Grontmij Industry assigned for production line Saflex®
New safety foil production line makes Solutia the world's biggest producer
In 2007 Grontmij Industry got a challenging assignment from the American company Solutia. They asked Grontmij Industry to take care of the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) of the third production line of safety foil in the production facility in Ghent.
Saflex®, a foil for safety glass
This line which was successfully created in October 2008 meant Solutia could call itself the largest producer in the world of the production of Saflex®, a foil for safety glass. This foil is processed into the glass making it much stronger. Grontmij Industry is especially proud to have been able to contribute significantly to this project. The total investing cost of Solutia amounted to 45 million dollars.
Third production line
The technology that was used in the third production line in Ghent was also used earlier in the production site of Solutia in China. For the installation in Belgium the necessary adjustments and improvements were made by Solutia. On the basis of the Process & Instrument Diagrams (P&ID’s) of the production process delivered by Solutia and the knowledge of the available room; Grontmij Industry was able to make the concept drawing of the production building and equip it with the necessary utilities. Grontmij Industry also took care of the entire procurement process from evaluation, selection of building contractors and price quotations.
Construction management
The greatest challenge of this project turned out to be the construction management of the building activities. Due to the many parties that were involved and the short term in which the building had to take place a strong management during the construction phase was essential. Additionally the short time span of the project meant that support from an engineering perspective was vital during this phase. During the engineering and construction Grontmij Industry used the constructability principle which monitors the workability of the engineering.
From powder to foil
The third extrusion line for the production of Saflex® is impressive. The whole process from powder to foil of the installation can be observed when standing in the building of the production site. The outside of the building looks very modern with an austere style of architecture. The knowledge and experience of the EPCm method will prove to be of great use for future projects.