PROJECT
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Boekenhout Abattoir
builds extension
The large-scaled extensions of the Cavalier Boekenhout Abattoir in Cullinan
included the installation of a wide variety of high-technology processing and
refrigeration equipment.
T
he extension project was undertaken by
JC van der Linde & Venter Projects. Pieter
Venter, JC Van der Linde’s contract
director, says the project was completed in
two phases involving the creation of several
new structures and installation of a wide
variety of high-technology processing and
refrigeration equipment.
Work started in 2015 on Phase 1 which
called for the building of the abattoir’s
R50-million non-Halaal section, which
was followed by Phase 2 and involved
the facility’s new beef abattoir and
procurement plant. The entire project was
completed in November 2016.
Venter says Phase 1 called for three
new structures, covering about 5 000m 2 in
total. This new non-Halaal section of the
abattoir includes a processing area with
a refrigeration plant which meticulously
controls the temperature at which the meat
for Cavalier’s various superstores is kept. The
contractors had to install highly sophisticated
imported mechanical and refrigeration
equipment for this phase of the contract.
A separate staff structure, which includes a
canteen as well as ultra-hygienic washroom
and ablution facilities, also formed part of
the initial phase of the contract.
“As abattoirs and meat processing
facilities provide some of the most
challenging environments for concrete
flooring, we had to conform to a special
mix design for the laying of the ‘Degree
1’ 150mm thick floors which required
maximum reinforcement. The stringent
floor specification applied to both phases
of the project. In addition, the floors had
to accommodate an extensive network
of stainless steel channels for the constant
cleaning, sanitising and degreasing
needed for abattoir floors; as well as in-situ
cast – virtually hip-high – concrete skirtings
to serve as protection against impact from
the heavy trollies operating in the abattoir,”
Venter states.
Phase 1 also included the provision
of a 500m 2 refrigeration plant room with
a 7m-high roof slab (with a plinth beam
design for maximum reinforcement) to
accommodate the plant on top of and
inside the room.
Hermann Post, JC van der Linde &
Venter Projects’ contract manager
for the abattoir project, says the major
challenges for Phase One included the
need for constant liaison with the consulting
engineers to cope with the intricate
design specifications, as well as a stringent
time frame to ensure that critical meat
preservation temperatures in the plant were
met and adhered to.
The R150-million second phase of the
project called for the erection of a new
abattoir plant, with a floor area of about
15 000m 2 spread over four structures.
These include a processing plant to
handle order make-up, as well as facilities
for deboning and both sheep and beef
overnight chilling; and a new dedicated
beef abattoir with facilities for slaughtering
and offal processing. Staff canteen and
washroom/ablution facilities were also
provided in the second phase, and JC van
der Linde & Venter Projects also handled
the installation of a special state-of-the-art
twin-rail mechanical slaughtering system
for beef. “The new beef abattoir also
had to be linked with the existing sheep
abattoir through the provision of a special
temperature-controlled concrete tunnel,
fitted with insulating panels,” Post says.
The contract for the extensions to the
abattoir also included wide-ranging and
diverse ancillary work such as the provision
of new water reservoirs, a major truck
washing facility, truck weighbridge, two
pump stations for waste and sewage, a
septic tank system, IT room, compressor
plant, beef lairages, and various ingestor
and blood lines leading to the new beef
abattoir’s biogas plant.
“The contract also called for the
construction of all the road networks and
civil works and services required for the
extension of the abattoir,” Post adds. CLA
The upgraded Cavalier Boekenhout Abattoir in Cullinan.
COLD LINK AFRICA • May | June 2017
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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