From the Ground Up:

How HC Matcon brings
Value Through Innovation

Integrating streamlined operations greatly strengthens the firm’s project’s foundations, ensuring a rock-solid start to finish.

Since its founding in 2001, HC Matcon has carved out a distinguished identity as a specialized shoring and deep foundation and ground improvement contractor. With a substantial portfolio that includes monitoring and design services to TTC, Metrolinx, and many leading real estate developers, HC Matcon has become synonymous with providing full Design-Build shoring, deep foundation, ground improvement, and bespoke foundation solutions across Canada. Executive Vice President Ken Clark and Project Manager Dawson Ham join us to discuss HCM’s Design-Build approach, and the firm’s use of innovation technologies that enhances project execution.

BC: How does HCM define an efficient design, and what factors contribute to achieving this efficiency in your projects?

Dawson Ham:  At HCM, the way that we’re most eco-friendly is through our efficient designs and the way to achieve that is combining best engineering practices with real life experience.  We envision a design that is optimized, and not over-designed.  We are aware of what is needed on site as opposed to what is simply shown on paper – if we see designs coming in from other companies that have certain steel sections that are too heavy, or concrete strengths that may not be required in that application, we can redefine and optimize these plans while keeping everyone safe.

Ken Clark: What we see often are designs that are very conservative, whether they’re from young engineers or just people taking conservative approaches.  Since we’re closer to the pulse of the project, we look for the opportunities where we can create efficiencies with design, and reduce our carbon footprint while still observing all safety requirements. 

BC: What advantages does HCM’s Design-Build approach offer clients in terms of cost efficiency, schedule adherence, and quality that align with each project’s unique requirements?

Ken Clark: We look at all projects through a holistic lens. Even though we are the shoring and foundation guy, we review the entire super structure, make reviews and recommendations based on what type of loading is going to applied to the soils and foundations.

Dawson Ham: I think it’s important to understand what’s best for the project isn’t always best for a single scope, so we try to approach project design and execution with consideration of downstream scopes because there’s schedule savings to be had all along the way. We have a decent understanding of what happens for the trades that follow us, and we try to augment our design and execution accordingly that allows overlap and continuity of work.

BC: Are there any methods of construction that possession of new technology has enabled you to undertake?

Ken Clark: Relatively speaking, North America tends to be a bit slow in implementing new technologies in the construction industry than other parts of the world, and we at HCM certainly stay connected. We travel to association events around the world and are in tune with the types of technologies that are occurring elsewhere that we can bring back home and apply. As an example, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a significant development that is increasingly being integrated in our industry. AI is being integrated into machinery and site monitoring systems to improve safety, quality, and productivity.

Dawson Ham: To add to that, we see new technology more specifically with rail work projects. A Movement Limiting Device (MLD), which is a system for heavy machinery that prevents a machine from exceeding past a certain point when working within proximity to live rail tracks. These systems are crucial for working near active tracks, power lines, or other hazards.

BC: What is it that separates HC Matcon shoring techniques from others?

Ken Clark: A big advantage at HCM is what we bring to the table, and what we can deliver to clients. We’re well versed in many shoring and deep foundation systems; whereas, our competitors focus only on a limited selection.  HC Matcon was one of the first companies in Ontario to implement shotcrete shoring with results that match the performance of caisson wall systems next to buildings.

Dawson Ham: Our design advantage is important in distinguishing HCM from our competitors. Through our design advantage we were awarded the NextStar electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor which is a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and Stellantis. We redesigned the foundations completely, steering it from caissons to driven piles and because of the size of that project we had to rapidly tool up our fleet for schedule adherence and the size of the scope.

Ken Clark: We design and construct a wide range of deep foundation systems, including driven piles, caissons, micropiles, and helical piles. This versatility gives us a distinct advantage over competitors who specialize in only one or two methods. We often develop hybrid foundation solutions that combine multiple systems to deliver the most efficient and cost-effective results. Complementing this, a growing area of focus for us is ground improvement systems. Leveraging our extensive experience with deep foundations, we’ve successfully expanded our offerings to include increasing the existing soil bearing capacity. With several proven methodologies available, we’re well-versed in selecting and implementing the most effective approach for each unique site condition.

Building Partners

BC:  What projects would you like to highlight? What purpose do they serve the community? 

Dawson Ham: At a time where there hasn’t been that much private investment in Ontario and we’re seeing a lot of that coming back with what seems to be this new wave of EV plants.  We’re actively trying to pursue some investments like a synthetic graphite production facility in St. Thomas and Volkswagen’s PowerCo facility in St. Thomas, which is on track to become Canada’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery plant.