CASE STUDY

How Chamco Provided A New Fire Pump Package to a BC Sawmill While Maintaining the Existing Piping & Sump

Project Background

Chamco air compressor package in a trailer house

In 2020, a BC sawmill was looking to add a kiln on-site. They had an existing fire pump package to provide on-site fire protection, but the package was old, undersized, and could not meet their new fire safety requirements.

The project manager at the sawmill was looking for a solution that would provide the site with adequate fire protection to protect critical assets in the event of a fire.

The Challenge

The customer approached Chamco to replace the fire pump package while reusing the underground piping, sump, and connections to the pond beside it. They also wanted to continue using their existing motor control room. This presented several layers of difficulty that Chamco had to overcome for the project.

Space Restrictions

When the customer initially contacted Chamco for a solution, they were hoping to add an additional pump to their existing fire pump package. However, space was tight, and that option wasn’t feasible. While many of Chamco’s competitors might have suggested ripping out the existing infrastructure, Chamco knew that option would not satisfy the customer. Instead, Chamco made the decision to work within the existing footprint to design and build the new fire pump package, even though this solution created additional challenges.
Existing Underground Piping & Sump

Rightfully, the customer wanted to avoid replacing their underground piping and sump due to the significant costs associated with this project. This meant that Chamco’s fire pump package would need to match up with the existing underground piping and sump perfectly, which added additional complexities to the project.
Existing MCC Building

Beside the original fire pump package was an existing stick-built E-house that the customer wanted to continue to use with the new fire pump package. Although this wasn’t necessarily a challenge for Chamco, it was another consideration to take into account when designing the package. It meant more calculations were required to ensure that the doors of the package would line up with the doors of the MCC building.

Why the Sawmill Chose Chamco

Prior to this project, Chamco had already built a longstanding relationship with this customer. One of Chamco’s territory managers in BC had been working with the customer for 20 years and had already supplied them with two air compressors for the same site 15 years ago. The customer knew that Chamco was capable of handling complex packaging projects and knew that Chamco would be the perfect partner to take on their complicated fire pump system requirements.

The Solution

Although this customer’s unique requirements made the project more challenging, Chamco was pleased to work within the constraints of the project to deliver a solution that not only provided reliable fire protection but also saved the customer thousands of dollars.

Turnkey Solution

Prior to working with Chamco, the customer completed a cost analysis for adding an additional pump to their existing package and doing modifications to the building but they determined that the project was too cumbersome and costly. Chamco was able to offer an alternative turnkey solution that required minimal demolition while maintaining the existing water intake, piping, and sump.
Custom Design

In order to ensure that the new fire pump package would fit within the limited space and align with the existing discharge piping, sump, intake, and MCC room, Chamco had to custom design a package based on critical alignment measurements. A Chamco production foreman visited the site to complete all of the measurements before the project team drew the package to ensure everything fit like a puzzle.
Ongoing Service & Support

Prior to the fire pump package project, Chamco had supported the sawmill for many years with ongoing service and on-site support. Chamco will continue to support this customer with their new package and ensure their system remains in good working condition to provide reliable fire protection for years to come.

The Results

The customer was very pleased with their fire pump package and had a great experience working with Chamco’s team to design and build their system. The project manager enjoyed working with a project team that could run the project independently after the proposals were done. In fact, the customer had such a great experience that they have decided to work with Chamco again for an air compressor package for one of their other sites.

“The BC Langley branch has been supporting this mill for a long time and does a lot of service and support on-site, which makes us stand out. Every time we’re there, the customer is happy and we’re always there to back them up whenever they have an issue.”

Steve Sims, Manager, Proposals and Applications

Learn more about how Chamco can help with your project.

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