AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is delighted to announce the start of the piling work for Phase 1 of the new Integrated Circuit (IC) Substrates manufacturing facility in Kulim Hi-Technology Park, Kedah, on 1 November 2021.
“For a land area spanning 56 acres, in Phase 1 about 15,600 piles are needed for the foundational work to support the construction of 2 production, 1 administration, and 16 annex buildings”, says Markus Sterba, Technical Project Director of AT&S Malaysia. The piling work is projected to complete in March 2022, the building construction starts parallel.
Given that the manufacturing site at Kulim High Tech Park has only been finalized by AT&S in June 2021, and that the roof closing for Phase 1 is projected in October 2022 for the completion of the key buildings in March 2023 so that machines and equipment can be moved in, Sterba acknowledges that “with the ambitious timelines, this project requires the full support and high level of commitment of key stakeholders to successfully bring it into fruition. Hence, the progress of construction will be closely monitored against its timeline for delivery. However, this can only happen with the efficient approving process from all related authorities for various planning permission and permits that are crucial for the early commencement of the piling work on site.”
Richard Wood of Exyte, the Project Manager for the construction of AT&S Malaysian campus, takes pride in the award of the project: “This is one of many projects that we are appointed by AT&S. In the past, we managed to complete the construction of AT&S’s plants in Chongqing in time for its production. We are truly honored for the trust that AT&S places in us again and we commit to deliver the Malaysian project promptly for AT&S.” A crew of 90 workers at the maximum is required to accelerate the work progress by manning the 24 piling rigs and 4 cranes at the most at the site. To prevent the impact of loud noise produced during piling, AT&S is stipulated by the Local Building Council to only implement a single day shift program or extended day shift for the piling work.
“We are using predominantly piling rigs with a hammer rating of 5 tonnes to 11 tonnes to drive piles of precast square reinforced concrete, into the ground”, explains Richard Wood some technical details. “The depth of piles in average reaches about 20 meters.” The piles are fundamentally needed to provide the essential support and help to transfer the massive load of the building to the ground so that the foundation and the superstructure can be safely constructed above.