Christiani & Nielsen

Christiani & Nielsen

Industry	Construction
Founded	1904
Founder	Rudolf Christiani Aage Nielsen
Defunct	2000 (continues to trade in Thailand)
Fate	Administration
Headquarters	Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Key people	Amorn Asvanunt (Chairman) Alan Crane (Managing Director)
Products	Motorways, bridges

Christiani & Nielsen was a construction contractor with major operations worldwide. It still trades in Thailand.

History

Christiani & Nielsen was established by Rudolf Christiani, a Danish civil engineer, and Aage Nielsen, a captain in the Royal Danish Navy, in Copenhagen, to build bridges, marine works, and other reinforced concrete structures, in 1904. ^[1] It soon established a branch in Hamburg, and after the First World War, extended its operations to the United Kingdom, South America, Australia, and South Africa. ^[2]

The company's business in Thailand was demerged on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1991 and continued operating under different ownership. ^[3]

The main company went into administration in November 2000. ^[4]

Major projects

Major projects included:

Roads

• M5, junctions 8-9 (M50) to Tewkesbury, built as Christiani-Shand , completed in 1970 ^[5]
• M56 Preston Brook to Hapsford in Cheshire, built as Christiani-Shand, completed in 1970 ^{[6] [7]}
• M6 Ansty to M1 at Catthorpe, Contract A, built as Christiani-Shand, completed in 1971 ^[8]
• M6 north of Tebay (junction 38 for A685) to Thrimby, built as Christiani-Shand, completed in 1970 ^[9]
• M74 Larkhall to Uddingston, built as Christiani-Shand, completed in 1966 ^[10]
• Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil A470, £5  million first stage from Whitchurch bypass to Nantgarw, 5.23 kilometres (3.25 mi), built as Christiani-Shand, completed in 1971 ^[11]

Bridges

• The foundations and piers for the Storstrøm Bridge, Denmark, completed in 1937 ^[12]
• The foundations and piers for the Masnedsund Bridge, Denmark, completed in 1937 ^[13]
• Narrows Bridge in Perth, Australia, completed in 1959 ^{[14] : 107}
• M2 Medway Bridge, Kent, completed in 1963 ^[15]
• Winthorpe Bridge, Nottinghamshire, completed in 1964 ^[16]
• M56 Weaver Viaduct, built as Christiani-Shand, completed in 1971 ^[17]
• The foundations and piers for the Erskine Bridge, (A898), West Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire, built as Christiani-Shand, completed in 1971 ^[18]
• Dornoch Firth Bridge, completed in 1991 ^[19]
• Salford Quays lift bridge, completed in 2000 ^[20]

Other

• Monumento Rodoviário da Rodovia Presidente Dutra in Piraí, Brazil completed in 1938 ^[21]
• Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand, completed in 1940 ^[22]
• Aula Magna Auditorium, Caracas, Venezuela completed in 1953 ^[23]
• Rebuilding of the Rama VI Bridge, in Bangkok, Thailand, completed in 1953 ^[24]
• Brixton Tower, Johannesburg, South Africa, completed in 1962 ^[25]
• Kish Bank lighthouse, near Dublin, Ireland, completed in 1965 ^[26]
• Bagsværd Church, Copenhagen, completed in 1976 ^[27]
• Thammasat Stadium in Rangsit, Thailand, completed in 1998 ^[28]
• Prince Mahidol Hall in Phutthamonthon, Thailand, completed in 2014 ^[29]

References

1. "Company profile". Christiani & Nielsen Thailand. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
2. "The history of Christiani & Nielsen Thailand". dancham.or.th. Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
3. Marsden, David (13 January 2025). "Yet another pier story but a warning from the past". Southport Online News. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
4. "Christiani falls into Kier hands". Construction News. 23 November 2000. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
5. "The Blue Billies". Made in Oldbury. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
6. Runcorn Weekly News Thursday 7 November 1968, page 8
7. Derby Evening Telegraph Monday 11 November 1968, page 7
8. "Midland Links Motorways. M5 (J1 to J3) and M6 (J13 to J1)". Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
9. "Roads Report". Commercial Motor. 16 August 1968. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
10. "50 years on: The M74 opened in December 1966 and work on new road continues today". Daily Record. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
11. Derby Evening Telegraph Tuesday 18 March 1969, page 12
12. Andersen, Ulrik (28 October 2011). "Dansk bacon skyld i Storstrømsbroens problemer". Ingeniøren (in Danish). Retrieved 11 January 2018.
13. "Danish Bridges". Wonders of World Engineering. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
14. Gregory, Jenny (2003). City of Light: A History of Perth Since the 1950s . Perth: City of Perth. ISBN   0-9594632-5-9. LCCN   2005440691. OCLC   54781434. OL   3465933M. Wikidata   Q133458669.
15. "The Medway Bridge on the M2 Motorway" (PDF). The Cement and Concrete Association. 1 February 1962. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
16. "The A1 By-Pass". Winthorpe with Langford Parish Council. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
17. Staffordshire Sentinel Thursday 14 March 1968, page 18
18. "Construction of the Erskine Bridge". Erskinebridge.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
19. "The Dornoch Firth Bridge". Ross and Cromarty Heritage. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
20. "Massive paint job for Salford Quays Millennium bridge". Manchester Evening News. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
21. "Monumento Rodoviário". São Paulo Antiga (in Brazilian Portuguese). 3 August 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
22. Møller, Gregers (29 August 2002). "Christiani & Nielsen - a Danish legend lives on in Thailand". ScandAsia. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
23. "15 Datos curiosos sobre el Aula Magna de la UCV". La Tienda Venezolana (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
24. "ครบรอบ 93 ปีเปิดใช้สะพานพระราม 6 สะพานรถไฟข้ามแม่น้ำเจ้าพระยาครั้งแรก" [93rd anniversary of opening Rama VI Bridge, railway bridge crossing Chao Phraya River]. Matichon (in Thai). Thailand. 1 January 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
25. "Brixton Tower". The Heritage Register. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
26. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Eastern Ireland (Leinster)". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 12 February 2017.
27. "Sagt og skrivet". Bagsvard Krike. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
28. "Thammasat Stadium". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
29. "Prince Mahidol Hall". Saint-Gobain Gypsum Trophy. Retrieved 19 January 2025.

Further reading

• Nilsen, Leif Ott (1979). Christiani & Nielsen: 75 Years of Civil Engineering, 1904–1979. Christiani & Nielsen.
• Nilsen, Leif Ott (1979). Christiani & Nielsen: Activities 1979–1984. Christiani & Nielsen.