Major extension works have just been completed by MSM Contracts for Creative Composites, a leading manufacturer of composite components in the automotive (including luxury car brands), vending, construction and other industries.

The 6-month construction programme was delivered over two phases at their Lisburn plant and the works were carried out within a fully operational manufacturing facility adjacent to ‘live’ working areas.

Phase 1 of the works involved:
– extending the existing car park to provide an additional 31 parking spaces
– forming a new reinforced concrete emergency access road incorporating a 2m high reinforced concrete retaining wall
– extending an existing concrete roadway to provide access for deliveries to the new extension
– forming an extensive new facilities/marshalling area, predominantly finished in reinforced concrete with an area of levelled hardcore

Phase 2 involved:
– constructing a 2,400m2 portal frame extension with eaves height 11.5m above ground level to provide additional production space. Minor alterations/modifications to the existing building frame and envelope were required to facilitate the newbuild extension and vibro compaction works were completed to improve ground conditions before commencing the construction works. The extension was constructed using over 100t of structural steelwork on reinforced concrete pad & strip foundations with a ground supported in-situ concrete slab. The building envelope comprises Kingspan KS1000RW composite roof cladding panels including rooflights and Kingspan KS1000RW EcoSafe composite wall cladding incorporating a cantilevered canopy (8m deep x 52m long).

The design team on the project were 23 Design (architects); Armstrong Taylor (structural & civil engineers); Stephen Clarke Consulting (M&E) and Moore MacDonald and Partners (QS).

The Fruitfield Service Station in Richhill, designed by McAdam Stewart Architects and constructed by MSM Contracts in 2014, has won a Prestige Access Award 2015. The annual Prestige Access Awards are organised by the William Keown Trust and recognise projects/organisations that have made positive efforts to assist disabled people by demonstrating high levels of accessibility to their businesses or services.

The awards presentation was held in the Lagan Valley Island Conference Centre, Lisburn on 01 December 2015.

We are delighted that Fruitfield Service Station has been recognised with this award and this continues our success in 2014 when the Lurgan YMCA Youth Centre was awarded a Prestige Access Award also. Our company is delighted to have played our part in conjunction with our client and the design team in providing an accessible and user-friendly environment to all.

Fruitfield Service Station is a 3,000m2 Eurospar retail unit comprising a main food hall, restaurant, bakery, butchery, off-sales, stores, offices and staff accommodation. The project also involved construction of a 4 pump petrol filling station, road re-alignment works, a 128-space car park and lorry park.

MSM Contracts have recently commenced a six month refurbishment project over three floors at Cityside Mall in Belfast. This challenging project requires restrictions to be placed on the planning and sequencing of works to suit the trading hours of the various tenants and to minimise the impact on normal retail and leisure activities in the existing centre.

Works are due for completion during late spring/early summer 2016; the project manager is Bruce Shaw LLP and Ostick + Williams are the project architects.

Key elements of the works include:

– Minor demolitions/alterations to suit the new floor layout

– Replacement interior surface finishes to the mall; balustrading works

– Relocation & refurbishment of escalators

– Passenger lift refurbishment works

– Landlord works to retail units

– Refurbishment of existing toilets

– Re-cladding works to the shopping centre main entrance

– Construction of food court kiosks

– Extensive works associated with mechanical, electrical and sprinkler services