Value Delivered
IKM Building Solutions (IKM) installed new HVAC systems in two existing assembly plants and one large building addition—covering more than 900,000 square feet of production space.
We used creative scheduling—including the installation of an entire cooling system in an extremely tight timeframe—to allow our client to maintain continuous operation during construction. The completed HVAC system has helped increase plant efficiency, provides precise temperature control, and has helped promote a more comfortable and productive work environment.
Client Objectives
The client needed to upgrade the mechanical systems in its existing manufacturing areas and install them in a new facility, without interrupting regular business operations.
Solutions
We provided complete end-to-end mechanical solutions for the client, featuring a fully digital temperature control system that helps enable more efficient management and monitoring. The project included a number of unique challenges that tested our fast-track construction expertise.
At one of the plants, newly installed assembly line equipment was generating heat and driving up indoor temperatures, creating difficult working conditions and reduced productivity. As a result, the client wanted new cooling systems operating as early as possible. We were able to get a new 1,300-ton chiller plant—featuring three industrial centrifugal chillers and three cooling towers—installed and operating on an aggressive schedule in order to beat the summer heat.
Additionally, in order to avoid disruptions to the client’s core business, a significant amount of work was completed above the fully operational production assembly plant. We performed work in multiple shifts and implemented extra worker safety measures, minimizing interruptions to assembly while also keeping us on schedule.
In total, we installed 3,200 feet of 10-inch, butt-welded carbon steel for the supply-and-return piping—much of it suspended above the operating plant. We also placed 20 fan coil units on mezzanines 23-feet above running production lines. Four of these 5,000-pound fans had to be put in directly over high-tech assembly lines accessible only though narrow corridors. Our crews carefully rigged these and secured them in place with no incidents.
Client Background
Sub-Zero Group, Inc. is an American manufacturer of residential kitchen and refrigeration appliances that also manufactures products under the Wolf brand name.