S&T megasite opens in Otahuhu

Steel & Tube has unveiled its Otahuhu (Auckland) megasite to customers at an official opening by Prime Minister John Key late last month.

The Prime Minister joined S&T’s CEO Dave Taylor and Processing GM Roger O’Neill, to tour the purpose-built facility which houses S&T’s reinforcing and wire processing operations.

They viewed demonstrations of its latest reinforcing mesh, shearline and off-coil machines, along with the AWM fusion welding machine used to manufacture 120,000 straight and radial reinforcing cages for the 24,000 concrete tunnel segments used in Auckland’s iconic Waterview Connection project.

The 10,000 square-metre building at Savill Drive is roughly the size of two football fields. It has been designed to ensure maximum use of floor space: plant and storage areas have been sited with careful consideration of the logistics of the manufacturing process.

Taylor told customers: “The effort required to bring these new ways of working to fruition at Savill Drive has been significant. Planning and preparation began almost three years ago and the resulting site is tangible evidence of our aims to realise a range of operational efficiencies that ultimately benefit our customers.”

Processing features at the site include the latest model EVG mesh welder, imported from Austria. “This is an exciting addition to our North Island operations,” says O’Neill. “It allows us to expand our present mesh range by including the seismic and specialist construction meshes that could previously only be produced at our Christchurch facility.”

Other features include: • A new shearline system with advanced rebar shearing capability provides a faster cutting process while generating less scrap. • A new off-coil line with the ability to load processing instructions via bar code automatic double-ended hands-free bending line. • Bar coding reduces processing and handling time making operations safer, more streamlined and error-free. O’Neill said that all of these machines run on smart technology that allows daily production requirements to be pre-programmed, enhancing our ability to meet a greater range of delivery commitments.

Peter Anderson, S&T’s Manager Auckland Reinforcing and Northern Wire Processing, says layout of the site provides his team with substantially enhanced processing capacity. “We have the ability to do so much more, so much faster than we have ever done before. It’s among the most up-to-date facilities in the country.”