Considering that Amazon’s mission is “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company,” it makes sense that they have more than 100 fulfillment centers located across the United States. Being able to open these facilities quickly so they can start shipping products to their customers is high priority.
In June 2017, Amazon announced a plan for such a center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The project site was located on the edges of the Great Salt Lake, in an area where soil conditions were less than desirable. The site had to be built up by three feet to support the building and to get it above the water levels. As expected on such a high-profile project, several contractors were bidding to do the work on the 855,000-square-foot facility. Many estimated it would take 40 days to complete the building pad alone.
Layton Construction, a national construction services firm, worked with CRH Americas Materials to come up with a unique solution that would get the pad done in just 18 days and cut Amazon’s schedule down by weeks.
By leveraging CRH’s network of regional businesses, the team brought in trucks and equipment from outside the project area, and exceeded their own estimates by finishing the building pad in just 12 days.
“CRH was uniquely positioned to take on such a task,” said Doug Archibald, Director of Business Development for the Building Solutions team at CRH. “Because of our access to resources throughout the region, we were able to get trucks, drivers and equipment to meet the demands of the tight project schedule, while maintaining the close personal relationship and management that our customers desire.”
Over 324,000 tons of dirt were brought in to prepare the site – ahead of schedule – for stormwater utilities and the tilt-up concrete work.
In addition to the pad sitework, CRH businesses provided the following products and services:
- CRH Americas Materials
- Aggregates and asphalt (Staker Parson Materials and Construction)
- Ready mixed concrete for tilt-up walls, footings, foundations, and slabs (Jack B Parson Ready Mix)
- Landscape aggregates (Staker Parson Materials and Construction)
- Earthwork and utilities (Reynolds Excavation, Demolition and Utilities)
- Oldcastle Infrastructure
- Precast stormwater boxes and pipes; electrical vaults
The new fulfillment center opened in September 2018 after 12 months of construction and employs nearly 1,500 workers.
