A major investment is underway near Mohács, with many advantages of prefabrication

The pig farm project being built as part of the Bóly Zrt. investment in Bácsfapuszta, near Mohács, is already at the construction stage. The development in the Baranya County settlement will see the creation of a 16,500-capacity pig farm as part of the general construction of INETON Kft. general contractor, using precast reinforced concrete products manufactured at the Hungarian company's plant.

A complex of significant size is created

The greenfield project will create a building complex of more than 15,500 square metres on the site of a former livestock farm that was demolished. We interviewed Tibor Balázs, the project manager of INETON, about the details of the project.

The facility will consist of four fattening halls, a social building (with changing rooms, veterinary facilities and a reception area), a warehouse and a dissection and incineration building.

"It is also worth mentioning that two slurry reservoirs of 8,000 cubic metres will be created," he added.

These products are manufactured for the project by INETON

The INETON was given a generic design package at the start of the project, from which the production design of the prefabricated elements was already carried out by the in-house design team. "In this case, a coordination process is initiated between the generic static designer and our static production designers, the end result of which is that we optimise the design package for the products we manufacture ourselves," explained Tibor Balázs.

All production plans are then approved by the structural engineer. "This is the way to ensure general static optimisation: elements are designed at the production plan level that our automatic production lines can produce in the plant.

"For the project, INETON's factory in Alsónémedi typically produced insulated bark walls, pillars and so-called Jersey elements"

- said the project leader. "In addition, we will also use bark floors in the social building and in the service buildings."

Only plus or minus 5 mm tolerance allowed

Two of the products listed were highlighted by the expert. "The Jersey elements are special inverted T-shaped concrete ribs, somewhat similar to the baffles used in some road construction. They are placed in monolithic reinforced concrete basins and are used to place the concrete grids required for the technology of the pig farm on these elements."

In the production of Jersey elements, particular attention must be paid to manufacturing accuracy.

"The customer specified a very low tolerance for the concrete structure: we had to manufacture and place these elements with a tolerance of plus or minus 5 millimetres. This was a very serious task. Already in the factory, during production, we had to constantly use a template that could guarantee this precision. Then, during construction, the setting of concrete elements weighing over one tonne with a crane also required a great deal of attention."

Much depends on the discussions with the technology installer

He added that during the implementation of the technology, the concrete grids must also be placed with very, very small tolerances, as animal health and welfare regulations strictly define the accuracy and maximum gaps with which the grid can be made for the pigs. "We will be working on the technology and relying on each other's precision."

In this context, he mentioned negotiations with the technology's contractor as an important element.

"We need to cooperate with the technology installer on a daily basis on details that will affect their work later. One such technology element that is already under construction is the aforementioned concrete grid that will be placed on our Jersey elements. Then the technology contractor will completely install the feeding and watering system, the ventilation system and the pens in the halls."

Insulated bark walls offer significant benefits

The other product of particular importance in the project is the insulated bark wall, which will be used to build the side walls of the four halls and the service buildings. "Its huge advantage is that it allows very fast construction. With the thermal insulation it contains, you can save the cost and construction time of insulating an external façade. In addition, a factory-built wall is put in place with a properly smooth, even surface, so there is no need for plastering, among other things."

He said that the project involves the installation of more than 1,200 Jersey elements and 290 bark walls to be installed. "We had to start production at our plant in August in order to be able to supply the construction with elements continuously."

This is all thanks to prefabrication

In connection with the above, he made another important link between design and production. "Our production design colleagues create a file format in Nemetschek Allplan that can be used directly by our automated equipment in the plant during production. This way, we have products that we can manufacture in a way that the production is fully automated. In addition, we have a number of products, virtually the majority of the product range, where we can also reduce the need for live labour in the factory."

The project also demonstrated a number of other benefits of prefabrication, some of which he outlined. "Using our own concrete elements can shorten the lead time of a project by up to two to three months." At the same time, planned precasting in a factory environment is also beneficial because by choosing the right concrete quality, some corrosion damage can be avoided. "In these fattening halls and pools, slurry will be constantly flowing, so the chemical corrosion effect on the structures is quite high. By choosing the right concrete quality, we can install more durable elements than an all-steel hall."

Mechanical work can start in the halls next year

He also concluded with the current status of the construction project, which is currently under construction. "The main part of the work now is the placement of our own precast concrete elements and the installation of the galvanised steel roof structure that will be built on top. Two weeks ago, we also started the sandwich panel roofing, so we expect to have two of the four hall buildings leak-proofed in January."

He said that when the structural construction and roofing of the four halls is completed next year, the construction of the service buildings will start, as well as the mechanical works inside the halls.