James Pascoe Group Distribution Centre

Conslab was awarded the Award of Excellence in the Slab-on-Ground Category at the 2017 Post-tensioning Institute Awards held in Atlanta, Georgia as a result of the work done on the James Pascoe Group Distribution Centre. This award is given to the top project in each category that demonstrates excellence in post-tensioning applications. The PTI Award of Excellence is an honor that serves to recognise the best in the industry and several factors are considered in selecting the awards, including creativity, innovation, ingenuity, cost-effectiveness, functionality, constructibility, and aesthetics.

James Pascoe Group required a state-of-the-art national distribution centre to consolidate, warehousing for all of the groups' retail brands, which include Farmers, Whitcoulls, Stevens, and Pascoes. The long-term goal is to minimise costs and maximize value for customers. This was supported by introducing the absolute latest warehousing systems and technology including 16m high very narrow aisle (VNA) racking – the highest level installed to date in the southern hemisphere. The cutting edge VNAracking and material handling equipment (MHE) required a level of floor flatness that is considered the highest in the world, existing on the margins of what had been achieved globally.

The floor was constructed as a series of large bay post-tensioned floors, coupled together so that there were only two opening joints located within the 25,000m2ground floor. Combined with the use of a new system for concrete floor jointing – the Rhino joint – this creates a surface that would require little to no maintenance during the life of the structure. The use of post-tensioning allowed for an efficient and relatively thin 240mm thick floor to cater to the 120kN back-to-back rack loading, thereby reducing the volume of concrete compared to a traditional floor system.

As the key working surface in the facility, the 25,000m2 post-tensioned concrete high-performance ground floor played a pivotal role in the success of the project. A hybrid, the large-bay post-tensioned solution was developed, which minimised joints, allowed fast construction, and provided a more sustainable solution by reducing concrete volumes. The combination of faster construction time and more efficient use of materials resulted in an approximate 25% reduction in cost.

This award acknowledged Conslab’s exemplary achievement in post-tensioned concrete construction. Further to this, Conslab’s efforts in the distribution centre were also acknowledged at the biennial NZ Concrete Society Awards - the project was selected for a special commendation for displaying outstanding innovation in the advancement of concrete practice. Conslab was awarded the “Technology Award”.