Twintec - The InterviewTwintec
The 'super-slab' superstars
Specialist flooring contractor Twintec Industrial Flooring Ltd recently made UK warehousing and logistics history by completing Britain's biggest ever steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) floor slab, for Tesco's new Distribution Centre at Livingston in Scotland. The prestigious Tesco project is the third in a hat trick of major orders for distribution centres won by Twintec in the last twelve months, alongside similar retail-related projects for Al Azizia Panda at Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, and ProLogis in Dartford, Kent, and maintains Twintec's impressive strike rate in securing large-scale projects worldwide. Darryl Eddy, Twintec's Commercial Director, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News about his company's outstanding success.
 Warehouse & Logistics News - First question, Darryl - why did Tesco choose your company for the Livingston project?
We have previously worked for Tesco on a number of projects, although it is not entirely their decision as to who constructs the floor slabs. They are happy with SFRC jointless technology and actually specify the construction procedure we use to produce concrete floors. We also work extensively with the main contractors and their design teams.
WLN - What else have you done for Tesco?
We've done several jobs for Tesco, including 2 DC's in the last 12 months, at Thurrock and in South Wales. The Livingston job however was huge - ten times the size of Thurrock and 25 times the South Wales scheme.
WLN - How big is the Tesco super-slab?
The Livingston super-slab measures almost 250,000 square metres and involved 50,000 cubic metres of concrete and 2,000 tonnes of steel fibre reinforced concrete. Our part of the project was worth £7.5 million.
WLN - The Tesco job is one of three major DC projects for Twintec. Over what time period did you complete these projects?
The three projects are now almost complete; Tesco Livingston took eight months and was finished this month. Riyadh was finished in July and Dartford in March. We carried them all out within a single year.
The three projects constitute a total 391,000 square metres of steel fibre reinforced concrete floor slabs, equivalent to 400 football pitches. Our directly employed workforce laid 66,000 cubic metres of concrete incorporating 3,000 tonnes of fibres, contributing to total project values of over £12 million.
WLN - How do you go about designing and constructing super-slabs like these?
We employ our own design staff and work closely with the client and the main contractor's design team to produce the best overall package for the scheme It's a tightly co-ordinated process; we review the design parameters and come up with proposals, coordinate these with other associated trades and then produce working drawings and detailed designs.
WLN - I understand all three of these distribution centre projects follow the Twintec formula 'Design, Build, Insure' - can you explain what that means?
Besides the designing and building, we insure the works in our own name under our own Professional Indemnity as well as our Contract Liability insurance. We have full liability for the project, a true "one stop shop," giving the client peace of mind throughout.
WLN - Supermarkets are famous for taking out costs wherever possible. Were you under pressure to do these contracts on the cheap?
Our UK clients demonstrate a comprehensive appreciation of quality. Tesco appreciate the life cost of these buildings possibly more than anyone, and recognise they can't skimp. The Middle East client had similar demands.
Ultimately the quality and performance standards of these projects is driven by the mechanical handling companies who equip the warehouses with computerised logistics systems and achieve the planned performance. Most warehouse operators agree the floor is the warehouse's most important component: if it's not perfect, the warehouse can't do its job of supplying the supermarkets and their customers. The emphasis is on quality and longevity.
WLN - What are the risks of doing these projects on the cheap?
A traditional jointed floor slab, or a less flat or not so heavily reinforced floor are both cheaper but poorer quality options. This can lead to a less versatile floor surface, curling and cracking of the slab, and damaged forklift trucks, all of which will interrupt work while you put it right.
WLN - How are the three projects similar?
They're all steel fibre reinforced concrete floor slabs; this is what we specialise in, and it makes up 90% of our workload. Dartford and Scotland are on bad ground, Saudi on good. The design methodology differs but the process and construction method are similar for all three.
WLN - How do you stop a SFRC floor somewhere hot like Saudi cracking in the extreme temperatures?
We do it by controlling the environment and materials as best as we can. We work in the cooler months, from October to May, and pour concrete in the early hours. We also use concrete from plants with ice making and water cooling systems. We also use super plasticizers and curing agents. Before we start a job, we send over our concrete technicians to carefully analyse all the local materials and available suppliers, to ensure we have the most suitable concrete to work with.
WLN - Focusing on the Tesco super-slab, what floor flatness is it built to?
The FM2 Special (TR34 2003 edition) flatness tolerance standard is used on all three jobs. Our floors don't need grinding - we achieve the flatness tolerance as cast, but we brought in FACE Consultants at Livingston to verify the flatness achieved.
WLN - What heights of racking and what loadings will the Tesco super-slab have to withstand?
The Livingston project features wide aisle racking to a 14m pallet height with a maximum point load of 75kN. There's also a UDL (uniformly distributed load) of 50kN/m2, a typical industrial floor loading.
WLN - What is the Tesco super-slab's expected lifespan? What kind of special care and maintenance will it need?
The design life of a modern warehouse is 25-40 years, and our floors will last well beyond that. The Livingston floor needs no special treatment at all over and above general cleaning with neutral detergents - it's like any concrete floor, except more durable.
WLN - How many current projects are you involved in? How are you organised to secure and manage new contracts?
We currently have around 30 secured contracts, looked after by five business development managers. They follow up on all of our proposals and quotes, working with MCs and clients to deliver value-engineered solutions.
WLN - How much capacity do you have for more such projects?
Twintec has an almost limitless capacity as a group. We have teams of workers throughout Europe that we can call upon.
WLN - When was Twintec founded, and who by? Who owns it now? Where is your global HQ?
Twintec was founded in the mid 90s by Bruno Lazzari, who still owns it. The headquarters is in Luxemburg, and the design and engineering are done from there and also here in the UK. We have offices in the US, Europe and Middle East, 12 countries altogether, and a £150m turnover, with 300 direct employees.
Each country is responsible for business within its own boundaries, but much of the group's international business is looked after from the UK due to the large number of UK clients, specifiers and designers working overseas. We have carried out projects as far away as Canada, Korea, Mexico and the Middle East.
WLN - The three DC contracts are huge. What's the 'normal' size contract you undertake?
The average project value in the UK is around £300,000, for a floor of 10,000 sq m. At the smaller end, we will do floors of 1,000 sq m if it's a special requirement such as an extremely flat floor on bad ground, or for a special customer.
WLN - What proportion of your current contracts are for retail premises?
They're generally distribution facilities rather than retail premises. On average half the warehouse floors we build are retail-related. Our major UK retail customers are Tesco and Sainsbury's, but we have also worked on schemes for Morrisons and Asda.
WLN - Which other commercial and non-commercial sectors are important sources?
Most of our work is industrial warehousing, but we're also involved in large retail parks, for example those on poor ground. We also get involved on schemes where SFRC is particularly well suited, such as the multi storey Colmore Plaza office block in Birmingham, where SFRC eliminated the need for steel mesh.
We have also worked on large sports stadia projects where large pours of concrete laid to exacting standards are needed. SFRC can be used anywhere there's a need for improved performance, reduced maintenance, faster output and greater safety during construction.
WLN - What difference does steel fibre reinforcement make to the physical performance of an industrial floor?
The industry acknowledges that SFRC adds toughness and ductility and makes the floor better able to dissipate shrinkage stresses. The Concrete Society has produced Technical Reports 34 and 63, which specifically discuss floor slabs and SFRC.
The other major benefit is the elimination of contraction joints; every time you drive a forklift over such a joint, the truck and operator feel a bump. Moving joints from the normal 6m distance apart to 50m, as in the Twintec system, reduces operator stress and forklift maintenance and means greater flexibility of use for racking, mezzanines and picking.
WLN - Can you tell us about the fibres, the concrete and the production methods you use?
We use high-tensile steel fibres, undulated for maximum anchorage in the concrete matrix. Twintec is named after the twin technologies of concrete and steel fibres - you only get the full benefit by mastering both. We select the right fibre and concrete, and use the right processes and equipment to mix the materials together.
We use large-pour methods of construction, and follow the Concrete Society's Technical Reports and associated Eurocodes. Our site teams are directly employed and extremely skilled. All of these factors, once mastered allow users to fully benefit from this innovative technology.
WLN - Consistency of materials quality is crucial. Do you have any formal links with steel or cement/concrete suppliers?
We have a well managed and carefully selected procurement chain. We purchase from specific steel fibre and chemical admixture suppliers, but choose the most appropriate local concrete supplier to the project.
WLN - How unique is the way Twintec combines steel fibre and concrete to build reinforced floors? Is this technology patented?
Twintec is the only contractor specialising in this field - 90% of our work utilises this type of construction by choice. Our competitors quote against us with more traditional methods, but even when they offer SFRC themselves, their lack of familiarity and expertise usually leads to an inferior finish. Sadly, some clients have used general flooring contractors for this specialist work and the end result has disappointed them. You can't patent the process, but some of our equipment and materials carry patents.
WLN - If large volumes of concrete are not available locally, how do you get round that?
If it's not available locally, we can produce concrete ourselves with our own transportable mixing unit.
WLN - Are you looking at expanding into places like Eastern Europe, India, Brazil or China, with fast growing economies and money to spend on infrastructure?
We're looking into those areas, but as a privately owned company we're careful in how fast we grow. Our work in Saudi is destined to spread to India and other parts of the Middle East. We're already working from the UK on projects in Eastern Europe. Our offices in the US and Mexico cater for South America, but China is an area where we're still considering our options.
WLN - How do you target the retailers and other clients, and the different contractors and specifiers, to ensure they all know what you can do?
We work hard in marketing our business, and we're very active in running seminars throughout the UK for consulting engineers to ensure clients and engineers alike are aware of us. We also offer a free service for designers and clients whereby with limited project information we can rapidly produce budget designs and fully costed proposals.
WLN - Any more major projects in the pipeline?
We have two UK-based projects coming up that are bigger than the Saudi and Dartford jobs, which we'll announce before Christmas.
WLN - You're on the crest of a wave at the moment. What external factors do you see affecting demand for your services?
The logistics industry is building bigger warehouses, driven by the increasing reach of the high-tech logistics equipment suppliers. We're a consumer society, and this culture is spreading to other countries. We'll follow that wave and strengthen our market position.
WLN - Finally, where do you see Twintec going from here?
Twintec's UK business will eventually plateau. Further growth will come from international markets and UK clients looking to achieve UK-grade warehouses in other parts of the world where you might not think that level of quality was possible. As Commercial Director I'm determined to see it through, and very confident we will achieve it.
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For further information about this company's activities in the warehouse and logistics industry please contact:
Twintec
Tel: 01788 567722
www.twintec.co.uk |
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