Bystronic is a manufacturer of machines and systems for processing sheet metal and other flat materials. Its experience center is typical of the new breed of Midwest manufacturing facilities that consolidates corporate office, showroom, manufacturing space and warehouse operations all in one. The two-story office has 30,000 sq ft of open and private offices and a café, while the 32-ft-clear-height showroom encompasses 28,500 sq ft with a 1,500-sq-ft mezzanine. The 102,800-sq-ft warehouse and manufacturing area also has a 32-ft clear height and six equipment cranes.

The first challenge that contractor McShane discovered after digging on the 11.5-acre site was non-bearing, damaged peat soil under the proposed location for the glass showroom.  

“There was a former AT&T building right next to the site,” says Mathew Dougherty, vice president and regional manager at McShane. “The site itself had a lot of film material that was discarded on it. So we had silty soil that had undercuts, I would say exceeding 20 feet in some areas in order to get down to soils that were a bearing capacity. So we had to strip the site and then replace the soils and compact them so that we could construct this highly sensitive building on top. That was a real challenge doing it in the fall into winter, then into spring.” 

The team used two 30-ton equipment cranes and four 20-ton equipment movers. 

The facility also has five truck docks and four drive-in doors. A “floating glass” showroom is the focal point of the facility. As the building projects to the east, the two-story visitor lobby and showroom cantilevers outward 115 ft above the visitor approach. Despite the complexity of the project and the need to remediate the site, McShane delivered it on time and on budget. 

“Bystronic has been a great client and a great partner on the project, and it’s a process we’re very proud of and proud to have been able to deliver,” Dougherty says.

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