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by Bill Bonekemper
Publisher
October, 2017
This article takes a close look at the helical pile products manufactured by eleven companies - nine of which are based in the United States and two being Canadian based. The eleven companies include:
- Earth Contact Products (ECP) – Olathe, KS
- GoliathTech Screw Piles (GoliathTech) - Magog, Quebec, Canada
- Helical Anchors, Inc. (HAI) - Minneapolis, MN
- Hubbell Power Systems (HPS-Chance) – Centralia, MO
- IDEAL Foundation Systems (IDEAL) – Rochester, NY
- MacLean Power Systems, (MPS Civil) – Fort Mill, NC
- Patriot Foundation Systems (Patriot) - San Antonio, FL
- PierTech Systems - Chesterfield, MO
- Ram Jack Systems Distribution (Ram Jack) – Ada, OK
- Supportworks – Omaha, NE
- Techno Metal Post (TMP) - Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada
Introduction
All eleven companies covered in this article, nine based in the U.S. and two based in Canada, offer helical pile, anchor and tieback products designed for the new construction market as well as for remedial applications like underpinning and earth retention. Additionally, many of the companies offer product solutions for the marine and utility markets including alternative power applications like solar and wind. It is noteworthy that all eleven companies offer a wide variety of pile caps, brackets and other connection-to-structure products, but this article does not cover these products.
HPW published a similar article to this one in August, 2016, and since that time the industry has continued to expand with the number of products offered by manufacturers. The most notable change is the increased number of large diameter round shaft helical piles. Eight of the eleven manufacturers now offer standard products with an 8.625 in. (219 mm) outside diameter, while five manufacturers offer 10.75 in. (273.1 mm) and 12.75 in. (323.9 mm) diameter products. IDEAL Group and PierTech Systems both offer 16.00 in. (406.4 mm) and 24.00 in. (609.6 mm) products with IDEAL also offering 30.00 in. (762 mm) and 36.00 in. (914.4 mm) diameter products. It is also noteworthy that some manufacturers that do not list the larger diameter sizes in their literature as standard products are willing to provide quotations for these products as special orders.
Specialty Helical Pile Products
The majority of the eleven manufacturers offer specialty products such as pile caps, terminators and specialized connection products for a wide variety of markets and applications including:
- Interstate highway signs and lights
- Railroad signs and lights
- Residential street lights
- Oil and gas drilling and pipelines
- Electric transmission
- Solar arrays
- Wind turbines
While these products are not listed on each company’s product table in this article, people interested in these products should visit manufacturers’ websites and/or contact the companies for additional information.
Engineering Support for Dealers and Installers
In addition to offering a wide variety of helical pile products, ten of the eleven companies offer in-depth engineering support for their respective network of dealers and installers. This support is essential in today’s helical pile marketplace – especially for installers who do not have engineers on staff. Often times deep foundation projects can be redesigned and/or value engineered, and helical piles can be used as an alternative to other piling systems that may have been specified in the original plans.
Summary of Round Corner Square Shaft and Round Shaft Products Offered by Each Manufacturer
Click here to see a summary of all manufacturers’ product offerings
Helix Bearing Plate Options
All eleven companies offer a variety of helix bearing plates with the most common sizes ranging from 8 in (203 mm) to 14 in (406.4 mm). Some of the manufacturers offer larger diameter bearing plates up to 36 in (914.4 mm) in diameter and steel thickness ranging from 0.375 in (9.5 mm) to 2.00 in (50.8 mm).
As you can see in the product tables for each company, there are also options available for both the thickness and the grade of steel to be used when manufacturing the bearing plates – greater thickness and/or higher steel grades to achieve greater bearing capacity.
Section Coupling Methods
Ram Jack is the only manufacturer that offers a threaded coupling method whereby the sections are screwed together. They offer bolted connections as well.
Nine of the remaining ten companies offer single and multi-bolted connection options depending upon the size and torsional capacity of the helical pile.
TMP is the only company that specifies welding to be used to couple pile sections for all of its products. The company does offer bolted connection options upon special request.
HPS-Chance specifies grade 2 studs for use with their 6.625 in (168.3 mm) and 8.625 in (219.1 mm) diameter products.
While MPS Civil coupling method utilizes bolts as well, the bolts are used in conjunction with a male-female square engagement coupling method. According to company literature, this patented method is designed to virtually eliminate bolt-hole elongation as the bolts are not put in shear during pile installation.
PierTech Systems also offers a patented Cross Bolt Connection. According to company literature, this patented system reduces the time to connect pile sections and virtually eliminates bolt-hole elongation as the bolts are not put in shear during installation.
Corrosion Protection Options
All eleven manufacturers offer the black or bare steel option – no coating. All the manufacturers also offer hot dip galvanizing to ASTM specifications as an option for corrosion protection.
Ram Jack is the only manufacturer that offers polymer coating as standard per the ICC-ES Acceptance Criteria AC 228 .
Building Code Certifications
Certifications by code officials are issued for each helical pile product separately as submitted by manufacturers. Manufacturers can receive certifications for multiple products, but each product they choose to submit must pass the corresponding acceptance criteria. All eleven manufacturers have received code certifications from various governing bodies. The following ten manufacturers have received ESR reports from the International Code Council Evaluation Service (ICC-ES).
- Earth Contact Products
- Hubbell Power Systems - Chance
- Helical Anchors, Inc.
- IDEAL Group
- MacLean Power Systems - Civil Products Group
- Patriot Foundation Systems
- PierTech Systems
- Ram Jack Systems Distribution
- Supportworks
- Techno Metal Post
Note: According to company officials, GoliathTech will be obtaining ICC-ES ESR certification for products in a matter of weeks from this publication date.
Code certifications for specific helical pile products are noted on each manufacturer’s product table (see below).
Earth Contact Products
Click Here To Access ECP Helical Pile Product Table
Earth Contact Products
15612 South Keeler Terrace
Olathe, KS 66062
866-327-0007
GoliathTech
Click Here to Access GoliathTech Helical Pile Product Table
GoliathTech Screw Piles
175, rue Peladeau
Magog, Quebec (Canada) J1X 5G9
855-743-4777
Helical Anchors, Inc.
Click Here to Access HAI Helical Pile Product Table
Helical Anchors, Inc.
5101 Boone Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55428
763-201-6552
Hubbell Power Systems - Chance
Click Here to Access HPS-Chance Helical Pile Product Table
Hubbell Power Systems
210 N. Allen Street
Centralia, MO 65240
855-477-2121
IDEAL Foundation Systems
Click Here to Access IDEAL Helical Pile Product Table
IDEAL Foundation Systems
999 Picture Parkway
Webster, NY 14580
800-799-4810
www.idealfoundationsystems.com
MacLean Power Systems - Civil Products Group
Click Here To Access MPS Civil Helical Pile Product Table
MacLean Power Systems - Civil Products Group
481 Munn Road, Ste 300
Fort Mill, SC
803.628.4300
Patriot Foundation Systems
Click Here to Access Patriot Helical Pile Product Table
Patriot Foundation Systems
30427 Commerce Drive
San Antonio, FL 33576
866-737-7453
PierTech Systems
Click Here to Access PierTech Helical Pile Product Table
PierTech Systems
17813 Edison Ave. Suite 100
Chesterfield, MO 63005
636-536-5007
Ram Jack Systems Distribution
Click Here To Access Ram Jack Helical Pile Product Table
Ram Jack Systems Distribution
13655 CR 1570
Ada, OK 74820
(888) 332-9909
Supportworks
Click Here To Access Supportworks Helical Pile Product Table
Supportworks
12330 Cary Circle
La Vista, NE 68128
800-281-8545
www.foundationsupportworks.com
Techno Metal Post
Click Here to Access TMP Helical Pile Product Table
Techno Metal Post
1700 Rue Setlakwe
Thetford Mines QC G6G 8B2
Canada
877-332-4339
A Close Up Look at Eleven Helical Pile
Manufacturers’ Products