Construction of a modern pigsty in Bila Tserkva for the Pig Breeding Centre (2015). The use of wooden trusses for the construction of the roof frame.
In 2012-2013, SCC built the first nucleus facilities, namely the queen cell and piglet rearing rooms, using materials and equipment imported from Germany by Gillig + Keller GmbH, a company specialising in the construction of modern energy-efficient agricultural buildings. At the time of the construction of the first two facilities, the decision to purchase and transport all the necessary materials from Germany was economically viable, but by the time the third production building was erected in 2014, following a significant increase in the euro against the hryvnia and higher customs duties, the purchase of German products began to require more investment, so the management of SCC decided to find an alternative for some of the construction materials on the domestic market. It is currently impossible to replace absolutely everything, primarily because many analogues simply do not exist on the Ukrainian market, or they are significantly inferior to German materials. For example, an internal energy wall with a unique patented technology for passive heating of incoming air was purchased in Germany, despite its high cost. This wall design allows the pigsty to maintain a stable and sufficient air temperature in winter without additional heating. The fresh air supply and exhaust air removal do not stop, so the room will have an ideal microclimate at no extra cost. This means that investments in energy efficiency will quickly pay off.
However, one of the main structures of the building’s frame was still replaced. For the roof, structures from a Ukrainian manufacturer were used.
According to the German design, the roof frame was to consist of wooden trusses with connections to galvanised steel toothed plates. Strict design requirements from the technology supplier Gillig + Keller GmbH made it difficult to find a suitable contractor.
The requirements for the roof structure were as follows:
– to cover a 17-metre span without using intermediate supports;
– the trusses must be wooden with the elements connected by galvanised steel tooth plates;
– the structure must comply with building regulations, i.e. withstand all types of loads envisaged in the project.
After lengthy comparisons and checks, Pragma, a company specialising in the design and manufacture of wooden building structures on metal toothed plates, was selected.
Pragma’s engineers developed and adapted the design of the trusses with a total dimension of 17 m to the German analogue, agreed on the characteristics of the materials to be used, and launched the production process.
It is worth noting that the 17-metre-long truss exceeds the permissible transport dimensions, which leads to additional time and money spent on obtaining permits and cargo escort. To avoid unnecessary costs, the customer offered to manufacture the structures near the construction site and provided Pragma’s workers with a factory workshop for use, where the equipment and materials were transported. Thus, transport costs were reduced by 15 times.
The service of transporting equipment and materials, as well as manufacturing long-span wooden structures at the customer’s site, is unique in the Ukrainian market.
The installation of the trusses was carried out by the construction department of “SGS” LLC.
In general, the development and adaptation of the project, fabrication of structures and their installation were completed on time, namely within 45 days.
Why the customer chose a technology using wooden structures
The Pig Breeding Centre has chosen a reliable German construction technology from Gillig + KellerGmbH, which has been specialising in the construction of livestock buildings throughout Germany for 30 years. Everyone knows how rationally the Germans run their farms and have a pragmatic approach to technology.
In buildings designed by Gillig + Keller GmbH, every element and material is thought out and justified.
Arguments in favour of wooden structures:
– Wood does not corrode. The biggest problem in pigsties and other livestock buildings is ammonia fumes, which lead to corrosion and damage to structures. That is why the support structures are made of wood (for roofs and walls) and hot-dip galvanised metal (for columns);
– Wood retains the correct geometry. Wood, unlike metal, has a low coefficient of linear expansion, so when the ambient temperature changes, all enclosing structures fixed to the wooden frame will remain in place, and there will be no gaps or deformations.
– Wood preserves the microclimate. Wood has a low thermal conductivity, so in the event of a sharp change in temperature, it does not form condensation in the same amount as on metal, and given the joint work with other materials, there is no unpredictable wetting.
– Wood is easy to work with. Due to the light weight of the long-span structure, a crane with a low lifting capacity can be used during installation. Installation is also significantly faster.
– Can be built in winter. Since wooden structures do not require special temperature conditions during installation, they can be installed in freezing temperatures. Of course, the foundation and outlets for fixing the structures must be ready for this.
– Spans range from 8 to 30 m. Professional design allows you to create reliable structures for spans up to 30 m without intermediate supports.