“With PORALU BRIDGE we are committing the field of civil engineering to the service of town and country planning. In this way the PORALU MARINE Group is making the very best use of thirty years of superb expertise in the field of aluminium floating structures”, explains Laurent Gasiglia, Managing Director. With the benefit of the expertise and quality standards which have built the reputation of our sister company, PORALU BRIDGE is designing and producing terrestrial structures in aluminium, basically bridges in a long block in extreme environments. The company provides a global answer for developers, from architectural plans and manufacturing plans, by participating at every stage of projects.
Amongst its accomplishments PORALU BRIDGE already counts several beautiful constructions, particularly in France in Ajaccio (Corsica), Saint M’Hervé (Brittany) and others. In Ajaccio three giant aluminium bridges, 65, 55 and 40 metres long respectively, constructed in a single block, may be considered to have beaten a world record! In Brittany, the three-part bridge is 105 metres long.
Sébastien Joux, the PORALU BRIDGE Business Manager, explains that the development will be worldwide. “We are developing the export market with the first orders being delivered in Canada. In addition, we are active in the Middle East and in identifying other growth-producing areas.” Furthermore, the PORALU MARINE and PORALU BRIDGE brands already have a strong presence on the international stage with two production units in France (Port, Ain) and Canada (Montreal, Quebec), a subsidiary in Australia, agencies in Asia (Hong Kong), Dubai and Italy, and a network of agents in the main international markets.
Based in France (Head Office), the two brands have a workforce of 120 and had a consolidated turnover for the financial year 2016/2017 of €26 M, of which 70% came from abroad. With a constantly developing turnover the PORALU BRIDGE business can count on a turnover of 2 million Euros for its second financial year.
The advantages of the aluminium structure
- Strengthened by an R&D Department at the forefront of technology, PORALU MARINE was one of the first manufacturers to use aluminium as the exclusive structure for pontoons. Over thirty years it has become the benchmark for aluminium floating structures.
- Aluminium is a durable material which falls within a circular economy policy. It can be endlessly recycled without losing its mechanical properties. Recycling it uses 3 to 4 times less energy and emits 3 times less CO2 than when it is first produced as a primary material. It has good end-of-life recovery because this possibility of recycling and re-use gives it a good “end-of-life” purchase price.
- Aluminium is very resistant to difficult environments and remains stable in all weather conditions.
- It is perfectly watertight and provides excellent corrosion resistance.
- During the construction phase it is scalable. It requires no maintenance over time, other than regular washing with neutral detergents followed by rinsing with water.
- It is two to three times lighter than steel and thus provides a light structure with the same resistance.
- For structural engineering aluminium surpasses other materials in global cost (by adding together the costs for acquisition, maintenance, end-of-life recovery over a 50-year period). It offers a return on investment that is 3 to 7 times higher depending on the case.
- The aluminium structure is governed and standardised by Eurocode 9 and EN-1090.