b'THINKING INSIDE THE BOXSteel curing structure at Calgarys Composting Facility By James PetersWHEN THE CITYof Calgary was looking for expertise on pre-engineered buildings for its new compost facility, the projects general contractor (GC) included Behlen Industries, a manufacturer of steel building systems, on the tendering list. Behlens buildings are expand-able, energy efficient and straightforward to constructand they also retain architectural flexibility. Everything, in fact, the city facility was looking for. The company was first approached by the joint venture consortium of Nason Contracting Group(asubsidiaryofBirdConstruction) andMapleReindersinJune2015.Thetwo companiestogetherbecamethegeneral contractorforthecompostingfacility,and Behlen and the GC solidified the plans over the next several months. Steel was first shipped to the site from the Behlen plant in Brandon, Manitoba in late 2015, and the building was virtuallycompletedbyAugust2017.Asit now stands, the Calgary Composting Facility remains the largest of its kind in Canada. Behlens Vice-President of Engineering and Innovation, Pat Versavel, says, Im sure Behlen was originally included in the tendering process because of our previous involvement in the City of Hamiltons compost facility. These kinds of plants dont typically use pre-engineered steel buildings, but we were involved in a successful project in Hamilton, and that was obviously to our favour.Behlen manufactures two distinct building systemsrigid frame and framelessand the twohavetheirseparateadvantages.Which system is going to be the most suitable and cost-effective for the client depends on a host ADVANTAGE STEEL SUMMER 2020|33'