Skip to main content

Doka eyes Grand Paris project

A huge tunnel formwork takes centre stage on Doka’s stand at Intermat, as the French arm of the business looks to Europe’s biggest infrastructure project, the €38.5 billion Grand Paris Express metro. “In the last few years, Doka has become well-known in the residential sector in France. Now we want to show that we are experts in infrastructure as well,” says Doka France’s head of product management and marketing, Oscar Castilla. The tunnel formwork, SL1, used to form the crown of a tunnel, has recently b
April 25, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
A huge tunnel formwork takes centre stage on 203 Doka’s stand at Intermat, as the French arm of the business looks to Europe’s biggest infrastructure project, the €38.5 billion Grand Paris Express metro.


“In the last few years, Doka has become well-known in the residential sector in France. Now we want to show that we are experts in infrastructure as well,” says Doka France’s head of product management and marketing, Oscar Castilla.

The tunnel formwork, SL1, used to form the crown of a tunnel, has recently been modified so that the face-forming element is steel rather than timber. “This means that it is more durable and therefore for a long tunnel, it makes it cheaper” says Castilla. “The second advantage is that the whole thing can be rented.”

Also on display was Doka’s STAXO 100 load-bearing tower which also boasted a modification. It now includes aluminium beams to transfer load from the structure to the tower where previously timber beams were used. This allows a capacity of the tower of 10 tonnes per leg with lightweight beams that can be assembled by hand.  Doka has already secured projects on the Grand Paris programme with this product, says Castilla.

Doka’s remote concrete monitoring technology, Concremote, is also new to the French market, says Castilla, and is being deployed in several projects for the first time now. Concremote measures the strength of the concrete in real time, through monitoring the heat, which means that formwork can be struck as soon as the required strength is reached, increasing productivity and ensuring quality and safety.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bridge engineering worldwide
    July 1, 2013
    Guy Woodford looks at vital bridge construction, repair and inspection projects in China, Europe, North America and Australia The Heron Road Bridge in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada is a vital link within the City’s transport network, as it crosses the Rideau River, which divides the east and west parts of the City. Constructed in 1966-1967, the Heron Road Bridge is approximately 275m long and includes six lanes.
  • Innovative, flexible bridge formwork systems
    February 14, 2012
    Innovative formwork systems have been used to construct a variety of bridge structures. Patrick Smith reports. As part of the work on Germany's new A4 autobahn near Eisenach, the contracting joint venture awarded the formwork contract for two of the three viaducts to Doka. What makes this assignment so special to the company is that although the two steel composite bridges each have very different cross-sections, the JV is using the same overslung composite forming carriage to pour the carriageway slabs of
  • Innovative formwork solution to bridge construction
    February 20, 2012
    Innovative solutions are being applied to the construction of bridge structures as Patrick Smith reports. RMD Kwikform Iberica has engineered and supplied specialist formwork and falsework for construction of the much-needed Monteporreiro Viaduct in northern Spain. The viaduct will connect Monteporreiro with the Benedictine Monastery of San Bieito Lérez on the other side of the river, and in the process will ease congestion in the nearby town of Pontevedra, diverting some 5,000 vehicles/day.
  • Forming iconic structures
    July 18, 2012
    Specially designed and constructed formwork is being used to create some iconic bridges worldwide The Golden Ears Bridge over the Fraser River will unite the municipalities of Richmond, New Westminister and Delta in the scenic British Columbia province of Canada. The bridge, part of a CAD$800 million (US$670 million) project, is an 'extra dosed' cable stayed bridge, which means the deck will be supported by both cables and the structure itself. This design reduces the overall height of the two towers as req