History K-Boringen

K-Boringen nv was established in 1978 as a specialized pipe jacking company, combining the long tunnelling experience of a German partner with the force of the Kumpen companies. In 2021, the APK Group acquired the 100% ownership of K-Boringen. Nowadays, K-Boringen is a very performing company always looking for solutions for pipe-jacking and microtunnelling in the whole of Europe.

1978

K-Boringen was born out of a cooperation between the German tunnelling company Klee KG and the Belgian Kumpen Group of companies.

1978
1986

K-Boringen is independently responsible for an important job in Kiel (Germany). Open shield tunnelling with compressed air technique has become an important specialty of the company.

1986
1989

K-Boringen started as the very first company in Belgium with the revolutionary microtunnelling technique. The first microtunnelling job is in Mechelen : a gravity sewer ID 700 underneath the highway E19.

1989
1991

The execution of the first Scandinavian project in Drammen (Norway). This will be followed by projects in Stockholm and Copenhagen

1991
1992

Purchase of a new AVN1200 Herrenknecht microtunnelling equipment and a single drive record of 400m.

1992
1994

A stormwater outfall was done for the first time by microtunnelling in Ramsgate (UK). This was a record drive length of 525 m in ID 1200 concrete pipes.

1994
1995

K-Boringen invested in an Herrenknecht prototype TBM : de very first AVN 1600 D – mixshield TBM. Several microtunnels have been executed in the project “Tweede Bergambachtleiding” in the Netherlands.

1995
1998

K-Boringen enters into the Spanish market and will be active in Spain and Portugal during more than 10 years without interruption via a Spanish subsidiary.

1998
2005

An important project : utility tunnel under the river Rhine in Ludwigshafen for the chemical plant BASF.

2005
2008

Record numbers in Mira (Portugal) for a fish farm project : 4 outfall-tunnels until 1,5 km individual length and an outside diameter of almost 4 m.

2008
2013

In three years’ time, some challenging microtunnelling projects are realized in Switzerland at hydropower plants.

2013
2014

K-Boringen goes overseas for the first time : a microtunnelling project in downtown Miami (USA).

2014
2018

K-Boringen will be operating completely independently after the takeover of Kumpen by the Willemen group.

2018
2021

The APK Group acquires the 100% ownership of K-Boringen.

2021