Construction World December 2022

SPECIALIST CONTRACTORS OR SUPPLIERS

PIONEER FOODS: MALMESBURY SILOS – STRUCTURAL REPAIRS TO GRAIN SILO COMPLEX AT MALMESBURY HILL P ioneer Foods i s one of South Af rica’s largest

and develop a complete s i lo rehabi l i tat ion repai r methodology. The deci s ion was to repai r the ent i re s i lo complex , ut i l i s ing external structural reinforcement methods such as hori zontal carbon fibre compos i te strapping, along wi th various types of mortars , epoxies and protect ive coat ings . Af ter assess ing the original diagnost ic sur vey and rehabi l i tat ion proposals , as wel l as trial l ing various product opt ions , the team decided that Sika’s innovat ive products were the best-per forming solut ions for thi s project . LNW was appointed as the Consul t ing Engineers and Project Managers , and Sika products were speci fied in the tender.

producers and di stributors of various wel l -known food and beverage brands and products . Operat ing predominant ly wi thin South Af rica, whi le export ing to more than 80 countries across the globe, the Pioneer Foods Group provides wholesale, retai l and informal trade customers wi th cons i stent ly high-qual i ty products . Si tt ing wi thin the Essent ial Foods divi s ion, thei r Grains bus iness uni t prides i tsel f on supplying foods of except ional qual i ty that are safe, nutri t ious and trusted by mi l l ions of consumers ever y day. So, when Pioneer Foods detected large vert ical cracks in thei r grain s i los of thei r Malmesbur y Mi l l s i lo complex in 2018, they appointed LNW Consul t ing Engineers and Project Managers to invest igate and determine the structural integri ty and remaining l i fecycle of the s i lo complex

REDEC Industrial and Engineering Solut ions , a special i sed contractor, was appointed as the successful repai r contractor. 

compri s ing of a 39 tubular starbin configurat ion. Once the invest igat ion was completed, LNW were di rected to refurbi sh the s i los to ensure the high standards Pioneer Foods promi ses i ts customers . The s i lo i s around 77 years old, al ready having out l ived i ts original l i fe expectancy. To determine the cause of the structural di stress and the best poss ible way to extend the s i lo’s l i fe for another 20 years , LNW conducted a root cause analys i s . Making use of the latest state-of-the-art inf rared and high- resolut ion scanning equipment , LNW col lected evidence of the typical di stress patterns to complete a thorough structural analys i s . The ins ights gained f rom thi s invest igat ion indicated ring tens ion fai lure of the hori zontal reinforcing wi th large areas of fat igue wi thin the concrete wal ls . Thi s informat ion enabled the engineers to des ign

PROJECT INFORMATION

• Company entering: Sika SA • Client: Pioneer Foods • Start date: October 2019 • End date: January 2020 • Main Contractor: Redec

• Project Manager: LNW Consulting • Consulting Engineer: LNW Consulting • Quantity Surveyor: LNW Consulting

56 21 st Best Project Awards 2022