Bottiau credits Bill Loftus, past president of DFI, with encouraging him to become involved with the organization in mid- 1990. He feels that, “DFI is a unique organization because it gathers individuals working in the same field but in different areas, including contracting, engineering, research, and products and services. The emphasis is on the word ’individuals,’ as this is the only marker that makes the difference irrespective of the level in the industry, or the importance of the company. As a young engineer at the time I became involved; DFI helped me in my career in so many ways.” In describing his industry contribu- tions, Dan Brown, president of Dan Brown and Associates and past president of DFI, tells us, “I have known Maurice for 20 years Bottiau (right) at jobsite in Lanaye, Belgium (general contractor BESIX) “(Maurice) genuinely works to make the world a better place. He has served as an important bridge between our DFI colleagues in Europe and North America.” since visiting him at Franki in Belgium where he extolled the virtues of drilled displacement piles and Belgian chocolates. He always has a smile and a willingness to share his knowledge and experience. He genuinely works to make the world a better place. He has served as an important bridge between our DFI colleagues in Europe and North America. He is one of those people you can point to when you say that DFI makes a difference. Maurice is one of those reasons.” Where to From Here When asked how he views the future of the deep foundations industry, Bottiau responded that, “On the technical aspects, high- tech monitoring, documentation and instrumentation will be the main issues in our industry, but I am concerned about two main trends, which I feel can have a negative influence and of which we need to be aware.” He offers the following insight: “Codes are gaining more and more importance, which is ok as long as they don’t inhibit creativity, experience and technical knowledge. We need to preserve the importance of innovation and flexibility. Contract terms and regulations are driving our industry in opposition to technical considerations. Decisions are being made on the basis of ’what’s good for the parties to the contract’ and not for the project.” Regarding his advice to young engineers he states, “Do, do, do! We have the chance to work on many projects, big and small. We should be aware of everything that is going on in our industry, buildings, infrastructure, testing, even the nature of contracts. Pursue every chance to learn new things. Become involved in organi- zations in our industry. DFI offers many opportunities — take them.” 76 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • SEPT/OCT 2019 It’s Not All Work and No Play In addition to his diverse career achievements and his passion for creativity, Bottiau is able to balance out his very busy professional life by spending time with his family, traveling, attending theater productions and enjoying the melodious music emanating from his daughter’s piano playing, a skill she is working to master. Like her dad, she will no doubt excel at her new-found passion.
