A worker guides in a 47,000-pound storage bin as it is placed on the production line of the Cancarb facility in Medicine Hat on Wednesday morning. The $40-million expansion at the plant, which produces the rubber component carbon black, is on schedule to be completed this fall, the company has told the News. See a video of the lift on the News' website (www.medicinehatnews.com).--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
One of the last and largest puzzle pieces of the year-long expansion of Cancarb in Medicine Hat was lifted into place Wednesday – all 24 tonnes of it.
Crews and heavy cranes placed a new storage bin five storeys high in the carbon black maker’s production line at about 10 a.m., then proceeded to perch a control and equipment shack atop that later in the day.
The 47,100-pound bin was fabricated in Bow Island by KamberFab and delivered to Medicine Hat in a wide-load convoy last week.
The general contractor is Hranco Industries of Medicine Hat. Local firm Niwa Crane provides general lift support, though Wednesday’s hoist required industry leader Mammoet Crane to bring in a specialized crane with a 210-foot boom height for the particular job.
Project manager for Cancarb Jeremy Chisholm said placing a completed unit in one go is much easier than building it piece by piece atop five storeys of scaffolding.
He also reported that there have been no lost-time accidents on the work that began in the late summer of 2019, and the project is on schedule and on budget.
“COVID has presented challenges, but we’ve been able to adjust,” he told the News.
The $40-million expansion was announced in late 2018 and will boost production of the rubber additive at the local facility by about 20 per cent when it goes online by the end of the year. It will also increase the amount of power produced by a heat recovery, which is sold by contract to the City of Medicine Hat utility company.
About 50 contractors were on site this week as the project winds to its expected completion in October.
The company has previously stated that the expansion, which also includes adding warehouse space, will result in nine new permanent positions.
