Manufacturing plant and headquarters in Reitnouer
Township of Ontelaunee, Pa.
Merit Award
Sent by: Penntex Construction Co.
Owner: Reitnouer
Main design company: Modern Architectural Design LLC
General contractor: Penntex Construction Co.
Mechanical and electrical engineer: IVD Inc.
Subcontractors: Cheran Inc.; Carter Mechanical Inc.; Keith D. Smith Concrete Contractor Inc.; Muschlitz Excavating Inc.; Zebby Sulecki Inc.; McCarthy Masonry & Concrete Inc.; M. Potteiger Inc.; Alderfer Glass Co.; Overhead Door Co. of Reading; MA Yeakel & Sons Inc.
Designed around the precise flow of the owner’s production process, the 500,000-square-foot high-performance facility allows North America’s largest aluminum flatbed trailer manufacturer to consolidate and expand its operations. Because all of the building’s utility systems had to support highly specialized equipment, the contractor coordinated closely with the owner and equipment vendors to ensure that every connection was installed correctly the first time, allowing the plant to go live without rework.
At the end of construction, the owner reviewed the designs of six large industrial paint booths. With the structural steel, overhead fixtures and roof support frames already in place, the project team had to redesign the duct routing within the constraints of the completed structure. Through proactive collaboration, rapid field decision-making and detailed trade coordination, the team developed revised duct routing strategies, modified support frames, reworked soil drainage designs and sequenced installation activities to allow ongoing construction to continue without disruption to adjacent areas, while maintaining the project schedule and avoiding significant impacts to downstream work.
