CBE Surpasses 25,000 Molds Manufactured for Projects Worldwide

By TBM Staff April 16, 2019

In 2018, the French company CBE Group achieved a milestone, exceeding 25,000 molds manufactured by its French and Chinese teams since 1987. Often consulted for road tunnels or railway tunnel projects, CBE Group also intervenes in more specific fields.

In 2018, the company signed a contract in the United Arab Emirates for a project dedicated to storm water evacuation, the Dubai Deep Storm Water tunnel. Water evacuation is also at the very heart of the double gallery realized in Chengdu, China. This double tunnel, which allows the installation of electric cables as well, is a technical prowess. A CBE innovation indeed simplified the segment production system for this type of oval-shaped tunnel. Finally, the Hinkley Point power station in England gave CBE access to a nuclear project, with the creation of a cooling tunnel.

With 550 projects realized worldwide, among which 27 just for 2018, the group remains a leader in the creation of industrial solutions for tunneling. Its capacity to provide custom-made projects allows the company to adapt to the needs created by mega trends, such as an increasing urban concentration, the scarcity of water resources or the consequences of global warming, all of which represent a strong influence in the design of new underground projects.

CBE’s strength also lies in its capacity to offer two distinct production sites, thus simplifying logistical issues: one is located in L’Ile-Bouchard, France, and the other in Yangling, China. The company’s workforce has grown from 250 employees in 2017 to 335 in 2018. These two workshops provide the same quality of production and the same know-how. Production technicians, from France and from China, must follow quality requirements, according to the plans conceived by the design office in France.

Automated plants represent an important part of the industrial tunneling solutions that CBE Group is able to provide its clients with. 210 carousels have been commissioned by the company’s supervisors, who train technicians onsite. The two Australian projects signed by CBE Group in 2018 and located in Melbourne perfectly illustrate the expertise of the company in this domain, with two carousels being simultaneously built in the same region. With the help of its R&D department, CBE Group has been able to offer innovative solutions to answer the needs of its clients, thus demonstrating the experience that allows the company to remain the partner of choice for great tunneling projects worldwide.