Irelands first commercial scale Bio-Diesel Production Facility. Initially posing many challenges on a somewhat difficult site – adjacent to the River Barrow, which required an EIS coupled with a Planning Application for its construction in SAC – the delivery of this 25m-high building was achieved successfully by strategic design and planning.
The bio-diesel plant is now in operation and producing approximately 34 million litres of bio-diesel annually, supplying both foreign and domestic markets – with the location of the development allowing for access to a broad range of infrastructure allowing shipments to and from the facility by both land and water.
The scheme comprises of a 2-storey manufacturing building with an integrated multi-storey distillation tower, and accommodates an extensive tank farm with storage vessels, along with a pipe bridge, a weigh bridge and a transfer loading building. The design for the manufacturing building was required to integrate specialist production techniques, associated with a development of this nature, and allow for a seamless assembly of state of the art services alongside both administration facilities, inclusive of offices and a conference room, and general facilities, inclusive of showers & changing areas, all to be situated under one roof. Constructed in a steel frame with an insulated composite metal skin in a mix of surface and colour finishes, the building responds in a practical form to the requirements of a development of this nature. Wexford County Council Planning Dept., in particular the Snr. Planner is highly complementary of the design and colour scheme used on such a large building and how its functions successfully on this riverside site.
The successful project required constant interaction between an Austrian company in the construction stages in 3D drawings to ensure the process equipment fitted within the building, and was constructed as the building physically developed in stages. The advantage that CJFA staff members who could speak fluent German assisted greatly. We have recently successfully obtained planning permission for a 100% expansion of the current facility.
