When Seaport Brewing decided to increase their beer production, they needed a building tall enough to handle the new production tanks. The design involved colossal 26 m high columns, so they turned straight to Peikko to help them build it.
Purpose-built for beer
Seaport Brewing is based in Belgium, a country famous for its beer. Thanks to increasing in demand for their products, they decided to increase their production capacity by building a brand new facility in Evergem. The new structure was designed around the production equipment, in particular the special tanks involved in beer production. These tanks are very large and required a structure tall enough to house them and, as a result, enormous 26 meter high precast columns were used to provide the required vertical space. Valcke Prefab Beton took care of all aspects of the building: the design, production of the huge precast elements and construction the building.
Peikko COLIFT® lifts columns into place
Valcke cast the extra tall columns in one piece and they included two Peikko systems in each column to help construction go smoothly: the Peikko COLIFT® lifting system and Peikko PEC® column shoe connections. The COLIFT® lifting system allowed the extra-heavy columns to be lifted safely and efficiently using two cranes. COLIFT® is an easy and time-saving system which includes a mounting shaft with lifting points. The mounting shaft can be remotely released with a cord. And, even with columns this large, the PEC® bolted column connections made erecting the columns quick and efficient, without the need for temporary bracing.
“When we use concrete columns this high, we automatically choose Peikko’s bolted column connections because we don’t need to use temporary bracing.”
PEC® saves time and space on-site
Valcke had already had good experience of working with Peikko, and to help them with the Evergem project, they chose Peikko again. Bert Loyson, project manager at Valcke Prefab Beton explains, “When we construct buildings with concrete columns this high, we automatically choose Peikko’s solutions. The main reason is that we don’t have to install braces, because calculating, placing and breaking down braces is expensive with such long columns. Moreover, if we didn’t use a column shoe connections, the building site would be largely impassable because of the many large struts and strut blocks.”
In this project, Valcke saw clear benefits to using Peikko’s bolted column connections, with reliable delivery, quick assembly, improved site safety and great cost efficiency. “Peikko's many years of experience always translates into engineering and service that is completely tailored to the project and the user. This allows their customers – like Valcke – to deliver satisfactorily again and again within the set deadline,” says Loyson.
The finished building met Seaport Brewing’s needs and comfortably housed their new production process, including the special tanks.
Project facts
- Project size: 5100 m2
- Developer: Seaport Brewing
- Construction Company: Valcke Prefab Beton
- Precaster: Valcke Prefab Beton
- Delivery year: 2019
- Completion year: 2021
Contact person
Wim Zwaan
Managing Director
Peikko Benelux B.V.
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