Case Study

R-Plus Doors On-Board With US Navy Ships

2007-10-30T18:26:00Z

The T-AKE 1 is a dry cargo/ammunition ship. Designed to operate independently for extended periods at sea while providing underway replenishment services, the T-AKE will directly contribute to the ability of the Navy to maintain a forward presence. These ships will provide logistic lift from sources of supply either in port or at sea and will transfer cargo that includes ammunition, food, fuel, repair parts, and expendable supplies and material to station ships and other naval warfare forces at sea.

R-Plus Doors got involved very early on in the design of the door, demonstrating its ability to engineer a custom product exceeding very stringent requirements. “Through the quoting stage, we spent a lot of energy defining the right product for the application. Our commitment to serving the customer was key to R-Plus being awarded this contract,” says David Zell, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of R-Plus & Imperial Manufacturing. “Fitting thousands of components in a ship from a multitude of suppliers is a daunting task and our customer knew that we would be up for the challenge”.

Each ship is equipped with six 16’ wide by 8’ high stainless steel bi-part doors, electronically controlled and NEMA 4X rated. The development of the door started in 2003, based on our rugged ICC-3 door line. Many components have been sized up for the product to accept ship acceleration forces of up to 0.4G, 30 degree roll and 15 degree static heel. Functions were added, like a cane-bolt system with operator interlock allowing to keep the door leaf solidly anchored while the ship is in transit. A custom Programmable Logic Computer program was specifically written for the application.

To date, all 54 doors have been delivered on schedule. Three ships have already been commissioned and R-Plus actively participated in the final stages of the installation and testing for each ship. “Working on the shipyard has been a real interesting experience,” says Bart Maslowski, Production Manager and dedicated onsite engineer. “The shipyard crew has never installed this type of doors before. It took working very closely with the crew to train them and make sure that all was done right. We have forged a strong relationship and its always a pleasure to go back to the yard to commission another ship.”

“We learned a lot through the process and delighted our customer in our ability to promptly answer their questions and fulfill their needs. I once received a service call in the morning and found myself on the shipyard in the evening. When a problem arises, they know that they can count on us to fix it. This is one less thing that they have to worry about,” says Olivier Beillard, Project Manager. “I have no doubt that we will do more business together and that R-Plus Doors will be their #1 choice.”

R-Plus Doors is expecting to be awarded contracts for up to five more ships, to be delivered to the Navy through 2010.

With the strength of its experience with this high end application, R-Plus Doors is currently developing its fifth generation PLC controlled door. It promises to be extremely reliable and very easy to install. Stay tuned!

BASF Chemical Containment Chamber

2007-10-30T18:16:00Z

Since the chemicals being stored were flammable, the chamber needed to meet Class 1, Division 1 regulations and needed to be FM approved. It also needed to have blow out panels in the event of an accidental explosion. They also needed (1) emergency egress door and (2) 10’ x 10’ doors to allow forklift traffic, but they could not be sliding doors due to the potential to cause a spark. The required interior dimensions of the chamber were 31’ x 37’ 6” x 13’ at the lowest point, and the slab needed to have a slope for drainage of any spilled chemicals.

Imperial was able to meet all of the above criteria with FM-approved high density urethane framed panels and double swing doors. Recirculated glycol was used in lieu of heat cables. The chamber was self supporting, utilizing internal posts and beams and girt support for the walls. A concrete curb was poured for the walls to sit on due to the site not being level. Imperial also provided the roofing and weatherproofing materials, and handled the structural engineering utilizing Miller Consulting Engineers, and the installation utilizing Pitman Enterprises.

BASF and Luwa Environmental Specialties are very pleased with the completed chamber.

Spring Training And Spring Renovations At Dodger Stadium

2007-10-30T17:54:00Z

Rob Perry, the project manager for Raygal; George Perry, the principal foodservice consultant with Ricca Newmark Design in Greenwood Village, CO; and Rob Loucks from Imperial Mfg in Portland, OR, all took to the task in late December 2006.

The stadium’s unique design, the stringent codes and seismic requirements for Los Angeles, along with 1,600 lbs of beer pump equipment and condensing units that were to sit atop each of the coolers and the time constraints, all played significant roles in the challenges that lay head for this team of professionals. They began working very closely with the architect, HKS Architects, Inc in Dallas, TX and Miller Consulting Engineers in Portland, OR.

The on site date was nearing and changes were still being made due to last minute field dimensions that were given. The design team at Imperial really stepped up to the plate, pardon the pun, when changes came in the day before this project was scheduled to be released to the production floor. They were able to make these last minute changes, clear them with the engineers and still release the job to production the next day.

Imperial contracted WW Commercial Refrigeration in Los Angeles to install the coolers and the Heatcraft refrigeration equipment and they did an outstanding job. This was not an easy install as they were only allowed to work in certain sections of the stadium at specific times.

Currently, Ricca Newmark is working on Phase IV of the renovations which includes new walk-in coolers and freezers for the field level concessions due to install before the Ball season kicks off.

Yellowstone National Park Gets A Face Lift Behind The Scenes.

2007-10-30T17:44:01Z

Old Faithful Lodge was in need of replacing 3 storage rooms and remodeling one storage freezer; while Canyon Village required the replacement of a storage freezer and the addition of a cooler-freezer combo in the employee dining area. Kyle Hawkins from Bargreen-Ellingson in Tacoma, WA and Todd Sillars from Imperial Manufacturing took to the site in December 06 to evaluate the site for phase 1 thru 3 at the three main camps.

Imperial Manufacturing shipped the boxes and refrigeration to the site in March to their installers from Pitman Enterprises and Bargreen’s refrigeration installer Tim’s Mechanical Plus. The project required approximately 4 weeks to complete and cost was approximately $250,000 for Phase 1.

Still to come is phase 2 and 3 for the ‘08 and ‘09 season. This will include replacing the remaining boxes at Canyon Lodge, replacing the remaining boxes at Mammoth Lodge and adding two new boxes (one interior and one exterior) keeping in mind this is Yellowstone National Park. Snow load is not a problem for Imperial Manufacturing.