YEARS

YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Gruppo Officine Maccaferri

Land protection solutions
Emergency works
Protection of infrastructures
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 • 2009

Since it was first established, back in 1879, Officine
Maccaferri SpA has always focussed its attention on
the design of solutions aimed at protection of land
and infrastructures, both residential and industrial,
during the disaster prevention and emergency phases.
The design of emergency works, following
disastrous events, has always been a feature of
the Company's activities.
Indeed, some of these events constitute important
milestones in the life of Officine Maccaferri.

Route of the River Reno in Casalecchio di Reno (1894)

This was the first implementation of river bank protection works using gabions for
which there are still photos of the works in progress and after completion of the
works. It may be said that this project was the starting point of Officine Maccaferri's
history in the land protection works sector.
The 115-year-old gabions are still in perfect working order and are fully integrated
with the banks of the river, withstanding all the floods which have occurred up to
the present day.

1st World War (1915-1918)

The Italian army needed to build emergency structures to
protect its soldiers along the battlefronts in the Alps using
every type of fill material available locally.
This was when Officine Maccaferri first designed small-sized
gabions, so that they could be carried by mules or directly by
the soldiers, and then filled by the soldiers by hand.
Many of these gabions may still be seen today along many
stretches of trenches in the Dolomites, which have been
maintained and are on view to visitors.
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Banks of the River Po in

Occhiobello - Polesine floods
(1951)
The first cylindrical gabion was invented for
this specific project, since, in order to seal
the route of the river, it was necessary to
prefabricate and construct in water a large
number of gabions ready-filled on site using
equipment available in the area.
Up until the present day they have continued
to guarantee the seal and, due to the
complete integration into the original
environment, there is no longer any visible
trace of the gabions.

Vajont Dam (1963)

After the Vajont disaster it was
considered necessary to construct works
for the emergency closure of the river
valley outlet towards Valcellina, in the
direction of the province of Pordenone:
fortunately, the old gabion structure has
never had to perform its planned
function, but it is still clearly visible when
driving along the state highway.

Florence floods (1966)

Immediately after the floods, a part of the river embankment walls
in the Pontevecchio area was rebuilt with gabions, which were
subsequently integrated into the current retaining wall.
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Sarno-Quindici floods (1998)

As a result of the heavy rainfall during the previous
days, numerous landslides were triggered on 5 May
1998 along the slopes of the Apennines in the
Campania area, which caused a large number of
deaths and serious damage to structures and
infrastructures. A series of upstream stabilisation
works and downstream containment works were
planned and implemented as part of the hydro-
geological risk mitigation measures; expansion tanks
were constructed upstream of the village of Quindici
to collect any landslide material. The banks were
built using gabions and the terramesh system, and
the upper part was covered with 3-dimensional
geomat for erosion protection.

Pietra della valle Quindici tank

Connola tank
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Pirellone air disaster (2002)

A light tourist plane crashed into the Pirelli
skyscraper in Milan in 2002 due to pilot illness
or a technical problem: works were started after
the disaster to reconstruct the damaged parts
of the building and to avoid the risk of materials
falling onto the surrounding roads. The building
was completely covered with double-twist steel
mesh using the professionalism of a workforce
skilled in the implementation of works on rock
slopes, thereby guaranteeing the maximum
requested safety.

Land protection works

Valle d Aosta after floods (2002)

Cogne landslide (2007)

A landslide of large blocks (up to 30 m3) affected regional highway no. 47 in Cogne in June 2007.
The landslide occurred from the rocky outcrop on the left-hand side near the town of Cretaz.
The need to ensure the safety of residential areas, infrastructures and any other day-to-day situations
subject to the risk of landslides has resulted in the development of types of structures for protection
against these phenomena, using technologies aimed at optimising the construction and maintenance
costs. A soil rockfall embankment reinforced with the Green Terramesh system was constructed in
only 4 months, thereby fully satisfying the emergency nature of the situation.
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Campania waste disposal emergency (2008)

Following the waste disposal emergency which struck Campania, the
in-depth knowledge of the geotechnical problems and the well-established
experience in the waterproofing sector ensured that the Maccaferri personnel
became a reference point whenever it is necessary to develop an integrated
design for a waster disposal site or for the protection of a polluted area.
Maccaferri has worked on various sites: such as Benevento, Campagna,
Montesarchio, Villaricca, Villaliterno, Giugliano.

Benevento

Campagna

Montescarchio
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Campania waste disposal emergency (2008)

Villaliterno

Giugliano

Fragento
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Landslide on Highway A3 in the

Rogliano (CE) - Falerna (CZ) section (2009)
Several landslides occurred on the A3 in the section between Rogliano and
Cosenza following heavy rainfall, causing two deaths and the closure of the
section of motorway.
Protection works were constructed as part of the safety measures for this
part of the motorway, with high energy-absorption rockfall barriers,
consolidation works with gabions, deep anchors, cables, meshes and erosion
protection geomats.

Km 275 + 200

Km 278 + 800

Km 280 + 900

Km 282 + 500
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Abruzzo earthquake (2009)

This and other events also enable Officine
Maccaferri to prepare solutions for special
applications: this is the case for a solution
proposed for the protection of buildings
in Abruzzo after the recent earthquake,
where Officine Maccaferri was requested
to provide a solution to guarantee the
temporary safety of damaged buildings.

Various other works were implemented following the Abruzzo

earthquake for the protection of roads and residential areas.

Rocca Calascio
Rockfalls occurred in this area
following the earthquake, and the
road was therefore closed.
CTR 20/04/A 2,000 kJ rockfall barriers
were installed: their versatility and
speed of installation made it possible
to re-open the road in record time.

Pietracamela Municipality
An almost vertical rock face in the
Pietracamela Municipality showed signs of
instability following the Abruzzo earthquake.
Approximately 600 m of rockfall barriers
(model OM CTR 50/07/A, 5,000 kJ) were
installed during September-October 2009.
A large mass (estimated to be approx. 2-3
m3) detached itself from the slope at the
end of October 2009 but it was immediately
retained by the rockfall barrier.
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Albania floods (2009)

The Albanian government, in collaboration with the Italian
government, requested the intervention of Maccaferri for
the protection of dams, catchment areas and rivers
following the floods.

Duna safety barriers along the

Bologna-Milan and Milan-Turin
high-speed railway lines.
In order to eliminate the risk of vehicles from the
adjacent motorway accidentally entering the railway
line area, along sections where the new railway
line is close to the motorway, more than 80 km of
these safety barriers have been constructed, with
a variable cross-section and various types of faces.
Two years after completion of the works the growth
of grass vegetation on the slopes has mitigated the
overall impact of the works.
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

MO.S.E. Project
Officine Maccaferri is also able to tackle more complex
problems by making use of the collaboration of firms
and highly skilled consultants, and can even implement
turnkey projects: this is the case with certain works
linked to the protection of the sea bed as part of the
MO.S.E. project.
All the sea beds, both towards the open sea and
towards the lagoon, are protected by stone, the
foundation and filter layer of which, made with special
mattresses, has been designed by Officine Maccaferri
and is currently under construction.
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Coastal works
Officine Maccaferri always try to stay in the forefront even
in traditional sectors, but by using innovative solutions.
This is the case with coastal works, where often no thought
is given beyond indiscriminate use of rip-rap and unprotected
beach nourishment.
The Maccaferri Group is the first private firm to have been
granted a concession for extraction of sand from the central
Adriatic marine deposit and it has already set up a initial
depot on the mainland for emergency works.
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

Coastal works
The same coastal protection project has driven the Maccaferri
Group to establish a new company (Coastal Protection System)
with the aim of being present in the coastal works sector even
with the design of innovative solutions: this is the case with
special prefabricated elements for the construction of works to
be combined with beach nourishment projects.
 YEARS
YEARS
1879 ¥ 2009

During all the projects, Officine Maccaferri has not acted merely
as a supplier, but has provided its technical personnel for
definition of the products and evaluation of all the design
aspects of the works, making themselves available or
collaborating alongside the Public Authorities.
The company tradition of providing technical support during
both the design and construction phases has always been a
constant feature, which has made the Officine Maccaferri Group
the global leader for hydraulic protection works, soil support
systems, slope consolidation works and rockfall barriers.

The Officine Maccaferri Group today:

it consists of 46 Subsidiaries present in all the continents
it has two design centres: one in India and one in Brazil
it developed 2,700 projects in 2009 alone
it is able to provide a specific solution within 5-7 days for any
country thanks to a widespread network of engineers and
technicians who work with all the Subsidiaries

www.maccaferri.com

SLOVAKIA
Brezova
pod Bradlom RUSSIA - Moscow
UK - Oakworth
IRELAND Dublin
UK - Oxford
CANADA - Cambridge ITALY
Bologna
FRANCE - Valence
ALBANIA - Tirana CHINA
SPAIN - Barcelona Tianjin
GREECE
PORTUGAL - Carregado Athens KYRGYZSTAN
Bishkek
USA - Williamsport CHINA KOREA
Changsha Seoul
NEPAL
Kathmandu
INDIA
U.A.E. New Delhi
MEXICO Abu Dhabi
Queretaro GUATEMALA
Guatemala
EL SALVADOR MALAYSIA
San Salvador Petaling Jaya
COSTA RICA VENEZUELA Selangor
San Jos Caracas
NIGERIA
ECUADOR COLOMBIA Port Harcourt˚˚˚˚˚
Quito Bogot
INDONESIA
Jakarta
BRAZIL
Bahia
PERU - Lima
BRAZIL
BOLIVIA - La Paz Jundiai

NEW ZEALAND
SOUTH AFRICA Auckland
Durban
ARGENTINA AUSTRALIA
Benavidez Sydney

Engineering a better solution

 YEARS
YEARS
1879 • 2009

The strength of the organisation and its

experience makes Officine Maccaferri the
ideal partner to identify solutions linked with
planned projects and for the management of
protection works for land and for road and
industrial infrastructures.

www.maccaferri.com

Engineering a better solution