TEC CONSULTING WILL MANAGE THE CONTINENTAL PLANT DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Continental is expanding and increasing the area and capacity of its electronic components plant in Lithuania. The TEC Consulting team will take care of the project’s construction management and maintenance. Merko statyba will engage in the construction works of the plant.
A high set bar
According to TEC Consulting Business Development Specialist Donatas Čerkevičius, Continental was looking for a professional team that had experience in projects of this type, was able to communicate fluently in English and performed tasks accurately and in a timely manner. “First of all, it was necessary to pass the qualification requirements for suppliers, to prove that we have an impeccable reputation, to present our working methods, certificates and work portfolio. Then we received an exact inquiry for this project, and after several selection phases, we were offered to start working,” – he says.
The project is exceptional in that the Continental plant in Lithuania has already received the highest yet LEED rating for a production building in Lithuania – the LEED gold certificate, therefore the same high requirements are also set for this object. “We, together with Continental and Merko statyba, must ensure that this facility would also earn at least a gold LEED certificate,” – says D. Čerkevičius. Current Project Manager Augustas Čepelė agrees: “the project is exclusive because we have to meet LEED, i.e. high environmental and sustainability requirements”.
Construction work is coordinated with the plant, which operates around the clock
During the project, the current plant will also be reconstructed and expanded, and will continue to operate throughout the whole construction. “It’s really an extra challenge,” – says A. Čepelė, — since it is not a construction of a separate building, but an extension of the current building, without stopping the round-the-clock production, meaning that we have to build an annex, then build a temporary wall inside and then start with other works”.
All the construction works must be managed in such a way as not to interfere with the operation of the plant. “We must plan the works in advance, keep Continental informed about them and proceed smoothly with the entire construction process. It is like a surgery on a living organism – we will connect a new building to the existing plant”, – tells D. Čerkevičius.
Special preparation
Strict requirements will have to be met during construction to ensure the quality of the manufactured products. “Since it is an electronic parts plant, it has extremely high cleanliness requirements: for dust, humidity, temperature. Any deviation may cause damage,” – A. Čepelė says about the challenges of the project. According to the Project Manager, construction work will require special antistatic clothing and boots, and workers will have to undergo training. There will also be an automatic washing mechanism for truck wheels to ensure cleanliness requirements during the construction.
The project manager says that site preparation works are already under way: installation of temporary road, fencing, site levelling. “After them, we will start with the construction of the facility, which is expected to be completed in the spring of 2022,” – says A. Čepelė.
TEC Consulting is part of the TEC Group of Companies which also includes the companies TEC Industry and TEC Industry. The companies of the Group provide design, consulting, maintenance, project and construction management and other engineering services for transport infrastructure and industrial objects as well as energy facilities.
