Revisiting The Year That Was

January 28, 20230

There’s no denying that 2022 came in with a great deal of uncertainty. While most of the business world appeared to be coming back from the paralysis of Covid 19, there were no guarantees, particularly in the world of construction. But for ACI, 2022 turned out to be a banner year, one that came to a close as our efforts were coming to a close on the largest project in company history (VCU’s Children’s Hospital Tower), all while expanding our offices in Roanoke and Hampton Roads, extending our footprint into North Carolina, and launching a brand-new national division devoted to modular construction— Atlantic Modular.

Of course, those weren’t ACI’s only EXTRAORDINARY accomplishments from last year. Read on to learn more about some other 2022 projects of note!

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VCU Children's Hospital Tower

Getting to TCO by Year End

ACI was initially awarded only the sheetmetal portion of this massive hospital addition (14M out of 65M total) in Q1 of 2020. However, later in that year, ACI was asked to take on the entirety of the project: plumbing, mechanical, and med gas, as well as providing all air handlers, med gas compressors, pumps, and heat exchangers, as well as VDC for all the mechanical / plumbing trades.

So why is a project we began in 2020 on our 2022 Year in Review? Because even though we were brought in late in the project cycle, we were able to execute on the largest single project in ACI history and meet the customer’s deadline of having the facility ready for occupancy by 12/31/22, all within a working hospital that saw patients Monday through Saturday, 12 hours a day.

About this Project

Total length of pipe utilized:
Nearly 20,000 feet ( cast iron, steel, copper, etc)
(Equates to 37 miles of pipe)

Pounds of duct throughout:
58,000 lbs
(This is 291 tons of duct – or roughly 3 adult blue whales!)

2025 tons of cooling capacity

335000 CFM of Main AHUs (5AHUs)

6075 GPM of condenser water

3030 GPM of chilled water

39,000 steam lbs/hr

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Number of Man-hours:
Total Hours: 583,788
Man Days: 72, 974
Man Weeks: 14, 595
Man Months: 3,649
Man Years: 304

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Dominion Energy: Innsbrook Technology Center

Renovation and Lab Addition

ACI’s work began on Dominion Energy’s Innsbrook Technology center in Glen Allen, Virginia in October of 2021; the TCO for the building was obtained in November of 2022.

The facility is comprised of a large two-story building with office spaces and a new laboratory space. ACI’s 3.1 M scope of work consisted of plumbing and mechanical, both above and below ground.

About this Project

This 420,000-SF phased renovation and new laboratory took place while the ITC was occupied and running 24/7, conducting critical operations. Among the many contributions ACI made to the project were:

2 Roof-Top Air Handling Units (AHUs)

6 Computer Room Air Conditioning Units (CRACs)

A chilled water piping system fed the AHUs and CRAC units and was tied-in to the existing building’s systems.

The underground sanitary pipe from the new building was tied-in to the existing building at the basement level.

 

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AdvanSix (Hopewell): Kellogg HTS Vessel Replacement

Fall 2022 Turnaround

ACI coordinated work with ten subcontractors throughout the duration of AdvanSix’s Fall Turnaround. This included working with: electrical, insulation, scaffolding, asbestos abatement, cranes, hydro-cutting, pre-heat & post weld heat treating (PWHT), a rigging engineer, a rock base for crane pad, and NDE of piping welds.

Working 2-12 hour shifts for 15 straight days during the turnaround, with roughly 16 people per shift, our ability to pre-plan and follow a detailed schedule allowed ACI to complete our work scope 2 days ahead of the 17-day planned outage schedule, saving valuable time for our customer.

About this Project

In addition to being the project with what may be the largest lift ever undertaken by ACI Richmond (355,000 pounds, fully loaded with catalyst, platforms, and piping) there was much more to the 4.5 M Kellogg HTS Vessel Replacement project, as it involved removing the existing vessel as well as the installation of the new. Here are just a few of the project details:

16,000 man hours, split between shop and field.

A “hydro-cutting” subcontractor was utilized to cut the existing HTS vessel and separate it from the LTS vessel below.

ACI designed a rigging plan for lifting the original 3¼ thick vessel (from 1965).

The existing HTS vessel was rigged and removed by ACI using a 650 Ton crane (MLC-650).

ACI offloaded & up righted the new HTS vessel on site prior to the outage and then set the new HTS vessel during the outage.

 

 

 

 

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Mondelez International Bakery Line Expansion

Oreo Production Comes to Richmond

ACI was the mechanical & equipment setting contractor for the Modelez Inernational 69,000 SF building expansion in Henrico County, Virginia.  Dedicated to a new Oreo Production Line, the final contract value for this sweet project was 5.3 M.

About this Project

Below are some of the installations and fabrications carried out by ACI.

 

INSTALLATIONS:

  • Chiller and 3 dehumidifiers on roof (10,000lb, 5,000lbs, 3,000lbs)
  • 600+ feet of Houdijk conveyor
  • 600+ feet of Imaforni cooling conveyor
  • IJ White Spiral cooling conveyor and insulated panel walls
  • ¾ of mile belt on IJ White spiral cooling conveyor
  • 100m long oven, and belt on second floor of existing building
  • 2800+ feet of conveyor belts


FABRICATIONS & INSTALLATIONS:

  • Two platforms— a combined 28 tons of steel
  • Steel framing for conveyors—25 tons of steel
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VCU Main 3 Interventional Radiology

Phased Renovation at an Active Urban Hospital

ACI was the prime Mechanical and Plumbing Trades Contractor for this 11M phased renovation of an active hospital in downtown Richmond. In order to meet project milestones and deliverables, ACI maintained multiple shifts and alternated between day and night shifts. This approach also greatly aided in keeping disruption within the active hospital to a minimum.

About this Project

The primary scope comprised the replacement of the HVAC system, including installation of a new 55,000 CFM knocked-down custom air handler on the 4th-floor mechanical room, VRF systems, isolation rooms, ventilation and general exhaust systems, plumbing, medical gas, four CLEANSUITE ceiling systems, and CRAC Unit installation for IT and electrical equipment rooms.

This project necessitated the installation of a temporary 45,000 CFM temporary air handler with duct and chilled water system to keep the third floor active during the demolition of the existing custom air handling unit.

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Number of Total Man-hours: 107,453

184 tons Airconditioning system

136,620 pounds of ductwork 

15 fan arrays on the permanent air handler – supply and return

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Atlantic Constructors, Inc. is a full service industrial and commercial contractor headquartered in Richmond, VA (Chesterfield County) with satellite offices in Newport News, Roanoke, and Hampton Roads, VA. Our highly skilled team of over 700 employees serves customers throughout the mid-Atlantic region. For more information, visit www.acibuilds.com.