Bowmans, Whitley Bridge
A flour processing plant, which maintains the highest level of cleanliness. The client’s principal requirements were that the plant was secure against rodents and other vermin and ensure that the building is relatively ledge free to assist with cleaning.
The building was founded in an area of soft alluvial silts and sands. It was therefore necessary to enhance bearing characteristics of the ground by using vibrofloatation to facilitate the use of standard foundations.
The plant structures were fabricated from hollow section members as opposed to universal beams. All these sections were sealed to ensure there were no cavities where insects could reside. The inside of the process tower was clad with blockwork so that only the face of the supporting frame was visible. The blockwork was then rendered and painted with a “food-safe” paint. The floor plates were finished with concave kickers to aid with general cleaning. Angle roof purlins were used as opposed to proprietary Z-purlins to ensure there were no ledges and difficult-to-reach areas that could not be cleaned.
