Our history

With more than a century of experience in North America, Keller has built its reputation on delivering reliable, high-quality ground solutions.

1860

Keller was established by Johann Keller in Renchen, Germany.

Johann Keller

1930s

Invented the vibro ground improvement method.

Historical photo of vibro cat

1970s

Keller licensed the jet grouting technology from Japan to Europe and North America. Keller also invented the compensation grouting technique to correct building settlement

Compensation grouting installation

1972

Acquired by GKN in the UK to form GKN Keller.

Map

1984

Acquired Hayward Baker. As North America’s leader in geotechnical solutions, Hayward Baker specialized in ground improvement, earth retention & shoring, liquefaction mitigation, foundation repair & underpinning, groundwater control, and deep foundations.

Hayward Baker jobsite

1990

Another name change came when principals of the Foundations Division of GKN Keller organized a managed buy-out and founded the Keller Group. 

Keller logo

1994

Listed on the London Stock Exchange.

LSE building

1994

Acquired Case Foundation Company. Case Foundation was one of the industry’s most successful full-service deep foundation specialists in the US, specializing in drilled shafts, structural diaphragm walls, secant pile walls, and large-diameter CFA (auger cast) piles.

Case jobsite

1996

The annual Keller (formerly Hayward Baker) calendar tradition was first introduced.

Keller calendar illustration

2001

Acquired Suncoast Post-Tension. Founded in 1983, Suncoast Post-Tension is the largest supplier of fabricated unbonded post-tensioning materials and services in the US. 

Suncoast Post-Tension logo

2002

Acquired McKinney Drilling Company. McKinney Drilling was founded in 1937 and became the leading drilled shaft foundation company in North America, specializing in drilled shafts, CFA (auger cast) piles, driven piles, and low clearance work. 

Worker with McKinney Drilling vest

2006

Acquired Anderson Drilling. Established in 1945, Anderson Drilling was a leader in the drilled shaft industry, focusing on the construction of deep foundation elements and earth retention systems. 

Anderson jobsite

2007

Acquired HJ Foundation. HJ Foundation was established in 1988 and was the leading deep foundation contractor, specializing in augered piling, displacement piling, shoring, sheet piling, and tremie seals. 

Worker in HJ vest

2010

Acquired Nilex Construction. Nilex Construction was the US Leader in wick drains and earthquake drains. They focused on manufacturing and installing vertical drains for the purpose of accelerating the consolidation of saturated soils.

Wick drains jobsite

2013

Acquired Cyntech as part of the acquisition of North American Caisson Ltd. (a division of North American Construction Group – NACG).

Cyntech rigs

2013

Acquired Geo-Foundations Contractors Inc (Canada). Established in 2001, Geo-Foundations Contractors specialized in ground improvement, foundation support, ground treatment, and earth retention. 

Geo-Foundations jobsite

2015

Acquired Bencor. Bencor was established in 1969 and constructed large civil projects featuring techniques such as slurry diaphragm and cut-off walls, drilled shafts and caissons, underpinning, and deep foundations.

Worker wearing Bencor vest

2015

Acquired Ellington Cross. Ellington Cross was a regional geotechnical contractor that provided Earthquake Drain design and installation.

Earthquake drains rig

2017

Acquired GEO-Instruments. GEO-Instruments provides geotechnical, structural, and environmental monitoring services. Their expertise helps owners, infrastructure operators, and construction engineers mitigate risk, optimize designs, and document regulatory compliance.

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GEO-Instruments logo

2018

Acquired the Moretrench family of companies. Started in 1918 by Thomas Moore, Moretrench specialized in dewatering and groundwater control, ground freezing, earth retention and anchors, deep foundations, underpinning, grouting and ground improvement, environmental remediation, and industrial construction. 

It continues business today in part as Moretrench Industrial, providing a range of services to support industrial construction projects.

Moretrench photo

2020

Foundation businesses (Bencor, Case Atlantic, Case Foundation, Hayward Baker, HJ Foundation, Keller Canada, McKinney Drilling, and Moretrench) in North America were integrated together and rebranded to Keller.

Becoming Keller graphic

2021

Acquired RECON. RECON was founded in 1989 and is a national leader in environmental remediation services, including soil remediation, soil stabilization and solidification, landfill cap and cell construction, permeable reactive barriers, deep soil mixing, biopolymer trenches, slurry walls, and demolition of hazardous waste sites.

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RECON logo

2021

Acquired Voges Drilling. Based in New Braunfels, TX, Voges established itself as a strong drilled shaft contractor in the Austin and San Antonio areas. 

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Pin on a map of Texas

2021

Acquired Subterranean. Subterranean, based out of Manitoba, specialized in driven and cast-in-place pile foundations.

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Subterranean jobsite

2022

Acquired GKM Consultants. Since 2007, GKM Consultants has been known internationally for its expertise in designing, installing, and implementing geotechnical monitoring solutions. 

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GKM monitoring

2025

Canadian-based instrumentation and monitoring company, GKM Consultants, rebranded to GEO-Instruments.

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GKM to GEO-Instruments graphic
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