drilling in overlapped bores up to 150 cm diameter using the pilgrim-step method, with boreholes filled with gravel mix and contaminated material disposed by specialized companies.
• Sondierbohrungen (Exploration Drilling) Geological exploration drilling providing the most informative ground investigation method, enabling point-by-point soil examination using SPT (Standard Penetration Test) and preserving drill cores for geological expert reports. Suitable for unconsolidated soil and rock.
• Schutzbauten (Protective Structures) Natural hazard protection structures including rockfall protection, debris flow protection nets, rock securing mesh, flood protection and protective scaffolding for railway-adjacent construction, implemented even in hard-to-reach areas using a modern machine fleet.
• Steinschlagschutz (Rockfall Protection) Rockfall protection structures installed in climate-change-affected areas, protecting buildings from rockfall hazards using specialized equipment and expertise for efficient installation in exposed terrain.
• Murgangschutz (Debris Flow Protection) Debris flow protection systems with specialized nets installed in channels capable of carrying debris flows, using appropriate equipment for efficient installation in exposed areas.
• Felssicherungen (Rock Support Systems) Full-coverage rock mesh installation for controlled erosion of rock faces, protecting roads and buildings from falling rocks in exposed areas.
• Hochwasserschutz (Flood Protection) Flood protection measures including sediment collectors and other river engineering structures requiring subsoil anchoring and foundation work, performed in exposed river channels.
• Schutzgerüste (Protective Scaffolding) Railway-adjacent protective scaffolding designed and dimensioned project-specifically for SBB and railway company requirements, founded on dedicated beams or integrated into bored pile or soldier pile walls.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,000 projects completed since founding in 2004
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Geotek AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Geotek AG is a civil engineering and engineering geology consultancy that spun off from GSTB's in-house engineering department in early 2018. It consists of 3 civil engineers and 2 engineering geologists who exclusively work on geotechnical questions. Geotek prepares tender designs, develops innovative contractor alternatives (Unternehmervarianten), and provides technical supervision for GSTB's projects, enabling integrated planning and execution that competitors cannot match.
• Rock Tec AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Rock Tec AG was founded in early 2018 together with Kohler Bau AG and Ghelma AG Baubetriebe. It offers a full range of rockfall protection, blasting, and safety forestry services, complementing GSTB's geotechnical and protective structure offerings in the natural hazard segment.
• Gross Generalunternehmung AGminorOthers · 1 January 2018General contractor for whom GSTB performed specialized deep foundation work on the Aarau train station project.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BAUER AG: German global specialist foundation engineering and equipment manufacturer with deep expertise in bored piles, diaphragm walls, and ground improvement. Directly competes with GSTB in specialty foundation methods and operates its own R&D and equipment manufacturing — analogous to GSTB's Werkhof.
• Soletanche Bachy: French-founded worldwide deep-foundation specialist (subsidiary of VINCI Construction) covering piles, diaphragm walls, jet grouting, and ground improvement. Directly comparable in proprietary-method development and execution of complex urban geotechnical projects.
• Trevi Group: Italian specialty foundation contractor offering piling, ground improvement, and underground works globally. Directly comparable service portfolio and operates in the same European regulatory and geological environment as GSTB.
• Jäger Spezialtiefbau GmbH: German/Austrian specialty foundation contractor offering piling, anchoring, and ground improvement. Directly comparable mid-sized peer in the DACH region with similar service portfolio and customer profile.
• Keller Group plc: UK-listed global geotechnical contractor offering piling, ground improvement, and specialty foundation services across more than 40 countries. Directly comparable to GSTB in core service lines (bored piles, micropiles, ground anchors, jet grouting) and serves overlapping public-infrastructure and private-construction end markets.
• Stump Franki Spezialtiefbau GmbH: German specialty foundation contractor (part of the PORR group at times) offering pile foundations, anchors, and ground improvement. Direct comparable in service range and target customer profile across the DACH market.

Broad incumbents

• Implenia AG: Switzerland's largest construction and real-estate services company, offering general contractor and civil engineering capabilities including foundation works. Broad incumbent that competes for the same public and private clients as GSTB on larger integrated tenders, though it is not specialized in Spezialtiefbau.
• Porr AG: Austrian-listed full-service construction group with a strong specialty-foundation and civil engineering division across the DACH region. Adjacent regional competitor, particularly relevant for GSTB's stated adjacent-country footprint.

Regional players

• Walo Bertschinger AG: Swiss construction group with significant civil engineering and foundation capabilities, headquartered in Zurich. Competes with GSTB for Zurich-area and broader Swiss infrastructure tenders, particularly along the German-speaking Swiss corridor.
• Marti AG: Swiss family-owned construction group active in tunneling, civil engineering, and specialty foundations across Switzerland. Regional peer operating in the same Swiss market with overlapping deep-foundation capabilities and similar family-business governance profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@GhelmaAGSpezialtiefbau
• Facebookfacebook.com/gstb.ch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ghelma-ag-spezialtiefbau
• Instagraminstagram.com/ghelma_spezialtiefbau

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles29 records

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 Ghelma AG Spezialtiefbau