Hayat: Piece By Piece

June 24, 2011

The inception of any colossal venture is just as vital as its consummation. Commencing the construction of the 41,000 square foot logistics warehouse for the Turkish cleaning and household products giant, Hayat Kimya Sanayi AS, is a major landmark in Mecalux history. The massive undertaking exemplifies the company’s dedication to providing large-scale intralogistics solutions. In February, Mecalux crews launched their year-long endeavor in Izmit, Turkey.

The assembly crew has divided the 15-aisle warehouse into three equal sections. Each section’s crew has been equipped with its own crane (two cranes 164 feet high and another one 197 feet) to lift the racks over the 147-foot-high warehouse roof and install them from above. During February and March, 10 aisles were laid out, and the remaining five were laid out in May.

The assembly of the rack systems began mid-February and the first products were delivered a month later. The construction of the racks has been divided into three phases: first, the frame assembly, followed by the rack unit assembly; and finally raising the rack unit into place. Parallel to this rack unit assembly are the initial phases of the MT vertical crane installations. In March, the initial construction phase of the 139-foot MT stacker cranes set up a single mast with a bi-pallet load handling device. The first columns arrived in late April, and by June the first MT cranes were mounted. The stacker cranes have been equipped with a double depth fork capable of holding 1,500 pounds. In order to reduce energy consumption, the cranes are equipped with regenerative brake mechanisms, which convert the kinetic energy expended when the crane slows down or a load is being lowered, and distribute it for other crane operations. This energy recovery mechanism results in an energy reduction of 18 percent.

One of the biggest challenges that the construction crew has encountered has been the seismic retrofitting of the warehouse structure and interior rack installations in compliance with strict Turkish construction regulations. Given the area’s recurring seismic activity, Mecalux engineers have installed secondary support structures onto the existing vertical cross-bracing in between the rack frames to enhance the building’s seismic performance. The vertical bracing not only provides further support to the rack framework, but also aids the steel structure in adequately dispersing the wave energy produced by ground motion onto the building without damaging its structure.

As the construction project continues to gather momentum, the number of crew members has increased from 45 to 120. In the spirit of collaboration, local and international workers have joined forces to help Mecalux pave the way for the Hayat Group to become a steadfast global leader.

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