Visy Packaging Facility
Client: Visy
Project Completion: 2018
Location: Hamilton
The Project
The Visy corrugated packaging facility in Hamilton, New Zealand, officially opened in May 2018. Situated in the Western Precinct of Titanium Park near Hamilton Airport, this extensive development encompasses a 30,000m³ warehouse. The facility spans 37,000m² of production, storage, and service areas, an 850m² office and amenities space, 3,500m² of car parking, and 16,300m² of circulation roading. Additional site works included bulk earthworks, the construction of a stormwater pond, access roads, and two 15m-diameter water tanks with a combined capacity of 1,100m³.
Our Role
At HD Geo, smart thinking drove every aspect of our geotechnical involvement, ensuring efficient, effective, and innovative solutions. Our role included:
Strategic Site Investigation: Coordinating the investigation to assess subsurface conditions, identifying potential risks early, and optimising the project design.
Tailored Earthworks Specification: Developing a customised earthworks plan to balance efficiency and site-specific challenges.
Natural Hazard Assessment: Conducting a detailed evaluation to address liquefaction, soft soils, and sediment risks, protecting the facility from potential geohazards.
Foundation Design Inputs: Delivering innovative solutions for foundations supporting the warehouse, heavy machinery, and water tanks, tailored to the site's unique needs.
Proactive Construction Observation: Ensuring compliance through subgrade assessment, fill testing, and foundation inspections, providing real-time support and adaptability to site conditions.
Challenges
The project presented complex geotechnical challenges that required thoughtful, proactive solutions, including:
Managing cuts up to 5m deep into sensitive clay soils while minimising risk to the surrounding site.
Employing lime-stabilisation techniques to enhance ground conditions, reducing time and cost.
Addressing highly variable ground conditions with customised approaches to maintain stability and support.
Effectively managing and integrating geotechnical data to guide decision-making.
The Results
By applying smart thinking at every stage, HD Geo overcame these challenges to deliver a geotechnical solution that enabled the successful completion of a state-of-the-art facility. Comprehensive investigations and tailored strategies ensured the site was well-prepared, and structural components were robustly supported. The project was completed within the tight timeframes required by the building contractor, meeting the high standards required for an industrial facility of this scale and complexity.