Case Study

Frucor Factory Extension

Case Study

Frucor Factory Extension

Tying together the new plant area and the existing structure post-extension presented challenges in terms of design compatibility, utility connections, and ensuring a seamless transition between the two.

TEG Projects were brought on board for the Plunket Factory Extension project. Frucor is a major drinks manufacturer and it was essential their factories continued to run at full capacity. Therefore in preparation for a new production line, minimising plant downtime was top of the list.

Client Information

Frucor Suntory is a leading drinks company in Oceania and the market leader in energy drinks across Australia and New Zealand.

They form part of Japanese beverage and food company Suntory, the company manufactures, markets and distributes a range of fruit juices, fruit drinks, energy drinks, waters and soft drinks, such as V Energy, Suntory BOSS Coffee, Maximus, h2go, Just Juice, The Real McCoy and Fresh Up.

Goal

The goal was to extend the Plunket factory building, to make way for a new production line, while minimising plant downtime and maintaining hygienic conditions.

Why TEG Projects

This was an extensive project encompassing multiple moving parts, too large for one project manager. Therefore the job was broken into parts, and the construction portion was given to TEG Projects to manage.

Solution

The solution involved the least disruptive approach. Making sure the factory could continue to manufacture beverages concurrently alongside the construction project . A temporary partition was constructed to distinguish the operational facility from the demolition and construction activities involving the old building’s removal and the establishment of the new plant area. This barrier was hermetically sealed against the facility walls, ensuring an airtight enclosure. Consequently, the facility could continue its operations unhindered while the external project proceeded.

The Air Handling Unit (AHU) operated continuously, maintaining positive pressure within the plant room and offering an additional layer of defense against construction-related dust.

Subsequently, upon the completion of the plant room extension, an additional provisional wall was put in place. This facilitated the connection between the two structures.

The entire process was meticulously planned to optimise the two-week shutdown window.

Challenges

There were several challenges during this project covering three key areas.

Site Access: The old Northern access to the factory was to be replaced as part of the building upgrade. This meant temporary access solutions had to be reconfigured during several milestones of the project. Maintaining the safe access of both the ongoing construction personnel and the plant’s operational staff was paramount. The two work streams also shared an unloading area, which meant careful planning and supervision was needed to operate in each.

Project Timelines: Coordinating construction activities to align with the planned two-week shutdown period required precise scheduling and adherence to timelines. Any delays in construction could have potentially disrupted plant operations and extended the shutdown period. No unplanned outages were experienced.

Brown Field Site: Tying together the new plant area and the existing structure post-extension presented challenges in terms of design compatibility, utility connections, and ensuring a seamless transition between the two. There were many un-labelled services that needed to be identified, traced and rerouted before the demolition phase could even initiate. Other existing services had to be upgraded to allow for the new plant extension.

Results

The Frucor Factory Extension was completed as laid out in the initial plans. The demolition and construction phases were performed safely and on time. The production plant experienced no unplanned downtime. All of which enabled the sequential phases of the project to run smoothly.

Capabilities

Frucor Factory Extension