One of the UK’s leading producers of quality savoury and sweet pastry products has completed a £7.3 million investment in a state-of-the-art packing and despatch facility which benefits from the in-built strength and insulation afforded by XPS (extruded polystyrene) from Sundolitt.
McColgan Quality Foods has created 43 new jobs in Strabane, Northern Ireland by investing in the new facility designed to help meet a targeted 50% increase in export sales over the next three years. Achieving such success relies on the importance of reliable and accurate temperature control helped by Sundolitt XPS - the cool secret buried in the floor of the new 8,000sq ft factory extension where it not only gives high thermal performance, it is unaffected by freeze/thaw cycles and is also highly resistant to water absorption.
Sundolitt supplied two grades of XPS for the project to enable the flooring to cope with the varying load requirements including point loading beneath each static foot of the fixed storage racking of 120kN/m2, whilst under the central concrete base carrying the picking rails, the company supplied Sundolitt XPS300 giving a 140kPA over the long-term pressure and a compressive modulus of elasticity of 12500kPA.
Sundolitt XPS is manufactured in a wide range of thicknesses and sheet sizes, the primary range having a thermal conductivity of 0.033 – 0.037 W/mK (EN 13164). According to the type of use, it achieves outstanding compression resistance from 200 – 700 kPa (EN826) and offers exceptionally low moisture absorption through its closed-pore system. This makes it a preferred solution in industrial floors such as cold stores and chilled warehouses as well as in a wide range of load-bearing construction applications with case studies at www.sundolitt.co.uk.”
The main contractor was Woodvale Construction (www.woodvaleconstruction.co.uk) which was founded in Northern Ireland in 1980 and now operates throughout the UK. The company, which won a 2015 Sustainable Ireland Award, said that a key challenge was to ensure the project was completed without disruption to the existing food manufacturing facility. The project was designed by Mullarkey Pedersen Architects (www.mparchitects.net).
Karl Pedersen said: “The creation of a modern food facility has its own challenges in terms of design and functionality. Every element and component of this building demanded our fullest consideration both creatively and technically and we are very proud of the result.”
Sundolitt XPS Sales Manager Bryan Mawer said: “In this type of food storage facility, XPS offers outstanding thermal insulation, strength and rigidity. It is also very easy to install, cut to fit on site and safe to use in a food approved environment. It comes in square or shiplap edge – the latter having the advantage of preventing thermal bridging and capillary action. For fast-track construction projects, our customers can be reassured that it is available ex stock from Sundolitt in the UK. It also has great environmental credentials - being a vertically integrated company, production is covered by Sunde Environmental Management System (EMS) ISO14001.
Sundolitt has introduced a new sampling system for contractors and merchants through which it is happy to give expert help and supply material samples on request.
