The new Woolworths Distribution Centre in Palmerston North is a mammoth building – at 38,000m2 it's large enough to fit more than five rugby fields!

"Industrial buildings of this size are not common NZ and are a rarity in regional construction markets. When main contractor Watts & Hughes were selected for this project, they turned to Conslab to provide a full design & build package for the floor slabs, one of the most critical elements of a distribution centre.

Constructing such a large slab in a small market required careful planning of resources and coordination with our supply chain. Conslab's placing and finishing teams, site managers, and engineers worked on a fly-in/fly-out basis over 5 months to deliver this project on time and on budget.

The 175mm thick post-tensioned slab was constructed in 16 pours averaging 2300m2 per pour. The completed slab contains only two movement joints, between four coupled slabs of 9200m2. Conslab's patented Rhino joint system was used to accommodate the large slab movements and prevent slab curl. "

Project Description:

• 36,910m2 Post-tensioned slab, design & build by Conslab

Photo Credit: MPM Projects, Conslab