On March 22, the 4th Deep Foundation Engineering New Technology and New Equipment Development Forum successfully concluded at the Pearl River Hotel of the Guangzhou Military Region. With the theme of “Innovation, Safety, Efficiency and Sustainable Development,” the forum held in-depth discussions on new situations and new issues in the deep foundation industry under the new circumstances, and showcased new technologies, new construction methods and new achievements in deep foundation construction.

The conference opened in a grand atmosphere. The opening ceremony was presided over by Hao Xinmin, President of the Foundation Engineering Branch of the Chongqing Construction Industry Association. He briefly outlined the main agenda of the conference and introduced to the delegates the leaders, renowned experts and entrepreneurs attending the conference. Zhang Jinxun, Chairman of the Deep Foundation Construction Branch of the China Construction Industry Association, delivered the first speech. He said that the Deep Foundation Development Forum plays an increasingly important role in building a platform for the industry and promoting progress. As foundation engineering reaches both sky and underground, and railway construction crosses regions and seas, it will promote interaction across the entire industry chain. Chairman Zhang Jinxun summarized in depth the outstanding achievements and shortcomings of deep foundation development, and looked ahead to the new situation faced. He pointed out that in the new year, favorable policies will provide guarantees for the development of deep foundation engineering; railway and urban rail construction will become an important market for deep foundation engineering development; and the construction of urban agglomerations and affordable housing will help drive deep foundation engineering development. All of these indicate that the deep foundation engineering market has broad prospects, requiring us to continuously deepen discussion, innovate and adapt to the needs of the situation.

In his speech, Gao Wensheng, Chairman of the Pile Foundation Academic Committee of the Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering Society of the China Civil Engineering Society, said that the Deep Foundation Development Forum has been successfully held three times so far, not only achieving fruitful results but also growing in scale, which fully demonstrates the charm and influence of the Deep Foundation Development Forum. The industry leaders and elites gathered today have witnessed that the forum is a truly high-end platform and authoritative conference in the industry. He stated that with the development of urbanization in China, especially the vigorous advancement of new urbanization, the development and utilization of underground space will increase, and its construction will become increasingly modernized. Therefore, pile foundation and foundation pit engineering technologies in deep foundation engineering are increasingly widely used in construction engineering, municipal engineering, transportation and road engineering, port and marine engineering, and other fields. Regional differences in economic development, complex and changeable geological conditions, and vastly different construction environments will drive research and innovation in new technologies and new equipment for deep foundation engineering. Thus the forum has become an important vehicle for development discussions.

Guo Chuanxin, Secretary-General of the Pile Machinery Branch of the China Construction Machinery Society, analyzed in depth the current status of the pile machinery industry at the conference and also predicted the development situation for 2014. Secretary-General Guo pointed out that in the past year, while the pile machinery industry achieved remarkable results in technological invention, creation, and energy conservation and environmental protection, there were also problems that could not be ignored. These were mainly the challenges brought by the industry downturn under the situation of the national economy slowing down in pursuit of quality. He said that judging from sales data in recent years, after entering a sales volume of 2,000 units per year, the market pull effect has weakened, showing the limited capacity of the segmented market for pile machinery. At the same time, subtle changes have occurred in the sales rankings of leading enterprises, indicating differences in their stage-specific business objectives and marketing strategies. At present and in the coming years, the main challenges facing the pile machinery industry are the severe situation of accounts receivable, increased pressure from collections and inventory, and tight cash flow that has already affected suppliers. Therefore, Secretary-General Guo emphasized that in 2014, under the overall backdrop of seeking progress while maintaining stability in economic development, under the situation in which new changes in the world economic situation pose more challenges to the construction machinery industry, under the reality of overcapacity that will lead to intensified competition among construction machinery enterprises, and under the increasingly high requirements for new technologies arising from the continuously developing new situation, enterprises must work hard to strengthen their internal capabilities and focus on transformation and upgrading, thereby promoting independent innovation in the industry and striving to become world-class. After Secretary-General Guo's speech, Sun Jinshan, Editor-in-Chief of Foundation Engineering Magazine, also delivered an enthusiastic speech at the conference. As the organizer, Editor-in-Chief Sun felt honored to host this forum and expressed confidence in providing good service in all respects. He extended a warm welcome to the leaders and distinguished guests present and wished the conference complete success.

In the subsequent keynote reports of the forum, Gao Wensheng, Director of the Institute of Foundation Engineering of the China Academy of Building Research; Wen Feng, Senior Engineer of the China Communications Highway Planning and Design Institute; Lin Benhai, Director of the Underground Engineering and Geological Disaster Research Center of Guangzhou University; and Guo Chuanxin, Secretary-General of the Pile Machinery Branch of the China Construction Machinery Society, delivered reports respectively on “Current Status of Research on Seismic Resistance and Design of Building Pile Foundations,” “Design and Research of Steel Pipe Composite Pile Foundations for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge,” “Research and Application of High-Strength and Ultra-High-Strength Composite Foundations in Guangdong,” and “Pile Machinery at the 2014 CONEXPO-CON/AGG in the United States.” At the patented technology/product launch event, 12 entrepreneurs, experts, professors and chief engineers, represented by Chen Zhongping, Chairman of Guangdong Shengrui Civil Engineering Technology Development Co., Ltd., gave detailed explanations and promotional presentations of their respective patented technologies and new products. Patented technologies and new products are new inventions and creations under the new situation and represent the cutting-edge level of the industry. The forum maintained a strong atmosphere of exchange and interaction throughout. During the discussions, everyone spoke freely and exchanged views in depth, which not only deepened friendship but also promoted industry resource sharing and technological progress.

The forum also organized all delegates to conduct on-site inspections of major projects and visit the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge project. The conference edited and published selected excellent papers and commended and rewarded the award-winning authors. This forum brought together a galaxy of talents and gathered many experts; it can be said to have been large in scale and high in standard, with more than 300 delegates attending. The fruitful results achieved during the two-day conference fully demonstrated that the 4th Deep Foundation Engineering Development Forum was an unprecedented grand event of exchange and innovation for the industry. (Text/Zuo Chuanwen)

Editor in charge: Wu Yue