INSIDE• Completion of the Huntsman Project INFOCUS• Graham CresseyINSITUProject News • DP World Stage 2 • Nillumbik Shire Offices• Goodyear / SPT Somerton• Chifley Drive Preston

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F I N D U S T R I A L D E M O L I T I O N A N D E N V I R O N M E N TA L S E R V I C E S

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Industrial Demolition Services has recently completed one of the largest projects in its history – the iconic Huntsman Chemical Company of Australia’s (HCCA) Brooklyn plant. The 35 Hectare site together with its heritage listed office block –built in the Southern States of America Greek Revival style like most Monsanto complexes – has been a part of the West Footscray landscape for over 70 years.

With all IDES projects, the delivery of the project without injury or environmental damage is the overriding goal. The demolition of this major hazard facility was completed without major injury or reportable environmental incident.

The offices with their two story Greek columns will remain- but the massive chemical manufacturing plants and associated infrastructure are gone - following more than a year of intense and strategic demolition work completed in accordance with the project’s rigorous OH&S and environmental procedures and processes.

The site was established in the 1930’s to manufacture aspirin and sulfa drugs. For most of its life the site has been owned and operated by the Monsanto Company. In 1988 Monsanto sold all of its Australian non-agricultural operations to Consolidated Press Holdings and Chemplex Australia Ltd was created. In 1993 Consolidated Press Holdings and Huntsman Chemical Corporation established the present joint venture partnership and became the Huntsman Chemical Company of Australia Pty Ltd.

The end of a landmark project - The Huntsman Chemical Company of Australia.

In July 2011, the last structure to come down was the large concrete water tower which has been one of the tallest structures in this landscape for generations. Following an extensive planning, consultation and review process, the actual demolition process was relatively straightforward.

The controlled collapse was engineered to occur by the strategic removal of three pre-prepared sections from the tower base. Once removed, the collapse was initiated by a single cable connected to a 40 tonne excavator.

The 42 metre high, 650 tonne tower gently leaned, its base crumbled and it collapsed onto a prepared bed of rubble without the slightest sensation that several hundred tonnes of concrete had just been brought to earth. The tower was processed with hydraulic hammers and pulverisors and its concrete and steel reinforcement separated for recycling.

The variety of fixed assets to be processed and removed was extensive and included some complex multi storey structures with all the associated plant and equipment normally found in chemical manufacturing units.

IDES demolition methodologies are always designed around removing or limiting the human element as far as possible. The complex structures found in these types of plants are always designed to withstand catasrophic events and as such are by nature, highly resilient to standard demolition practices. Many of the structures IDES were required to remove were heavily reinforced and exceeded 25 metres in height. (The extreme temperatures and operating

pressures of this type of plant further exasperated the complexity of this type of demolition by necessitating greater metal thicknesses and exotic materials in the original designs.) All of these factors had to be understood and allowed for when selecting the appropriate methodology and equipment.

The end of a landmark project - The Huntsman Chemical Company of Australia.

Project StatisticsTotal Project Hours – 20,936Lost Time Injuries (LTI’s)- NilMedical Treatment Injuries (MTI’s) – Nil

Recycling totals:Metals 10,000 tonnes approx.Concrete recycled 15,000 tonnes approx.

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Several large tank farms were also removed during the project with remarkable efficiency. This skill is one of the hallmarks of the Industrial team, having dismantled many hundreds of bulk storage installations and terminals over the past 20 years. The IDES team has developed and perfected specific tank demolition methodologies, utilising the latest demolition excavators fitted with specialist shears that weigh over 8 tonnes and have a cutting force greater than 1,700 tonnes. These methodologies are now recognised as best practice by the major oil companies worldwide.

The unique structure of the HCCA project contributed greatly to the overall success of the venture. The project was structured from the outset as an alliance between HCCA, IDES and Grays on line. This arrangement provided a unique opportunity for HCCA to share in the realisation of the site’s considerable assets. It is fair to say that the final dollar value returned to HCCA by IDES and GraysOnline far exceeded HCCA initial expectations.

GraysOnline’s role was to manage the worldwide sales campaign, maximising potential returns from the sale of the site assets. Utilising the company’s unique on line platform, this was delivered with spectacular success, contributing millions of dollars to overall sales revenue of the project. IDES undertook the removal of assets sold by GraysOnline and then completed the demolition of the remaining assets and structures.

HCCA maintained the role of client and principal contractor with a dedicated management team providing permits and specialist process knowledge.

Ron W. Gerrard from Huntsman’s US headquarters had this to say.

“The safe demolition of large complex former chemical facilities requires detailed planning and preparation in the preparatory stages followed by the vigilant and disciplined execution of the plans. Clear communication and understanding is vital for the safety of all involved. At Huntsman’s West Footscray facility the partnership with Industrial brought a highly efficient, plant intensive, work method with drastically fewer demolition staff involved, thereby reducing the risk of injury and increasing the clarity of work method and understanding.

Industrial Demolition Services’ use of plant and machinery brought leading edge technology and work methods to the project and ensured a very safe demolition, allowed efficient materials sorting and recovery, and the prompt clearance of materials from the site with a high standards of site finishing being achieved.

Working in an innovative cooperative consortium with Huntsman, Industrial Demolition & Environmental Services and GraysOnline, has resulted in a very successful project, meeting the financial and safety targets in a timely manner.”

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Project AcknowledgementsIndustrial Demolition Services would like to thank its extraordinary team for their work and dedication to delivering this project safely.

Thanks also to HCCA Decommissioning Project Manager – Spiro Marinakis and his team. This project has been the catalyst for a number of valued associations and our daily interaction with Spiro illustrates the relationships that come from an undertaking such as this. Spiro’s support, extensive knowledge and guidance was invaluable in the execution of this project.

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Industrial Demolition Services Manager, Graham Cressey, is a man who knows a thing or two about metals. Where most of us see an old pipe lying on the ground, he can practically ascertain its component makeup with a glance. This sort of experience comes from nearly 30 years of hands-on experience as a first class machinist, welder and heavy maintenance contractor to some of Australia’s largest industries, salvage manager and demolition project manager on a considerable range of projects throughout Australia and New Zealand.Graham’s experience has come from a progressive industrial career, which has culminated in the past 20 years being spent in the demolition and environmental industry.

Graham lives and breathes safety. It is always the primary consideration on any activity we undertake he says.“Demolition specific systems of safe work, with a strong emphasis on cultural and behavioural safety, underpin everything we do. The best systems in the world won’t make a difference if the people using them don’t believe their own actions and attitudes are the single most important factor. We do not commence a task without understanding the inherent hazards and risks. It is simply unacceptable that anyone should be hurt as a result of what we do. Before we engage a single person or machine, we must identify how we will establish control of the situation and maintain control throughout”.

Graham has many areas of expertise. One in particular involves the demolition and remediation of oil and chemical facilities. Graham has managed a number of projects throughout Australia and New Zealand. These projects invariably

involve the removal of hundreds of kilometres of pipelines, the demolition of bulk storage tanks and the removal of associated processing equipment including distillation towers, heat exchanges, vessels, pumps, furnaces, compressors, heaters and discharge stacks. Quite often this work occurs within a ‘live’ or operating plant, which increases the operational constraints considerably.

Graham and Environmental Services Manager Steve McCoach, both joined the Industrial Group two years ago and have not touched the ground since they arrived. The Group has just completed its largest volume of work in more then 35 years of operations.Graham believes that the industry has changed enormously over the past 20 years. “We have seen considerable changes in three key areas in particular –safety, site remediation and recycling. It is quite typical for most of our projects to achieve a recycling rate of greater that 90 percent.”

“The other area where enormous change has been made in the past decade is that of site remediation. Often on a site where a manufacturing plant has stood for

generations, the ground underneath has been impacted and cannot be left that way for redevelopment.

An example of this is asbestos. Almost every building and plant had asbestos in its fabric 20 years ago. Today we must remove all traces from the structures prior to demolition. What a lot of people are unaware of is that it can also impact below ground. Past removal practices and imported backfills are a real problem and can severely impact the economics of a project. With our soil abatement and remediation technologies, we can hand back a site that is safe for development and future generations.”

Graham believes the culture and challenges at the Industrial Group have made his years in the industry all worthwhile.“The company is growing faster than at anytime in its history and the positive culture of this organization is endemic. Both Steve and I enjoy our

daily interaction with Directors Derek Wilson and Rudy Kalab. This is a

place where people can learn and build on their professional ambitions and skills, in an environment that is supportive

and fun to be a part of. I can honestly say I have

never been happier in the work.”

Graham Cressey - Manager Demolition Services

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DP World.The broad scope of demolition works carried out at DP World in the busy West Swanson Dock Intermodal container facility, is a working testimony to the skills Industrial Demolition has in operating in a live working environment. In every part of this project, container movements have continued near the various work zones in what is Victoria’s busiest shipping facility.

The precise traffic management plans identified at the commencement of this project ensured that the project progressed flawlessly. Five significant buildings and a large container wash facility were removed from the site without any detriment to the day-to-day operation of this container facility.

The removal of the CFS warehouse was the last element of this project. This building was integrated with a high voltage substation and IDES separated the structure and removed the 9,500 square metre warehouse from the site with considerable skill and without impacting on the smooth movements of thousands of containers.

The entire project was undertaken in two major mobilisations over a three-month period.

Nillumbik Shire OfficesA large portable office at the rear of the Nillumbik Shire Civic Centre was destroyed by fire on the 15th of June this year. IES won the contract to demolish and remove the damaged structure and this project was completed in August. The fire destroyed pretty much everything in the building and nothing was salvaged.

IDES were on site to manage the removal of the portable and its contents and to ensure that any papers and files that contained confidential information were disposed of securely.

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Industrial Environmental Services.

IES has recently completed a project for Goodyear & Dunlop Tyres in Somerton. The project involved the treatment, remediation and reclassifying of 1000 tonnes of Category A prescribed waste soil down to Category C prescribed waste soil. In addition 300 tonnes of Urbanine impacted soil and rock was processed and remediated.

IES worked in collaboration with the environmental consultant to identify and provide solutions to different prescribed waste problems, which are inherent on many manufacturing sites and are able to be very satisfactorily rectified by an experienced environmental services contractor like IES.

Goodyear/SPT – Somerton.

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Chifley Drive Preston – Verve ProjectsThis project was undertaken by Industrial Environmental Services and involved the strip out of existing offices, the demolition of the existing concrete plant and associated infrastructure. The former site is being redeveloped and will be part of a new project being managed by Verve Projects. In addition, in excess of 5,000 tonnes of concrete was processed and transported for recycling and reused on site.

The site contained nine underground petroleum storage tanks (UPSS), and various structures including the redundant concrete batching plant, which had to be removed and the ground backfilled under strict geo-technical supervision. In addition, several thousand tonnes of concrete was processed and transported for recycling.

The underground storage systems ranged in size from 12,000 litres to 70,000 litres in capacity and were all successfully removed and recycled. Office and workshop buildings were also demolished.

90 % of the soil and mounded fill material on the site was relocated and placed under level 1 supervision and compacted to form the base for the new development works. New fill materials were imported and placed to form the base for the new development.

A major retaining wall structure – a standard feature in batching plants- consisting of three hundred 2 tonne concrete blocks which were removed and recycled.This project highlighted the efficiencies and benefits of having an organization like IDES undertake a project where there was a need to have both demolition and environmental services working together to bring about a seamless project delivery.

Industrial Demolition & Environmental Services.P.O. Box 346 YarravilleVictoria 3013 (03) 9687 3877 (03) 9687 4084ABN 89 149 442 389www.industrialgroup.com.au