For Canadian contractors working in deep foundations, the name Hydraulic Performance Machines (HPM) may be newer to the market, but the engineering behind it is anything but green.
Founded in 2012 in Montefano, Italy, by engineer Giuseppe Cartechini and his son Giacomo, HPM has spent more than a decade designing and manufacturing drilling rigs as a CAT® OEM manufacturer. Every machine the company produces is designed, assembled and tested in-house at its purpose-built facility in Italy’s Marche region, using certified components and a product philosophy that emphasizes customization over compromise.
HPM’s lineup spans a range of rotary drilling applications – bored piles, CFA, displacement drilling, soil mixing, DTH and low-headroom work. With a global distribution and service network built around the CAT® components platform, HPM equipment offers access to parts and service support for contractors working on tight schedules. Now, HPM is expanding its reach into sheet piling.
The right moment to enter sheet piling
HPM’s expansion into the sheet piling sector comes as Canada continues to advance major infrastructure projects. Large-scale and complex projects routinely require sheet piling for deep excavation support, cofferdams, riverbank and waterfront retention and temporary shoring in dense urban environments. For HPM, entering this space is not a pivot. It is an evolution.
“As our company has grown, so too have the needs of our clients,” the company explained. “To meet these demands, we have expanded our service portfolio to cover every aspect of piling. We are confident that this growth offers our clients the distinct benefit of a fully integrated, multidisciplinary approach.”
Introducing the HPM SP16: A dedicated machine for sheet pile
Rather than adapting an excavator for sheet pile installation, HPM developed the SP16 specifically for sheet pile and pipe driving. The HPM SP16 is a purpose-engineered sheet pile and pipe driving machine, built from the ground up on the CAT® 340 platform, with its systems designed specifically for the demands of sheet pile installation. A key feature is a fully automatic verticality system, designed to maintain pile alignment without relying solely on manual operator adjustments.
On complex urban sites where pile tolerances are tight and ground conditions are variable, maintaining alignment can help reduce complications during installation. According to HPM, the system can also reduce operator fatigue and simplify training.
For Canadian contractors, this provides access to CAT’s service network and parts infrastructure, along with a drivetrain and hydraulic architecture already familiar to many equipment service crews.
The machine’s performance specifications are well suited to the scale of work Canadian contractors encounter on major infrastructure projects. An under-hook height of 18 metres (59 feet) allows the HPM SP16 to handle sheet piles up to 16 metres (52.5 feet) in length – providing the working range for applications such as deep excavation support, urban transit construction, water front development and flood control infrastructure.
The expandable CAT® undercarriage provides hydraulic width adjustment, giving the machine the broad, stable footprint needed for heavy-duty driving cycles while collapsing to transport width for moves between locations – a practical advantage on congested city sites where non-productive time is costly. Like all HPM equipment, the HPM SP16 is built exclusively with CAT® components. For Canadian contractors, this provides access to CAT’s service network and parts infrastructure, along with a drivetrain and hydraulic architecture already familiar to many equipment service crews.
Two options extend the machine’s capabilities further. An integrated lifting counterweight system enhances stability during heavy picks, while an optional remote control system allows operators to manage the machine from a safe distance – a feature with clear relevance on restricted urban sites, near active rail corridors or in any scenario where keeping the operator out of the immediate work zone is a priority.
A partner for the long term
HPM’s entry into the Canadian sheet piling market is supported by its in-house engineering expertise and a parts network built around globally available CAT® components. Founded as a father-son operation, HPM has grown into a team of engineers and technicians with more than 45 years of combined experience in hydraulic drilling rig manufacturing.