More than 150 people evacuated Meridian Magnesium’s Eaton Rapids facility only minutes before an explosion left smoldering devastation in the heart of the facility.
With everyone safe, Walbridge was called in hours later, the facility still smoldering.
Walbridge’s quick-moving, effective experience was paramount as the team:
- Mobilized in 25 minutes
- Completed a detailed safety assessment
- Began drone/laser scanning
Along with the safety and integrity of the building, the team was tasked with the retrieval of 19 dies used by major automotive companies which were in the badly damaged facility.
In one case, a dye was moved by the customer and suppliers across the country in only 30 hours – typically a 10-day process for the 87,000-pound item.
Following the retrieval of all the dies, Walbridge worked with Meridian Magnesium Products of America to restore the factory, including re-roofing, reconstructing and interior work.
Within 13 days, the facility ran again while our teams continued to repair and update the space.
Included in the project was:
- 175,000 SF Manufacturing Space (Die-Cast Operations) – Re-roof all / Rebuild 55,000 SF, including complete mechanical room rebuild
- 25,000 SF Office Space – Re-roof and interior rebuild/cleanup
- 15,000 SF “Remelt” – Re-roof and minor interior work
Also included was manufacturing equipment removal and installations and assisting operations during a conveyor system outage while replacing damaged sections.