New Haribo warehouse showcases extensive fastener portfolio

An extensive package of roofing and façade fasteners from EJOT UK has enabled nationwide contractor Axis Envelope Solutions to successfully deliver the building envelope of a new warehousing and logistical centre in West Yorkshire for global confectionery manufacturer Haribo.

The new purpose-built 83,411 sq. ft facility at Haribo UK’s Castleford factory, designed by the Harris Partnership, has been constructed on a 13 hectare site adjacent to the company’s existing plant, which opened in 2015, connected by a new conveyor bridge. 

The expansion of the factory strengthens Haribo’s position in the UK confectionery market by enabling the company to manage increased volumes of finished product both here and at its nearby Pontefract factory. It also supports its commitment to making Yorkshire a centre of excellence for food manufacturing.

Delivered by main contractor Caddick Construction, the new steel framed building provides warehousing for the storage of finished products, raw materials and packaging, along with 3,122 sq. ft of office and administration areas. Given its prominent location next to the M62 motorway, the design and specification of the building had to accommodate for the local environmental conditions whilst achieving an aesthetically appealing design.

Working with the architects and structural engineering consultants Rolton Group, Caddick developed a subcontract package for the creation of the building envelope using the specified systems. These were principally Kingspan Rooflights, KS1000RW Roof Panels, KS1000EV Wall Panels and KS1000TD Topdek Roof Panels, plus all the necessary ancillary fixings.
 
As with many large-scale envelope projects of this kind, the Axis Envelope Solutions team were tasked with ensuring the building envelope installation could be completed as scheduled in the build programme in order to keep the project on track, and that the performance specification would be achieved. It was where that Axis approached EJOT UK for a solution.

 

Fastening solutions that ticked all the boxes

Having worked with EJOT UK on a number of previous projects, the Axis team were familiar with the breadth of the fastener options available and they saw the potential for EJOT to accommodate all elements in the envelope design. After an initial enquiry to EJOT UK’s area sales manager, Lauren Winn, the technical team developed a proposal recommending a suite of roofing and cladding fasteners to meet the design brief.

To install the roof panels, which covered an area of 8,000 sq. m, EJOT Opticore fasteners were identified as the fixing solution. They are designed to optimise installation of membrane-faced composite panels due to their ability to drill, core and fix in one easy operation, whilst also supporting thermal retention goals. 

The roof installation also utilised two further EJOT products in a variety of sizes to attach the flashings – the TKR and Colorfast, featuring an over-moulded head coloured in RAL 7046 (Telegrey) to match the Topdeck panels.

A much more extensive suite of fasteners was required for construction of the walling. Here, EJOT was able to meet all the requirements through its wide portfolio of building envelope fasteners, compatible with systems from all the major OEMs. The cladding fastener package provided by EJOT UK included concrete screws, top hat fixings, powder coated fasteners, rivets, soffit insulation anchors, Colorfast self-drilling fasteners, plus all the necessary stress plates and washers. 

Colour matching for the exposed fastener heads was an important dimension to the specification for this building to achieve aesthetic goals, which EJOT successfully facilitated. Colorfast nylon over-moulded fasteners and EJOFAST powder coated fasteners were supplied in three colours bespoke to the project – RAL 7035 (Moonstone), RAL 9007 (Obsidian) and RAL 7016 (Anthracite) – produced at EJOT’s manufacturing facility at nearby Sherburn-in-Elmet.

 

Product performance matched by EJOT’s service and supply chain efficiency

In addition to being able to provide the full complement of fastening solutions to meet the specification, EJOT UK’s high product availability was also a crucial factor in this project to ensure the Axis team could commence and deliver their building envelope contract on time, as planned. 
Neville Lishman, On-site Project Lead for Axis Envelope Solutions, said: “We’re very familiar with EJOT fasteners, having used them in numerous previous projects, and always found them to perform as they should. That’s important for our business to be able to deliver on our promise to clients. 

“But what’s also important, and an area where EJOT excels too, is being able to access specialist technical support easily to help us to achieve the optimum fastener selection. This enables us to maximise performance of the building envelope and minimise risk throughout its lifespan.”

The technical qualities of the EJOT fasteners used in this project will ultimately help to ensure the client optimises their return on investment, particularly given their long-term durability. For leading roofing and façade contractors like Axis, however, the ability of their fastener supplier to help their clients achieve long-term goals is just one factor in selecting them to partner on large-scale projects of this kind. Product quality must be matched by the ability to meet more practical objectives that enable contracts to be delivered with maximum efficiency.

Axis Envelope Solutions Procurement Manager, Sarah Thomas, explains: “It is not just product performance that matters. We also need our supply chain partners to be logistically reliable to keep our projects on track, as well as offer realistic lead times on products that fit within the client’s budget. This was exactly what EJOT were able to provide for the Haribo project, servicing our project with excellent local support.”

Lauren Winn, Area Sales Manager at EJOT UK, who was the key contact for Axis throughout this project, added: “The expansion of the Haribo UK facility at Castleford is an important development for the region, so it was fantastic to have the opportunity to partner with Axis and be involved in its construction. The project is a great example of how our extensive construction fasteners portfolio can provide a reliable, single-source solution for major building envelope projects.”