As part of a R3-billion investment by vehicle manufacturer Ford, and forming part of a high-volume export programme, the construction of an automotive supplier plant is currently being erected in Rosslyn, Pretoria.

This mammoth project was awarded to main contractor, Renexcon, by an international investor in South Africa.

Delmas-based B&T Steel were contracted to do the steel design, fabricate and erect all steel construction on the project. It comprises a 12 400m" warehouse, 14,6m in height on a 29 000m" property. The architects were Les Barnes & Associates.

"This is B&T Steel's largest project to date. Renexcon's faith in our abilities is gratifying and we see this as an opportunity to prove ourselves capable of taking on bigger and more complex projects," says B&T Steel sales and marketing director Ben Dicks.

A unique aspect of this project is the ultra-clean paint shop, the company reports. The paint is applied to the plastic parts in a spray booth; the parts follow a conveyor belt through to the cure process. All paint overspray from the paint shop is collected by a water curtain and carried, in pipes and trenches underground, to an effluent treatment plant, where the paint and water are separated. The effluent accumulation in the sludge pit is collected by a contractor and incinerated.

The factory houses 14 state-of-the-art machines, ranging from 2,5 t to 32 t, forming the manufacturing process for the automotive parts. There is also a 40/5 t overhead crane.

Main contractor Renexcon's Henk Swanepoel says:"We were extremely pleased that B&T Steel were the contractors of choice, as their dedicated team worked closely with us on the design, fabrication and erection of the plant.

"They were also aware of the time restraints on the project. A project of this size should take up to eight months to complete and, although we had to excavate 12 600m" of clay and import 23 000 m" of compaction material, we will be able to complete the project in five months - ahead of schedule. The earthworks alone took two months and the construction, with the help of the dedicated team of experts from B&T Steel, will only take three months."

One of the major benefits of this project will be the creation of 145 local jobs. "Our aim is to ensure knowledge transfer, skills development, growth and sustainable business," concludes Swanepoel.