Building for the machine, not just around it
An industrial building is not a shelter. It is a component of the production line: it takes the dynamic forces of rotating machinery, carries the rolling loads of handling equipment, drains effluent, separates clean and dirty areas, and governs the food-safety compliance of the whole.
A division in its own right, not a side activity
The construction division works on the structures associated with the industrial projects we equip, and equally on independent building and civil works contracts.
Operating buildings
Processing sheds, ventilated storage buildings, maintenance workshops, technical rooms and administrative buildings, in steel or concrete structure.
Industrial civil works
Machine foundation blocks, anti-vibration plinths, technical pits, slabs under rolling loads, washing bays and bunded areas.
Networks and drainage
Water supply, buried electrical networks, channels, chambers, separators, settling basins and process effluent treatment structures.
Roads and platforms
Access tracks, reception and weighing platforms, manoeuvring areas for heavy goods vehicles, stormwater drainage and soil stabilisation.
Refurbishment and extension
Strengthening of existing structures, repair of cracked slabs, extension of buildings in operation, bringing production rooms into compliance.
Ancillary structures
Fencing and security works, gatehouses, water towers and tank supports, plinths for generator sets and transformers.
What the machine demands of the concrete
A rotating machine transmits alternating forces to the ground whose amplitude and frequency depend on its rotational speed and residual imbalance. The block supporting it must be sized so that its natural frequency is clearly separated from the excitation frequency: a block whose natural frequency coincides with the machine's running speed enters resonance, and the installation destroys itself.
Slabs follow a different logic, that of rolling and concentrated loads. A loaded forklift stresses the slab with repeated moving forces whose cumulative effect causes crazing and then fatigue failure if the bearing capacity of the subgrade or the slab thickness has been underestimated. Preparation of the formation level, its compaction and its testing count as much as the concrete itself.
In food industries a chemical constraint is added. Process effluents — acidic cassava juice, coagulation serum, greasy mill water — attack ordinary concrete. The choice of mix designs, admixtures and protective coatings must take that aggressiveness into account, failing which the structures degrade within a few seasons.
Machine blocks
Sized in mass and stiffness to keep the block's natural frequency away from the running speed of the machine it carries.
Industrial slabs
Thickness and reinforcement determined by rolling loads, storage loads and the bearing capacity of the formation, checked before pouring.
Chemical aggressiveness
Mix designs and protection suited to the acidic or greasy effluents of food processes.
Falls and drainage
Production floors falling to channels and gullies: the condition of effective cleaning and controlled hygiene.
Joints and cracking
Shrinkage and expansion joints positioned at the design stage to control cracking rather than suffer it.
Cast-in items, anchor plates, duct penetrations and maintenance clearances are defined jointly by the mechanical design office and the construction division before pouring. Reworking a block afterwards to correct a misplaced anchor costs several times the price of the study that would have avoided it.
From soil survey to handover
The same method whatever the size of the structure, with hold points that govern the move to the next phase.
Survey
Soil investigation, topographic survey, constraints of access, water and power, easements and applicable planning rules.
Design
Drawings, calculation notes, construction choices, detailed quantities, estimate and provisional programme with the critical path identified.
Earthworks and foundations
Stripping, formation level, controlled compaction, foundations and blocks, cast-in items and connections coordinated with the mechanical teams.
Superstructure and finishes
Structure, roofing, cladding, slabs, buried and surface networks, finishes suited to the use of each room.
Handover
Testing and checks, clearing of reservations, as-built file, record drawings and maintenance instructions.
Site safety
Demarcation, collective protection, personal equipment, plant movement plan and displayed instructions: the rules apply to small sites too.
Quality control
Material acceptance, compaction testing, concrete cubes, checking of reinforcement before pouring: what is cast can no longer be inspected.
Keeping to programme
Civil works govern equipment erection. Any slippage carries through to commissioning and, where the agricultural season is at stake, to a whole year of production.
Site environment
Management of spoil, limitation of nuisance, protection of natural drainage and reinstatement of temporary areas at the end of the works.
Structures delivered and sites in progress
The records below are templates: each published project must state the nature of the structure, its location, its year of delivery, its main characteristics and, where the client authorises it in writing, its name.
Processing shed to document
Covered area, roof span, clear height, type of slab, year of delivery and client to be completed.
Machine blocks and plinths to document
Nature of the machines supported, concrete volumes, dynamic constraints addressed and anchoring arrangements to be completed.
Process drainage to document
Length of networks, settling structures, volumes treated and discharge arrangement to be completed.
Platform and access tracks to document
Areas treated, pavement structure, drainage and admissible loads to be completed.
Repair of an existing structure to document
Defect observed, diagnosis, repair technique chosen and result after the works to be completed.
Security works to document
Fencing, gatehouses, external lighting and access control to be completed.
Site photographs, dates and client names to be supplied by SOTIC. No client name is published without written authorisation.
Building and equipment: the recurring questions
No, and proceeding that way is the main source of costly rework. The layout of the machines determines the cast-in items, the blocks, the clear heights, the duct routes and the maintenance clearances. The right order is to fix the process flow diagram and the equipment layout, then design the building around them. A shed built "in the meantime" almost always imposes compromises that penalise operations for years.
Yes. The construction division tenders for building, civil engineering and road contracts independent of our equipment business. The types of structures, references and corresponding qualifications are to be confirmed with SOTIC for publication.
With a combination of three measures. The concrete mix and any coating are chosen according to the chemical aggressiveness of the process effluents. The geometry provides drainage: regular falls to channels, floor gullies, no low points where water stands. Floor-to-wall junctions are formed as coved skirtings to remove inaccessible internal angles. These three points govern daily hygiene far more than the frequency of washing.
Works are accepted jointly, with reservations cleared, handover of the as-built file and of the record drawings. The applicable warranty regime and its duration are defined contractually according to the nature of the structure and the regulations in force. Precise terms to be confirmed by SOTIC
Quantities, pricing and programme
Describe your project — nature of the structure, location, areas, operating constraints and target date. We will produce a first assessment and the list of investigations required.