Fiberglass Electrical Building Protects From Dry Fertilizer Dust Case Study
Corrosive Environment Requires Reliable Protection for Electrical Equipment
Shelter Works recently worked with Growmark, a prominent agricultural cooperative, to provide a durable, cost-effective solution to protect critical electrical and control systems inside their St. Louis warehouse. The facility recently upgraded its motor control center (MCC), which includes electrical control panels, for its material handling systems.
Growmark is a cooperative that provides a wide range of services and products to agricultural cooperatives, retailers, and customers throughout the United States and Canada. In St. Louis, Growmark's facility receives bulk dry fertilizer by barge and stores it in their warehouse for distribution to industry customers through truck loading systems. Growmark's material handling equipment includes conveyors managed by the new control panels that direct the flow of products through its system.
The transfer of the fertilizer dust is messy and leaves dust afloat in the air for hours afterward. Growmark needed a durable, environmentally resilient freestanding enclosure to protect the motor controls and sensitive IT networking equipment from the hazards in the warehouse. Due to the nature of the fertilizer dust, the enclosure had to be either fiberglass or prefabricated concrete. After visiting the Shelter Works facility and weighing their options, Growmark decided to use a 12' x 14' x 8' Shelter Works custom fiberglass shelter to safeguard their investment.
Design Considerations
When selecting a solution for the St. Louis facility, Growmark's Facility Engineer, Jeff Hall, emphasized several key design considerations for the fiberglass enclosure:
- Environmental Resistance: The corrosive properties of the fertilizer were a significant factor in material selection. Fiberglass provides superior resistance to degradation caused by exposure to fertilizer dust, ensuring a longer lifespan and less overall maintenance.
- Strength and Durability: The shelter required additional reinforcement for mounting heavy equipment in certain areas. One of the walls contains an oriented strand board (OSB) reinforcement throughout, while a second wall has a designated 4' x 8' section.
- Flexibility for Future Expansion: The shelter's design includes six bulkheads, areas of fiberglass only, for infield wall penetrations to accommodate current and future electrical conduits. The bulkheads ensure that the shelter can meet Growmark's evolving operational needs without fear of voiding the enclosure's 25 year warranty.
- Ease of Installation: Growmark needed a shelter that would be easy to install and fit within the limited space available in their warehouse. Shelter Works' offsite manufacturing and assembly meant the shelter arrived at Growmark ready to drop in place.
The Benefits of Using Fiberglass
Fiberglass is lightweight and offers a unique combination of durability and corrosion resistance. Growmark wanted an easy-to-install enclosure, so the 2600 lbs. fiberglass enclosure easily met their needs. The shelter arrived onsite fully assembled and ready to move into place. Growmark used a telehandler to lift the shelter from the truck and put on special casters to roll it to its destination. They used the telehandler again to lift and place the shelter onto a pre-poured concrete pad.
The dry fertilizer dust present in the warehouse is highly corrosive, and traditional building materials like metal or wood would degrade quickly with consistent exposure. Fiberglass provides excellent corrosion resistance to dust and other caustic conditions. Shelter Works' fiberglass enclosure offers Growmark a cost-effective, long-lasting protective solution for their sensitive electrical and IT equipment.
Why Shelter Works
The successful collaboration between Shelter Works and Growmark demonstrates how custom-engineered fiberglass enclosures can meet the specific needs of industrial facilities. The St. Louis storage facility benefits from a durable, environmentally resistant solution that protects essential electrical and control equipment while withstanding the challenges posed by dry fertilizer dust. By choosing fiberglass, Growmark has invested in a long-term, low-maintenance solution flexible enough to adapt to future operational needs.