Blue Rock builds LEED facility for Kimberly-Clark

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Last year, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a global health and hygiene company with operations in 35 countries, contracted Blue Rock Construction under DP Partners to deliver a 600,000-square-foot distribution center in Logan Township, N.J.

This year, according to project engineer Paul Nehrbas, Blue Rock delivered "a home run project" by finishing nearly three weeks early, coming in under budget and also producing a LEED-certified building.

"As project manager for this joint venture, I can say that Blue Rock Construction has exceeded all of our expectations," said Jason J. Ferry of Kimberly-Clark. "They have shown that their experience in this region and attention to detail can provide a truly stellar facility."

The success, said Nehrbas, was the collaboration from all parties involved, including Frank DeMas, Blue Rock's site supervisor, and Blue Rock vice president Jim Adams, who oversaw the project.

"The schedule was intense," said Nehrbas. "We finished early because of the multiple coordination efforts from the entire team. From Blue Rock, Kimberly-Clark, DP Partners, TranSystems [the architect], engineers and the subcontractors - everyone was on the same page."

Back in November, Blue Rock initiated its precast concrete wall panel and structural steel fabrication as well as infrastructure and utility installation. On July 21, nearly three weeks before its targeted completion date of Aug. 10, the build-to-suit distribution center was turned over to Kimberly-Clark.

"We were able to sequence and coordinate this building so efficiently that everyone could run in full motion and at full speed," said Nehrbas. "We focused on the proper sequencing, constant coordination and sharing relevant project information with all the different parties to maintain the project momentum."

Before starting the project, Blue Rock ensured that all firms involved understood the requirements relating to environmentally-conscious, sustainable building practices to avoid delays or mistakes during the construction phase. As part of the sustainability process for this Kimberly-Clark facility, all concrete for the floor slab dock pads and foundation was provided by an on-site batch plant.

"We brought in the raw materials and mixed everything on site," said Nehrbas. "This way we could pour concrete around the clock, which we had to do because of the rainy days in June. Basically, we had to pour concrete whenever we could to meet the tight schedule."

Another major sustainable component Blue Rock implemented included recycling all wood, concrete and steel on this project.

"That's just a good building practice in general," said Nehrbas. "We diverted over 90 percent of our construction waste materials from landfills."

Blue Rock expects to achieve a LEED Silver certification. By constructing LEED certified buildings, Blue Rock supplies clients with the tools they need to lower their carbon footprint and reduce the ever-increasing cost of electricity and fuel by improving energy efficiency.

"Blue Rock, in conjunction with the developers, has shown a great commitment to sustainability for this site by adhering to all of the customer specific environmental improvements and presenting us with additional recommendations," said Ferry.

For DP Partners, the Kimberly-Clark facility represents it third venture with Blue Rock. Since 2005, the two companies have collaborated on three warehouse distribution centers totaling 1.3 million square feet.

"We have found Blue Rock to be diligent, conscientious, hardworking and thoughtful," said James V. Mascaro, Eastern Region Development Manager for DP Partners. "They consistently are able to plan the sequence of work by thinking ahead, thereby saving our company significant time and effort."

Since 1995, Blue Rock has provided professional construction-related services for over 16 million square feet of commercial and industrial property located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C.