Hella Lithuania, one of the world’s leading automotive electronics manufacturers, recently completed the expansion of their factory in Kaunas, Lithuania, and it required the very best floor flatness.
The Kaunas free economic zone made it one of the most desirable places to invest in, which is why Hella Lithuania chose the location. After successfully completing the first phase of factory in 2018, which covered 11,000 m2, they doubled the size of the facility to 22,000 m2 in 2020. In both phases, Peikko’s TERAJOINT® prefabricated free movement joint system played a key role in achieving the floor qualities they required.
Perfectly flat floors and strict requirements
“The first phase of the factory was a 30 million Euro investment and it produces electronics for the automotive industry, including sensors, actuators and control mechanisms. It’s a modern and efficient facility that uses a robotized delivery system, which is why it requires very flat floors for the warehouse and other areas of the building,” explains Linas Lelešius, Sales Manager, Peikko Lithuania, “they really need to be perfectly flat. In addition, the customer demanded very high quality components to ensure precision, as well as very high environmental standards. For example, all the suppliers had to provide Environment Product Declaration (EPD) documentation about environmental impact, such as CO2 emissions. At Peikko, we already had EPDs for our products, including TERAJOINT®, and we met all the quality requirements, so that made the process quicker and easier.”
Quick construction and excellent tolerances
“Construction of the first phase went very quickly,” says Lelešius. “It took only 10 months to complete the whole factory. The construction company, UAB Veikmės statyba, chose a leading flooring contractor, UAB Grinbeta, who uses Peikko’s TERAJOINT® solutions. TERAJOINT® is the ideal choice for constructing very flat floors. It uses the best materials and it is easy to install. This helped ensure that construction of the factory in Kaunas went smoothly and that the contractors could achieve the tolerances they needed for the highest class of floor flatness, FM1. We also delivered Peikko JOINTSAVER permanent joint filler systems, which were used to make very high quality seams in the floors in the office buildings.”
“At Peikko, we already had EPDs for our products, including TERAJOINT®, so that made the whole process quicker and easier.”
Doubling factory size without stopping production
“The second phase of construction doubled the floor area of the factory to 22,000 m2,” says Lelešius. “The customer was pleased with the performance of TERAJOINT® in the first phase, so it was easy for them to choose Peikko again for the second phase.”
“One thing that was particularly impressive about the second phase is that production at the factory was not interrupted at all, even though the construction took place right next to the existing factory,” adds Lelešius. “This was pretty challenging to achieve, since the production line makes sensitive electronics that require a high level of dust and vibration control. But we worked together with the contractors and the customer to make it happen. Peikko experts supported them all the way through construction, visiting the site, checking things and providing consultation. We also helped them to solve some special cases involving other Peikko solutions.”
“The customer was happy with the completed project and they thanked Peikko for our deliveries and good products. Even though it was more complicated that the first phase, the expanded factory was successfully completed on time,” concludes Lelešius.
Project facts
- Size: First stage - 11,000 m2, after expansion - 22,000 m2
- Developer: UAB Hella Lithuania
- Architecture and structural design office: UAB Bendrieji statybų projektai
- Construction company: UAB Veikmės statyba
- Flooring contractor: UAB Grinbeta
- Delivery year: 2017 and expansion in 2021
- Completion year: 2018 and expansion in 2021