Keltbray, a leading UK specialist engineering business, in collaboration with City, University of London, today announces the appointment of Matthew Dearing as Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate to lead the innovative Hollow Pile project, a cutting-edge piling development.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is a UK-wide programme that has been helping businesses for the past 40 years to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK Knowledge Base.
Keltbray and City, University of London were awarded funding from Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s innovation agency, for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) associated with advancements in deep foundation design and construction in 2018. The project is developing a commercially feasible and technical solution for the Hollow pile, which forms an element of the HIPERTM Pile.
The KTP scheme, led by The Knowledge Transfer Network, helps businesses to innovate and grow by linking them with an academic or research organisation through the employment of a dedicated, full time research associate and the provision of academic resources. The idea is that the business will gain news skills and access to the latest advances in science and technology in order to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project.
As part of this, Keltbray has also committed to secure unprecedented efficiency improvements in deep foundation construction through the development of the HIPER™ pile, a cutting edge novel piling development combining numerous technologies.
Matthew Dearing graduated in 2019 from The University of Portsmouth with aspirations of becoming a Chartered Civil Engineer. Matthew is in the early stage of his career and is proud to have been appointed to work on commercialising the Hollow pile; a position which aligns with his own ethical values, to make significant and sustainable changes in the industry.
On his role, Matthew said, “I have always had a passion in preserving the natural world and believe all engineers should combine our knowledge and experience to build a more sustainable future. I am delighted to become Keltbray and City, University of London’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate and look forward to contributing to the development of an innovative sustainable reusable pile foundation. This partnership highlights that Keltbray and City, University of London are fosterers of leadership, and drivers of innovation, and I am honoured to represent them.”
Commenting on the appointment, Asha Panchal, Technical Manager for Keltbray’s Piling Division, said, “This is a very exciting time for Keltbray and we’re pleased to have Matthew on board to support us in the next stages of delivering these important new innovations, and in particular the Hollow pile across the deep foundations industry. Our collaboration with City, University of London and the associated knowledge and technology transfer allows us new possibilities which will help to deliver significant impacts for us and the industry at large. Long-term we plan to see these new principles integrated into all Keltbray delivered deep foundations, helping us improve the performance of materials, reduce carbon emissions, and monitor performance during the life of a building.”
Andrew McNamara, Senior Lecturer at City, University of London said, “We are delighted to move forward with this exciting project which will permanently and fundamentally change the way we regard, understand and build deep foundations. The addition of Matthew to the team will strengthen the collaboration between City and Keltbray enabling us to look beyond the current project to realise even more exciting new ideas.”
