When Arauco sought to expand its innovative offerings in wood products to particleboard, it first needed to build a new facility to facilitate such production. That’s where Barton Malow came in. We were awarded the first of three major concrete packages, which consisted of creating 10 separate equipment and building foundations over the course of just six months. This work included a press pit foundation, bark storage bin, hardwood and softwood A-frame storage building foundations (two each), a truck dump pit, chip receiving conveyor transfer tower/magnet separator, bark hog equipment foundation, and log chipper equipment foundation.
In the end, the project required more than 17,000 CY of cast-in-place concrete.
Harnessing the power of BIM, innovation
Planning for a project as complex as the Arauco Particleboard Plant was crucial. A project this big requires a set of eyes that can take in everything, analyze, and adjust. That’s why Barton Malow used Building Information Modeling (BIM) to drive progress in Grayling. At 820,000 SF, the new plant is one of the most productive in the world. It features the continent’s largest single continuous particleboard press, in addition to having an annual capacity of 452 million SF. When it comes to a project as large as this, having the team use technology in a seamless manner becomes a focal point. The site relied heavily on multidimensional planning, as 4D modeling created a 3D visual integrated with the project schedule.
The project also utilized the use of the Material Unit Lift Enhancer (MULE), a lift-assist robot from New York-based Construction Robotics that lets workers lift heavy blocks with ease.
