🔎 Did you know? In 1954, Louis Ménard — then a young French mechanical engineering student — invented the pressuremeter. This device revolutionized geotechnical engineering by replacing the need for core samples and laboratory tests, allowing engineers to measure soil strength and deformation modulus directly in the ground.
Just three years later, he founded “Les pressiomètres Menard” — laying the foundation for what would become one of the world’s leaders in ground improvement.
🚀 Menard Key Inventions and Milestones
1968 – Invented Dynamic Compaction, densifying granular soils by dropping 12–40 t weights from heights of 10–40 m. First applied in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France (1969).
1975 – Developed Dynamic Replacement for clayey soils
1987 – Became independent as Menard Soltraitement
1988 – Created the Menard Vacuum™, using negative pressure under an airtight membrane to consolidate clayey soils, equivalent to a 4 m embankment load.
1994 – Pioneered Controlled Modulus Columns (CMC), now a flagship technique
1999 – Joined the Freyssinet Group (VINCI)
2009 – Became part of the newly created Soletanche Freyssinet Group, uniting six global brands: Soletanche Bachy, Menard, Terre Armée (Geoquest), Freyssinet, Nuvia, and Sixense.
2014 – Achieved a CMC world depth record in Louisiana
2021–2024 – Strategic acquisitions (Dunton Environmental, Farrell, Earth Tech, Geotech Canada) expanding into remediation, soil stabilization, and investigation
🌍 Menard Global Presence
– €808M revenue in 2024 (17% of Soletanche Freyssinet)
– 2,630 employees worldwide
– Subsidiaries in 90+ countries — including Menard USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Oceania, Middle East, and Asia
– Backed by VINCI — one of the world’s largest construction groups, with €71.6 billion revenue in 2024
🏗 Some of the Menard Projects
– Changi Airport, Singapore – first 43 m vertical drains (1977)
– Nice Airport, France (1978) – deepest dynamic compaction (27 m)
– Ariane 5 Launch Pad, French Guyana – dynamic replacement & vertical drains for 2,000-ton rocket foundations, full-scale 300-t load test (1989)
– Airbus A380 factory, Hamburg – 1.6M m² reclaimed platform improved
– Rua al-Madinah Development, Saudi Arabia – 20,000 CMCs across 52,000 m²
– Woodfibre LNG, Canada – soil improvement for 11,000-tonne industrial modules
💡 Menard’s philosophy “Less is More Menard” reflects their approach: simplifying foundations, cutting concrete use, and lowering CO₂ emissions. For example, switching to CMCs in California reduced concrete by 70% and cut CO₂ emissions by 86% compared to bored piles.
