Comprehensive industrial site completed at record pace

Realizing a 5-hectare industrial site with approximately 25,000 m² of outdoor storage space, a 13,000 m² production warehouse and an adjacent office volume in just over a year: it is a feat to be proud of. Stadsbader pulled it off in the Ghent port area, where it erected a Flemish site for Walloon Brabant steel producer Armasteel. "Challenging projects like this are right up our alley," says project manager Ruben Raeymaekers.

Armasteel was founded in 1971. The company specializes in custom cutting, bending, prefabrication and placement of reinforcing steel for all types of construction and infrastructure projects. To perpetuate its strong position in the market, the company brooded on a Flemish branch. It turned to BVI.EU. They proposed a custom-built business complex with minimal environmental impact in the Ghent port area - a perfect location because Armasteel wants to organize the supply of steel mainly by sea. The search for a contractor who could realize both an extensive built-to-suit building with production and office areas and construct thousands of square meters of concrete outdoor pavement naturally led to Stadsbader.

Vertical integration as an asset

"The first phase of our assignment was to deliver the new commercial building wind and watertight," says Ruben Raeymaekers, project manager at Stadsbader. "The large warehouse is built from a beam and column structure in precast concrete, complemented by horizontal and vertical steel wind bracing. The facade sections above the concrete plinths are clad in dark gray steel sandwich panels. The adjacent office volume was somewhat more complex in structural terms. There the supporting structure consists of a steel and concrete construction with a steel truss with which a large cantilevered floor was realized. It was no sinecure to install the latter, but thanks to the expertise of our craftsmen and women it went smoothly and successfully. We lifted the elements into place with heavy cranes and assembled them."

"The closed facade sections on the ground floor are clad with sandwich panels in white concrete, which is also reflected in the cantilevered canopies between the different floor levels. Furthermore, most of the façade consists of curtain walls with a lot of glass. We were also responsible for the environmental construction and almost all precast concrete elements were produced in-house - in our production plant Van Maercke Prefab - and installed by our own precast assembly teams." Thus, the vertical integration that Stadsbader is strongly committed to represented yet another valuable asset for the client.

Tight deadlines

The timing stipulated within this project was particularly tight. After all, Armasteel wanted to be able to occupy its new warehouse quickly. "With industrial construction, planning is always a critical factor, but in this case the timing was extremely tight," Ruben continues. "In March 2024 the start-up of production was already planned, which implied that the floor of the shed had to be poured in December 2023. The supporting structure of the warehouse was erected in precast concrete by two assembly teams, each with a heavy crane. This went very smoothly and in a good month the supporting structure was already standing. Afterwards, the roof and facades were also done in rapid succession. Finally, the concrete floor of the warehouse was executed in six pouring phases of approximately 2,000 square meters at a rate of one pouring phase per week. This also worked out excellently, to Armasteel's great satisfaction."

"Although the weather conditions were not too good, we still managed to meet the deadline," Ruben concludes. "The fact that the site has been in operation since March had the necessary impact on the continuation of our work. As of that moment, there were 5,000 tons of steel on the site, which meant we had to work out a well thought-out phasing for the top layer of concrete outer pavement. We are very pleased that everything went so smoothly. Challenging projects like this are right up our alley, thanks to the speed and flexibility we can demonstrate within all our departments."