Pacmetal Services Can Production Factory

CLIENT

Pacmetal Services, part of the National Can Industries Group, is a leading supplier of tinplate and aluminium.

OBJECTIVES

Wiley was engaged to design and construct a new factory in Sydney with a 67 metre column-free span for maximum flexibility in equipment layout.

Buildings with large column-free spans are generally more expensive than buildings with small spans supported by columns and the task for Wiley was to design and construct the building in the most cost-effective way at a time when Sydney was experiencing labour and material shortages in the lead up to the 2000 Olympic Games.

CHALLENGES

• Achieving the column-free span to the client’s requirements within an economical and innovative factory design
• Designing an area with positive pressure for the process of printing onto tinplate
• Devising ways to source labour and materials outside Sydney to avoid delays and over-inflated prices.

SOLUTIONS

Advice

• Coordination of the interstate fabrication of a specially designed pre-engineered building frame—the most cost-effective way to achieve the column-free span
• Procurement of many materials, including plants for landscaping the factory grounds, from outside New South Wales.

Design

• Application of a high-impact architectural treatment to the facility façade to meet local council requirements
• Achievement of a balance between the need for a high level of visibility between the office and factory areas and the need for a high level of security to prevent the public from seeing the process
• Solutions to issues around dangerous goods storage
• Fire engineering design to maximise floor area and site use
• Special attention to floor areas to ensure they perform for the heavy traffic and material and machinery loads in the facility
• Inclusion of customised protection systems to eliminate building damage
• Use of energy efficiencies and lighting solutions to minimise lifecycle costs.

Engineering

• Coordination of services through the floors and structure to provide maximum flexibility and economy.

Construction

• Use of alternative construction techniques (for example, precasting) to minimise exposure to over-inflated labour costs in Sydney
• Selection of construction materials to meet environmental requirements relating to factors such as noise.

RESULTS

Wiley delivered a cost-effective solution that met the client’s need for a facility featuring a 67 metre column-free span.

The result was also delivered on time and thousands of dollars below budget during a building boom in Sydney.