CAN Geotechnical Ltd

Kent’s Road of Remembrance in Folkestone is the subject of a ground investigation and remediation project following two landslips since January this year, with the work focusing on the geotechnical status of the area and the action required to safeguard this important historical site.
Kent County Council has instructed CAN Geotechnical to act as principal contractor and to carry out the ground investigation project.

Kent County Council Strategic Asset Manager Alan Casson said: “The Road of Remembrance is of significant importance to people living in, working in and visiting Folkestone, not only for travelling along but also for its historical significance.

“Kent County Council is pleased to be working with CAN again following other successful projects in the county. This is a substantial, technical, and very complex project, and we have made significant progress working with CAN, their specialist teams, and their supply chain partners. The detailed investigations they have been undertaking will inform the final design for stabilising the embankment and preventing future deterioration.

“We are grateful to everyone involved in the project, and especially to Folkestone residents and businesses for their continued patience as we work to make sure the embankment is safe for the future.”

CAN Geotechnical Project Manager Andy Pope said the initial investigation work would inform the geotechnical design of the remediation works to follow. This initial work was carried out as part of a three-week programme that started on 9 September and was completed on time on 27 September. The CAN Geotechnical design team is now collating all site-specific data from the initial ground investigation works, with this underpinning a geotechnical design to remediate the area following the recent landslips.

Andy said: “Mapping and surveying work has been carried out to the toe of the failure on the Road of Remembrance, combined with intrusive works (effectively boring to a depth of 25 m and carrying out cone penetrating testing) at the crest, to two locations on The Bayle and two residential properties located within Priory Gardens. We had up to 12 ground investigation specialists on site at any one time, all working together to obtain the required information for the ultimate design for the remediation works. The area under investigation is approximately 80 m in length and 40 m high and comprises sand, clay, sandstone and bedrock.”

He said that the team made use of a 13-tonne cone penetrating testing rig and a 5 m cable percussive borehole rig on the roads and brought in smaller 1.5-tonne and 3 m rigs for the work in residential gardens.

“By coring boreholes at a depth of 25 m and removing casings at approximately 1 m deep increments, we were able to record ground conditions at various depths. This enabled us to build an accurate impression of ground conditions. Cone penetrating testing enables us to gather detailed information on the soil type and stratification in addition to the strength of the clays and the relative density and friction angles in the sand.”

Andy explained that the team was very much aware that the Road of Remembrance is a very significant landmark in Folkestone. The road was renamed the Road of Remembrance after the end of the First World War to commemorate the journey taken by thousands of men on their way to war.

Andy added: “The road is lined with plaques and poppies for the annual Remembrance Day parade but because of the landslips, it has been closed for nearly a year. Unfortunately, the parade will not be happening again this year but we are working hard to understand the geotechnical issues that have created the landslips so that the area can be safely and confidently returned to the community.

“Owing to the very sensitive and high-profile nature of these works, the entire project team invested in developing strong relationships, working with residents and businesses. We are really proud to have been able to work closely with the community on this project.”

CAN Structures Ltd and CAN Geotechnical Ltd, UK specialist access and geotechnical contractors and part of the RSK group, opened an office in Dublin, Ireland, on Monday, 17 June.

The Irish office is the fifth permanent CAN base and supplements its offices in Chesterfield, Northfleet, Portishead and Glasgow (opened in May). Jona Crabtree is CAN’s new regional manager for Ireland. The company will share the premises with other RSK companies.

About 70% of CAN’s business is geotechnical projects for slope and retaining wall stabilisation and installing rockfall protection measures. The remainder involves structural repairs, construction, inspection, testing and maintenance – often including bespoke access solutions. Two major recent projects are the installation of the roof at Tottenham Hotspur’s new football stadium in North London and a highways project at the Heads of the Valleys in Wales.

Ireland has proved to be successful for CAN over the last 20 years. It has implemented rock netting for Donegal County Council, cliff stabilisation for its counterpart in Wicklow and stabilisation at the Lakeside Housing Development in Coleraine. The Dublin office enables CAN to provide direct and immediate services to operators and contractors based in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

CAN’s expansion into Ireland comes after its acquisition by RSK last October: one of 12 companies bought by the leading environmental and engineering services company in the 2018/19 financial year.

“Following the recent appointment of Colin Smith as the Scottish regional manager, we are very pleased to be able to announce that from Monday, 17 June Jona Crabtree will be the regional manager for Ireland,” commented Mark Richardson, CAN managing director.

“Jona has worked for CAN for the last 12 years. We have no doubt that he will apply his vast experience to the new role. I am confident that his energy, enthusiasm and professionalism will appeal to our clients, new and old, and that he will be instrumental in helping CAN to tap into the huge potential of the Irish market.”

UK geotechnical and engineering contractor CAN has added a permanent office in Glasgow to the ones it already has in Chesterfield, Northfleet and Portishead.

The expansion comes after CAN was acquired by environmental and engineering services company RSK Group in October last year. CAN Structures and CAN Geotechnical will share the Glasgow office with other RSK group companies.

About 70% of CAN’s business is geotechnical projects for slope and retaining wall stabilisation, and installing rock fall protection measures. The remainder involve structural repairs, construction, inspection, testing and maintenance.

CAN has been working in Scotland for over 20 years. Its portfolio there includes rock face stabilising at Dunoon Sewerage Treatment Works in Argyll & Bute, structural inspection and testing at Burdiehouse Burn nature reserve in Lothian and slope works at Loch Katrine in the Highlands.

CAN managing director Mark Richardson said: “We are delighted to expand our footprint in Scotland with the opening of our new office. We believe that this move will provide our clients with the level of support and collaborative working that is so important to the CAN business model. We are very excited by the move and look forward to the new challenges and opportunities this will undoubtedly bring.

Colin Smith will be the new regional manager for Scotland. Richardson added: “Colin has 25 years’ experience in the construction industry and has worked for CAN for the last seven years. His wealth of experience and depth of knowledge is a huge asset to the business and we know that our clients will enjoy working closely with him over the coming years.”

The A465, or Heads of the Valleys road, is one of The Welsh Government’s key strategic corridors and an international gateway for the South Wales economy.


The existing A465, a single three lane carriageway, was built in the 1960’s with two lanes in the uphill direction. The dualling project will significantly improve its safety, shorten journey times, generally improve transport links and therefore benefit the local economy.


Since September 2015, CAN has been working as a subcontractor for Costain on the Heads of the Valleys A465 widening scheme. The HOTV contract, now into its fourth year, is CAN’s largest project to date.


Throughout the job CAN has been able to adapt and provide viable solutions to the continuing challenges encountered on the project. The works are still ongoing and are expected to continue well into 2019.


Current works include:

- Installation of soil nails, rock bolts and rockfall netting
- Removing temporary road level catch fences
- Installation of gabion facing
- Drilling environmental barrier foundations
- Construction of a bat gully
- Filling voids caused by old mine workings


As of January 2019 CAN has carried work out on the following installing:

- 97,904 meters of drilling – which would reach double the height of the Red Bull Stratos skydive (the highest in the world)
- 13,901 soil nails/rock bolts
- 46,850.5m2 of rock fall netting – enough to cover Trafalgar square more than 3 times
- 34 retaining walls have been built
- 1,373,380 litres of grout – the equivalent of 2,416,811 pints of beer
- 250 tonnes of sprayed – the same weight as 140 pallets of bricks

Latest announcement takes the number of acquisitions by the group to 11 in recent months.


Leading environmental and engineering services company RSK Group Ltd today announced that it has acquired CAN, a UK geotechnical and engineering contractor that undertakes large-scale, specialist access projects.

About 70% of CAN’s business is geotechnical projects for slope and retaining wall stabilisation, and installing rock fall protection measures. The remainder involve structural repairs, construction, inspection, testing and maintenance, often including bespoke access solutions. Two of its major recent projects are the installation of the roof at the new Tottenham Hotspur football stadium in North London and a highways project at the Heads of the Valleys in Wales.

CAN operates from three offices, Chesterfield, which oversees most of its operations, Northfleet and Portishead, and employs 250 staff. The company was owned by Neil Foster and Andy Wingfield, who will both continue to lead the business as it joins the geosciences and engineering division of RSK.

The announcement marks the latest in a major series of acquisitions by RSK, which is based in Helsby, UK, the fifth largest environmental consultancy in the UK RSK has 55 UK and 36 international offices and a turnover of £175 million.

“I am delighted to announce this acquisition, which will further enhance the RSK stable,” said Dr Alan Ryder, chief executive officer, RSK. “CAN’s client base of principal contractors, specifically rail sector contractors, will complement other specialisms within RSK.

“Operationally, CAN has a large fleet of plant and facilities for modification and repair. These capabilities will directly benefit our ground investigation businesses for modifying, servicing and repairing rigs, and NDT Services for its pile test rig fabrication and hydraulic engineering.”

Andy Wingfield, managing director of CAN, added, “In RSK, we believe we have found a like-minded group of people that share the values and ethos within the CAN family. CAN’s acquisition by RSK is a fantastic springboard for growth that brings together RSK’s strengths in the early investigation and design stages of projects with CAN’s track record in construction delivery across a wide range of sectors.”

“When we started to look for a buyer, finding a company that really valued its people was a prerequisite, said Neil Foster, commercial director of CAN. “We are delighted that in RSK we have found a business where our fantastic staff will have not only security but also great new opportunities as the company expands. Being part of a larger group with such a diverse range of complementary services will provide the perfect launchpad for the next phase in CAN’s development. We look forward to taking full advantage of that opportunity.”

Since the 2017/18 financial year, RSK has brought 10 new businesses under its umbrella, including Acies, KMGP, Cole Jarman, CJ Associates, Ian Farmer Associates, Up and Under Group, RSKW, Central Alliance, Non Destructive Testing Services and Copeland Wedge Associates.

CAN has been awarded prestigious ‘Costain Blue’ status, reflecting our consistently high levels of performance on the A465 Heads of the Valley Contract. We have been working closely with Costain on this complex highway improvement scheme for many months now, undertaking a wide range of geotechnical tasks including soil nailing, rock bolting, rock catch fence installation and netting, in a variety of locations across the site.

The Costain Blue Performance initiative requires companies to score a minimum 800 points across a comprehensive range of key metrics that includes people, product quality, customer interaction, health and safety, value and delivery, measured over two consecutive quarters.

Congratulations to all of CAN’s site and project management team for their consistently high performance. Attaining Costain Blue is judged as an inspirational performance by Costain and this award should provide our wider client base with firm assurance of CAN’s commitment to customer service and our pledge to engineer certainty.