For the Polyplex Wild Turkey project in Decatur, Ala., Graycor Construction built the first facility in the U.S. for one of the world's largest producers of plastic film, India-based Polyplex. The project's massive scope included the erection of six primary structures at a 44-acre site: a raw material unloading station; a 14,500-sq-ft central utilities building; a 15,000-sq-ft resin production building; an 84,000-sq-ft film plant and warehouse building; a 12,500-sq-ft post-production "value-added" building; and a 6,000-sq-ft office building.
Graycor also was charged with constructing approximately 2,700 ft of rail head/rail yard as well as installing utilities, which included electric, compressed air, process water, chilled water, treated water and hot oil. During mass excavation, crews discovered two significant areas of unsuitable soils. In response, contractors modified site contour plans to deliver the additional unsuitable waste to non-structural landscape areas.
To boost the efficiency of the plant facility's design, engineers decreased the original size of the resin plant by approximately 50%. With that change, the project team successfully found ways to fit the same amount of plant equipment and 30 different piping systems—measuring more than lineal 22,000 ft—into the smaller floor plan.
Award of Merit, Manufacturing — Polyplex Wild Turkey, Decatur, Ala.
Key Players
Contractor Graycor Construction Co., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
Owner Polyplex Americas/Polyplex USA, Decatur, Ala.
Structural/MEP Engineer O’Neal, Greenville, S.C.
Civil Engineer Pugh Wright McAnally, Decatur, Ala.
Technology/equipment supplier Aquafil Engineering, Berlin
