Norwood, the specialist in design, manufacture, and installation, of demountable steel and glass partitions, has helped Medicom create a facility that is manufacturing 2.3 million masks a day as the UK continues to fight COVID-19.
Medicom identified an existing warehouse building in Northampton as a facility that could be converted for mask production to enable rapid upscaling of its existing PPE output. The requirement was for conversion of the existing asset to make it suitable for mask manufacturing, and the strategy was to create a smaller building within the 16 m high warehouse unit, to accommodate both production and support functions.
CMB Engineering designed and installed a steel structure within the legacy building and Norwood developed a cladding system to complete the new internal building shell. Working collaboratively with the client and CMB Engineering, Norwood designed and installed its Mediline modular steel partitioning system to create a manufacturing environment and offices, along with metal pan ceilings and a walk-on ceiling.
Josh Banister, managing director of Norwood, explained: “From the outset it was clear that delivering the project as quickly as possible was critical, without compromising on the high standard of the facilities. As soon as we were engaged to work on the project, we went to take site measurements, and were on site within a week, preparing for the modular partition system installation, with production underway in our factory.”
Norwood created a steel joist system to tackle the large spans and take the load of the self-supporting Mediline partition system. Each Mediline installation is ‘tailor-made to the client’s specific requirements’. The fully demountable, double skin bi-panel system comprises prefabricated panels that friction lock to a galvanised framework, ‘enabling the fast, secure installation that was so mission critical on the Medicom project’. The system is entirely flush, with all power and data services contained within the partition void.
Construction manager at CMB Engineering, Rob Webb, said: “The close working relationship between CMB Engineering and Norwood, along with Norwood’s turnkey delivery across design, manufacture, and installation of the modular partitioning and ceiling systems, enabled us to deliver the project within a challenging timescale and to a very high standard. The Mediline system is an ideal solution, not just during the build, but also for maintenance and futureproofing throughout the lifecycle of the asset.”
