All Natural Kitchens
Project Overview:
All Natural Kitchen, a company specialising in food production, required more office space for both their administrative and production staff. Their current facility was overcrowded, with a portable building taking up valuable space needed for production. To avoid the costly and disruptive process of relocating to a new facility, they sought a solution that would allow them to expand within their existing building. Heighton was brought in to evaluate their options and provide a solution that would support the company’s continued growth.
The Challenge:
The main challenge was the lack of available space within the current production facility. All Natural Kitchen’s operations were already squeezed, and adding more office space seemed impossible without reducing production capacity. The production process could not be interrupted, as they produce critical food products that need to be dispatched daily. Any construction work had to be carefully managed to ensure production continued smoothly without delays or disruption.
Fixing the Constraints:
Heighton conducted a thorough feasibility audit of the site and determined that with a smart structural design, the company could remain in their current facility and continue to grow without moving. The key solution was to build a mezzanine structure that would create new office space without affecting the existing production footprint. The mezzanine extension was designed to extend over the existing QA (Quality Assurance) and washdown areas, with specially designed columns that didn’t interfere with the facility’s current layout. This allowed the company to free up space by demolishing the old site office and relocating staff to the new office space on the mezzanine’s first floor.
Implementation:
The implementation of this project was particularly challenging due to the need for precision and minimal disruption. Heighton had to carry out construction without interfering with the company's ongoing production. Since the product being made was a critical food product, it had to be dispatched daily without delays. This required careful planning and coordination to ensure that production continued smoothly while the new mezzanine office space was being built. Despite these challenges, Heighton completed the work efficiently, ensuring the project stayed on track and production was uninterrupted.
Results:
The project provided All Natural Kitchen with much-needed additional office and meeting space. By creating this structural mezzanine extension, the company was able to continue growing without needing to move to a new location. This solution has set them up for further expansion while maximising the use of their existing facility.
