GNB Global has finished manufacturing and installing a new shared public works facility in Minnesota for salt and sand storage. The structure is a 135 by 200 feet Centurion 48 building with 13-foot legs and made with fire-resistant HDPE fabric.
Fabric buildings are an important part of properly storing sand and salt to keep the quality and malleability of the product. This is critical because the individual grains will begin to clump together if they are exposed to water and air. When this happens, the sand and salt can become unusable and even damage the machinery that handles them, especially the trucks that disperse them onto the street.
The building’s large size allows for quick and easy storage as it leaves plenty of room for trucks, conveyors, and other loading equipment to move freely within the facility and also has enough room to treat the sand and salt.
As a precaution, the client wanted the building’s walls to be lined with concrete t-panels to prevent the heavy machinery from hitting the building itself, which could compromise the foundation’s structural integrity.
The design of the Minnesota public works building’s foundation is common in Minnesota, with the building being raised above ground and supported by large pre-cast blocks, then the inside lined with t-panels. This regional foundation design is also more cost-effective than a complete poured-in-place foundation.
Many of GNB’s competitors couldn’t handle the project’s complete scope of work. The client needed a fabric building contractor that could provide a turnkey solution that included the concrete work for the panels. In the end, the company’s capability to handle the full scope of the project made them stand out above the competition.
GNB Global employed local union installers and subcontractors for the project, giving wages to workers who live in the communities that the owners of the building will help maintain.
