Plant Services - September 2007 - (Page 26) WHAT WORKS Over the top in Alberta Plywood plant remains operational as new building is erected over old one E ngineered steel buildings have been marketed for decades as offering the advantages of clear-span structural framing, low-maintenance steel roofs, insulation values and control over a construction schedule. These factors favored this solution for replacement construction at the Alberta Plywood plant in Edmonton, Alberta. The facility is a subsidiary of West Fraser Mills, Ltd., an integrated forest products company based in Quesnel, British Columbia. The workforce of 230 people at the 24-hour, 363-day facility produces 251 million sq. ft. of 3/8-in. plywood annually to rank the facility among the largest plywood producers in Canada. The project addressed the area encompassing the critical lay-up line, where the plywood is assembled, pressed and cut to size. “We had several objectives for the project,” says Dan Lewis, Alberta plant manager. “Our primary goal was to replace an older wooden roof structure, improve heat and dust control, and provide better illumination of the working area. The project also would open up the work floor by removing some existing columns supporting the timber roof trusses of the existing building.” Because the area was essential for continued production, the new construction was superimposed over the 16,000 sq. ft. of older space. Carefully coordinated demolition and removal of the original construction was then done from within the 28,000-sq.-ft. new building, the size of which was dictated by snow loading and an existing area within that was left intact. “We had built similar projects at other mills,” Lewis said. “Sometimes the ongoing operations make building over the top the only solution.” Six months of planning by company management, consultants and MCG Joint Ventures, an authorized Robertson Builder, preceded the work. Edmonton-based MCG had performed projects at the plant for 25 years for both the current and previous owners of the facility. A complete package of steel building systems, designed to the requirements of the National Building Code of Canada (1995 Edition), the Alberta Building Code (1997 Edition), and other rigorous design standards, was engineered and supplied by Robertson Building Systems (www.robertson buildings.com). The mix of fully integrated building sys26 www.PLANTSERVICES.com September 2007 http://www.commtest.com http://www.commtest.com http://www.robertsonbuildings.com http://www.robertsonbuildings.com http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com
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