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Martek Biosciences Corporation awarded Clark Construction Group, LLC of Tampa a construction management contract to oversee an expansion to a manufacturing plant in Kingstree, S.C. Based in Columbia, Md., Martek Biosciences Corporation is a leader in the development and commercialization of products derived from micro algae.
Martek’s current products include nutritional oils used as infant formula ingredients and nutritional supplements, as well as fluorescent algal pigments used in diagnostic and pharmaceutical research. The nutritional oils are comprised of fatty acid components, primarily docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA). Martek recently acquired certain assets of FermPro Manufacturing, L.P. in Kingstree, S.C., which produced DHA for the company. Martek is now expanding the Kingstree facility.
Clark will oversee and assist in the procurement of materials, equipment and subcontracts; schedule management, supervise construction, MEP coordination, QA/QC/inspections; retention of operation and maintenance records, and direct the safety program at the expansion.
The Phase 1 fermentor expansion consists of the installation of four 70,000-gallon fermentor tanks and support seed vessels in one building. The fermentation system is compromised of three 6000 SCFM 5KV air compressors, two 300 and one 600 ton chillers, three cell induced draft cooling tower, and one boiler - each in its own building - plus an additional support building. A Delta V Control System will control the operation of all equipment and interface between process facilities. Offsite tank fabrication and delivery, as well as the major equipment delivery, will be critical to maintaining the construction schedule.
A separate building will be constructed for the spray dryer and centrifuge process, which is the next step in the production of the DHA and ARA product. It will be built adjacent to a new warehouse. These buildings will be the tallest on the 500-acre campus at 125 feet. This process will require the support of cooling water, steam, compressed air, and an additional electrical system. A new boiler building will be constructed to support the high demand.
Two extraction buildings and another warehouse also will be constructed to house miscellaneous equipment to perform the extraction process. Refining, bleaching, and deodorizing (RBD) are the final steps in the manufacturing process to be done at the Kingstree site. The RBD building features a 68’x 125’ storage freezer for the storage of the final product in preparation for delivery of the product. Support systems for this process include a cooling tower, utility building, and pipe racks that connect all systems. Clark will manage the construction of the building along with the installation of major equipment, process piping, electrical, mechanical, controls system, and the storage freezer.
Site utilities are will be modified and the existing firewater loop will be extended to encompass the entire project. The electrical utilities to the site will be upgraded and the existing steam systems will be tied into the new systems and will back up the new process.
Lockwood Greene of Spartanburg S.C. is the design engineer for the Fermentation and RBD and Spray Drying facility. AMG of Dayton, Ohio is the design/build contractor for the DHA and ARA extraction process facility. Clark will work closely with Lockwood Greene, AMG, and Martek to expedite purchase orders and contracts to facilitate timely equipment and material deliveries for this fast track project, which is scheduled for completion in May 2004.
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