Closing address

These 'recent developments1 have to be seen in the more general perspective of the evolution of piling techniques in the last decades. In the thirties' the allowable bearing capacities of piles were limited to about 50 t, and the pile sections did not exceed about 40 cm. In the forties' and fifties' allowable pile bearina capacities rose to about 100 t. Since that time there has been an EXDLOSIVE development of pile techniques. Thanks to a better theoretical and experimental approach and to new construction techniques, allowable bearing capacities of several hundred can in certain circumstances be warranted, and pile types have been developed which are best suited for each specific soil profile.