Hobson Motzer

Because of an extremely tight site, this building addition project presented challenges both in site layout and in building design. Hobson Motzer is a manufacturer of precision stamped metal products for the medical device and auto industries. This project involved adding a 25,400 SF. addition onto an existing 43,500 SF. manufacturing facility to accommodate several new production lines built around the introduction of and larger stamping machines.

 

There were several factors that led to the Site Planning issues. The new addition increased the parking count required by zoning. The larger building footprint as well as the requirement for expanding the existing parking increased the required lot coverage significantly. Due to the fact that this was the fourth time that this company had added on to their facility, buildable land was at a premium. To add an additional layer of complexity to the mix, the restrictions on the existing site also included wetland impacts. Some creative Site Planning and a change in the building geometry were required to solve these challenges. 

 

These site restrictions limited the floor area in the addition to the point where there was not space available for storage. To solve this problem, a storage mezzanine was included above the restroom core with a concrete deck and a removable railing system to allow forklifts access. This restroom core and the washing bays were located close to the break room. This minimized the travel time for employees before and after their lunch breaks and increased productivity and workflow.

 

The addition was designed to provide Hobson Motzer with the flexibility to relocate the presses and other equipment throughout the state-of-the-art facility. Electrical service to the stamping machines is provided by a system of overhead bus bars to ensure the highest level of flexibility. The new stamping machines ranged in capacity from 30- ton to 250-ton units. Most of the larger ton presses were mounted on specially engineered isolation pads to minimize the impact on surrounding equipment. Along with the requirement for flexibility in the layout, Hobson Motzer also had a requirement to move heavy materials throughout the factory floor. 

 

To meet this requirement, the structural engineer incorporated an overhead crane system integral to the building structure to allow heavy materials to move comfortably throughout the factory floor. Working closely with the Hobson Motzer team to gain an understanding of their operations and their goals for this building addition were key elements in the successful outcome of this project.