Our History 

itmsoil is a world leader in the design, manufacture, installation and monitoring of geotechnical and structural instrumentation for civil engineering, mining, railway and road infrastructures.   

Our reputation is based on more than 50 years of playing a critical part in many of the largest construction projects around the world.

The itmsoil Group originated in 1966 when Jack Robertshaw started a piezometer-making business in South London called Soil Instruments.                                                                                               

The business grew and in 1978 it relocated to its present location in Bell Lane, Uckfield taking advantage of an incentive offered by East Sussex County Council that encouraged companies to move from the city to the country and employ local people. In 1986 four of Jack Robertshaw’s managers carried out a Management Buy Out (MBO) to acquire the business from him. Soil Instruments continued to expand and by the 1990s it was the dominant player in the UK and a major force in geotechnical instrumentation worldwide.      

In 1999, ITM was established as a result of a MBO of the instrumentation, testing and monitoring division of Boart Longyear UK by former Soil Instruments Sales Manager Jon Scott and Chris Rasmussen.  ITM at this point began to grow rapidly, winning significant projects such as Heathrow ART, Heathrow Express and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

In 2002 ITM acquired Soil Instruments, enabling the new company to have a unique proposition to market of being able to manufacture its own premium products as well as delivering a complete installation and field monitoring service. The company grew notably in 2007 when itmsoil purchased the German Instrumentation company, Interfels. 

By 2010, Mark Kirkbride had joined as the new Group CEO bringing in a wealth of history and expertise from the construction and contracting industry. During Mark’s first year the company was restructured and rebranded with all employees coming under the itmsoil Group umbrella, thereby underlining an integral value of ‘One Company – complete solutions’.

At this time the Uckfield HQ was completely rebuilt, creating a state of the art work space for the company’s growing workforce.

The company now employs around 200 individuals worldwide, with offices in France, Germany, USA, Australia and a second UK office in London. The London Major projects office was opened in 2010 to manage a number of our major infrastructure projects in the capital.