Vandewiele (Marke)
Collaboration
“One of the first projects we partnered with Altebra on was the installation of a sprinkler system in a production hall and a new pallet warehouse,” says Dries Wyffels, the firm’s prevention advisor and environmental coordinator. “What’s more, the work had to be done within a relatively short space of time, because we cannot take our machines offline for too long to install a sprinkler system. So in consultation with Altebra we decided to work in the production spaces during the collective summer leave. That meant production would not be disrupted by the installation work. Most of the work in the new pallet warehouse, a high-rise for around 8000 pallets, was done on the weekends.”
Fast and flexible
Vandewiele values the flexibility and speed with which Altebra has installed kilometre after kilometre of sprinkler tubes. “The planning and preparation were always top drawer and the work on site advanced at a good tempo. They do everything they can to limit the impact on our activities. And they can respond rapidly if the fire protection system has to be adjusted, due to a change in a warehouse or hall, say. So we can be sure our systems are working efficiently at all times.”
Extra protection
And talking of efficiency: “We’ve had pre-action sprinklers installed in the new pallet warehouse. That extra protection is because we store a lot of valuable machine parts here and we need to be sure the sprinkler heads won’t be activated accidently due to damage or a false alarm. One head delivers 100 litres of water per second in no time, so it’s vital to be able to react quickly to protect our stocks.
Altebra has now installed sprinkler systems in four halls and in the Vandewiele Experience Center, a showroom for various machines spanning almost 7000m². As well as installing sprinklers, Altebra also shares its fire compartmentation expertise with Vandewiele. Fire protection first – at Vandewiele too!
