Mitsubishi
Motors Expansion
Design-Build Drives Addition
by Mary Beth Sammons
When Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. announced plans
to expand its Normal, Ill., plant to boost production by 300,000
vehicles per year, or 25 percent, the ambitious growth plan
and the promise of 300 more jobs made headlines throughout
Illinois.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and plenty of other dignitaries
flocked to the March groundbreaking.
Little did they know that behind the scenes, the design/build
and construction crew were huddled over project renderings
and sequencing maps, trying to solve a $30 million construction
project puzzle that posed several dilemmas:
How to construct a new 300,000-sq.-ft. addition to house the
trim chassis line for Mitsubishi's new Endeavor sport utility
vehicle and situate it into an unusual configuration in the
center of the existing facility.
How to build the new space, docks and an access roadway
without disrupting car production and at the same time keeping
trucks (two every 10 minutes) moving through the docks.
How to attach a structural steel conveyer system atop the
new expansion and connect it to two existing buildings on
either side, without the necessary room to bring in cranes
and without strong enough building supports on the existing
buildings to bear the weight of the heavy structure.
"There is no fudging, no options when you are talking
about a just-in-time auto manufacturing plant," said
James Lake, vice president/general manager for Kajima Construction
Services Inc., a Japan-based firm with offices in Palatine,
Ill., that is serving as the general contractor on the project.
"We had lots of meetings to try to come up with creative
solutions."
"Creative solutions" became the credo of construction,
Lake added. "It's a real challenge not to disrupt production
when you are working on a project of this magnitude,"
he said.
The project began in April and is slated for completion and
the plant fully operational in fall 2004.
130 Helicopter Picks
The first obstacle came when there was no room to bring
in cranes to install the rooftop structure because the expansion
is tucked in between south and north buildings.
Kajima hired a helicopter crew, which used 130 picks to
secure the structural steel rooftop. This process was proceeded
by weeks of meetings and logistics to ensure safety regulations
and to create crash zones for the "what if" possible
scenarios. And the job was done during the two to three
weeks the plant is shut down during the summer.
The roof includes a conveyer system that routes the heavy
SUVs out of the paint shop and onto an assembly line.
Complicating matters, the two existing buildings being connected
to the expansion could not structurally support the heavy
steel structure of the new rooftop conveyer system. The
solution was to install a buttress system and angled ends
to distribute the load of the newly created penthouse conveyer
system.
Additionally challenging was that the docking system was
being switched to the south side of the building, where
five new docks were constructed to free up the existing
dock system and a complete new access road had to be built.
It also required relocating and building a new parking lot,
constructing an alternate entrance for the plant's 3,360
employees and an education process to reroute their daily
routines.
"We did a lot of phasing," said Steve Miller,
project manager for Kajima in Palatine.
Complicated sitework issues emerged. The chilled water line
- a key component to the assembly line construction and
also used for fire protection - needed to be completely
rerouted. Building materials and onsite facilities for the
construction crew had to be located away from the heavy-duty
construction area.
"We were a golf cart's distance away," Miller
said. Meanwhile, Thom Jones, supervisor of plant engineering
for Mitsubishi, said the project "had to be on time,
no excuses."
How Campus Works
The expansion of Mitsubishi's auto plant in Normal is part
of the Japanese parent company, Mitsubishi Motors Corp's.
ongoing efforts to boost North American automobile production.
The expansion is for the company's newest product, which
is the first SUV designed and produced in the United States
by Mitsubishi for the U.S. market. Production of the Endeavor
started in January, and Mitsubishi expects to sell 80,000
units per year.
It also made the Normal plant the first and only U.S. auto
plant to manufacture seven different vehicles at the same
time. Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc.
manufactured its first vehicle in 1988 at its sole auto
assembly plant in the United States and currently produces
six models: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder
convertible, Mitsubishi Galant, Chrysler Sebring coupe,
Dodge Stratus coupe and Montero Sport.
Once the plant expansion is complete, new and indirect jobs
are expected to generate more than $50 million in personal
income and more than $5 million in state and local taxes.
| KEY
PLAYERS |
| OWNER: |
Mitsubishi
Motors North America Inc., Cypress, Calif. |
| GENERAL
CONTRACTOR: |
Kajima
Construction Services Inc., Palatine, Ill. |
| ARCHITECT: |
Kajima
Associates Inc., Palatine, Ill. |
| STRUCTURAL
& CIVIL ENGINEER: |
Farnsworth
Group, Bloomington, Ill. |
| EXCAVATION:
|
Stark
Excavating Inc., Bloomington, Ill. |
| STEEL
ERECTION : |
Area
Erectors, Peoria, Ill. |
| STRUCTURAL
STEEL: |
Havens Steel Design/Build, Kansas City, Mo. |
| ELECTRICAL: |
Egizii
Electric Inc., Bloomington, Ill. |
| PLUMBING: |
F.E.
Moran Inc., Northbrook, Ill. |
| FIRE
PROTECTION: |
The
Pipco Companies Ltd., Peoria, Ill. |
| PAINTING: |
Commercial
Industrial Coating Inc., Bloomington, Ill. |
| ROOFING: |
Henson
Robinson Roofing, Springfield, Ill. |
'There is no fudging, no options
when you are talking about a just-in-time auto manufacturing
plant.'
- James Lake, Kajima Construction Services Inc.
'It's a real challenge not to
disrupt production when you are working on a project of
this magnitude.'
- James Lake, Kajima Construction Services Inc.
|
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