Heavy-duty concrete piles for sustainable projects

Durable, heavyweight concrete piles as a foundation for a solar carport

Producing custom concrete piers for solar carports is one of the heavyweight projects Zwaagstra Beton is passionate about. For a solid foundation under sustainable parking lots, which function both as a parking space and as a solar park, the family business from Hoogeveen is the point of contact.

The concrete piles, consisting of a concrete base plate topped with a concrete step, are produced and stored by Zwaagstra Beton at its own factory location in Hoogeveen. "Thanks to the short lines within our organization and our ample storage capacity, we have a custom solution available for every project, large or small," said André Veerkamp, account manager at Zwaagstra. "Since our first major project on the parking lot of the TT circuit in Assen, where we delivered a thousand concrete piles for motor carports within a short period of time, we have already provided many projects with heavy concrete piles."

Reuse materials and resources

With the concrete piles, Zwaagstra now uses recycled material, such as Eco-granulate and Eco-sand, for all base plates 100%. Eco-granulate is a residual product released from the thermal cleaning of used asphalt. "We have gradually switched to 100% Eco-granulate and 100% Eco-sand in our concrete slabs. This plays an important role within the circular economy," André points out. The quality of the end product also remains guaranteed. Through responsible scaling of sustainable raw materials, the recycled concrete has the same strength as traditional concrete.

Sustainable projects

Sustainability is not only a priority for Zwaagstra Concrete, but also for their clients. The demand for solar-related projects with a dual function is increasing. An eco-carport, a combination of covered parking space with solar park, is a good example of this and does not come at the expense of pastures for agriculture. "We provide customized solutions, for example by pouring in casing pipes for the connection of solar panels. We also have sufficient storage space for a large stock of concrete piles. This allows us to deliver quickly to the desired location," André said. In addition to solar projects, the company also supplies concrete piles for other projects that require heavy foundations, such as for high-voltage pylons.

Specializing in heavy concrete piles 

Zwaagstra has now specialized in producing large and heavy concrete piles. For a large solar carport, Zwaagstra is currently producing concrete piers weighing 6,300 kg each. "For this project we are making piers with a concrete slab of 2 by 4 meters and 28 cm thick, on top of which will come a stile of 95 cm by 50 cm and 72 cm high. The concrete pile must support a 3-meter steel structure, on which solar panels will be installed. These heavy concrete piles are largely transported with our own trucks and safely unloaded on site," André continues. "Our service becomes complete with the possibility to unload the concrete piles directly from the truck. In this way, we can always ensure high quality and fast, competent delivery of a durable product."