Rubb Fabric Building News

The quick erection and high-quality working environment of Rubb buildings make them a popular choice for construction projects. One recent example is this NV building supplied by Rubb Norway to NCC, one of the largest construction companies in Norway. The building is 15m wide x 21m wide x 3m sidewall, with a 4.5m x 4.5m insulated steel folding door.

This is the second NV building we have supplied in a short space of time; both are intended for use in conjunction with the new metro line that is being built between Bergen and Nesttun. This is one of the major infrastructure projects in the Bergen region in the coming years and NCC has a large part of the contract to complete this metro line.

Frode Gjøen, Sales Manager from Rubb Norway and Ian Hindmoor from Rubb UK recently attended the 2008 Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition (DIHAD) on behalf of the Rubb Group, showcasing Rubb Hall shelter and building products and their unique advantages for humanitarian aid projects.

The portability, durability and ease-of-use of Rubb shelters makes them ideal as emergency relief shelters. For over 25 years Rubb has been a major supplier of emergency shelters to international humanitarian organizations, providing necessary shelter in troubled and environmentally harsh regions such as Cambodia, Sudan and Afghanistan.

Previously the bulk of these shelters were distributed by W. Giertsen AS, a close neighbor of Rubb in Bergen, Norway. Starting in August of this year, however, Rubb will be directly selling humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross, Care and World Vision under the Rubb Hall name.

DIHAD is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai, and is officially supported by the United Nations and the UAE Red Crescent Society. This year’s event took place from the 8 - 10 April at the Dubai International Convention Centre, and featured prominent speakers from across the globe, workshops, and of course the exhibition hall.

Increasingly stringent environmental regulations and restrictions of conventional buildings make Rubb structures ideal for use in environmental remediation or storage applications. The flexibility of Rubb sewage covers is especially helpful in situations where the coverage was never originally anticipated and a new building is needed quickly.

One such location was the Cherry Hill Waste Water Treatment facility in Elkton, Maryland. The facility is located in the middle of a residential area and was build originally without tank covers. However, as the community grew, the waste water digestion tank began to emit odors that became an issue.

Cecil County, Maryland retained the services of CDM, an engineering firm, to design odor containment and handling system. Their design embodied the use of a Rubb designed membrane cover along with a sophisticated air handling system.

Rubb joined with EMH Environmental, Inc. of Glenwood, Maryland and proposed the winning bid for the tank cover portion of the project. Rubb designed, fabricated and delivered two 52′ diameter tank covers with 10′ sidewalls. The covers each have a personnel door and access for serving the waste water handling pumps.

The Cherry Hill Waste Water Treatment Facility is once again a good neighbor.

A recent article in the American Galvanizer’s Association newsletter had some powerful words to share in a comparison of “cold galvanizing” with true hot-dipped galvanization. Dr Galv, the American Galvanizer’s Association resident expert on steel and the galvanization process, strongly rebuked the idea that the application of zinc-rich paint is comparable to hot-dipped galvanization (HDG), the ONLY method that Rubb uses to protect the steel frames of our buildings.

“Cold galvanizing” is really the application of zinc-rich paint (ZRP), and as such the technique is limited to the skill of the painter and the ability to penetrate exposed areas of weld-joints. A complete coat is necessary for there to be any protective benefit, and even so the paint’s corrosion protection is limited by environmental factors and “the amount of zinc dust in the paint, coating thickness, zinc-to-zinc contact, binding material (organic or inorganic), its adhesion to the steel, and completeness of paint coating.” In other words, “your mileage may vary.”

In contrast, hot-dipped galvanization results in a metallurgical reaction between the iron in steel and molten zinc. This results in a permanent coating of layers of zinc-iron alloys and a pure-zinc protective layer. Galvanization results in a consistent coating thickness on all interior and exterior surface. The resulting steel alloy can enjoy a long lifespan with little to no maintenance (After 30+ years, most Rubb structures show no corrosion at all).

Tests reveal a shocking difference in the expected lifespan of metals coated with zinc rich paint vs. hot-dipped galvanization. In every test administered — cathodic protection, salt fog test, 2000 hour immersion test and more — hot-dipped galvanized metal significantly outperformed ZRP steel. In most cases, hot-dipped galavanized steel showed no corrosion while ZRP steel was significantly damaged!

In the real-world, this can translate into a variety of problems for building owners with products that have been cold galvanized rather than hot-dipped galvanized. For example, because zinc-rich paint can only be applied to the exterior of a surface, a steel frame may appear to be intact while it is slowly rotting from the inside! This kind of damage is nearly undetectable until it is too late to prevent it. In contrast, HDG steel is thoroughly protected inside and out to a significantly higher degree than ZRP steel.

When evaluating steel-framed products, keep a close eye on the quality of the construction. While zinc-rich paint products are often initially less expensive than hot-dipped galvanized products, the cost of inferior engineering over the life-span of a structure more than makes up for the difference. From the beginning, Rubb has been dedicated to producing products of the highest caliber, and post-production hot-dipped galvanized is just one way we add lasting value and integrity to our structures.

This past March Rubb Inc. joined a prestigous group of companies to be awarded the State of Maine’s Governor’s Award for Business Excellence, an award conferred only to 99 other companies in the past 18 years. Representatives from all departments at Rubb Inc., including Controller Joe Kane, attended the induction ceremony at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Governor Baldacci headed the ceremony and Joe Kane took the award on behalf of Rubb and gave a short speech lauding the dedication and commitment of Rubb’s talented workforce. Also inducted this year were Hannaford Supermarkets, Planet Dog, F.A. Peabody Company and Parker Lumber Company.

The new state of the art Meadowbank Sport Arena, at 70mx145m and with sidewalls of 9m, is currently the largest of its kind in Europe. Designed to bring sports facilities into the 21st century, this top regional venue situated in Magherafelt in the heart of Mid-Ulster, Northern Ireland can now provide the widest range of indoor and outdoor facilities for sports.

The arena’s indoor synthetic surface measures 137m x 70m on which a whole host of sporting activities can take place simultaneously. The space can be quickly divided by use of rebound boards which are removable at court positions — for example, it can cater for a full size hockey/soccer pitch, plus 4 mini-pitches (all 4 badminton court sized). Rubb’s sophisticated electrical netting system allows the court to be expanded so that the full space can be used. Alternatively, it can also accommodate an indoor 300m track. All sports set-ups are complemented with seating for 450 spectators on a first floor gallery located along one sidewall and one gable end.

Like all Rubb buildings, the backbone to the Meadowbank Sport Arena is a well engineered structural framing system. Post production hot dip galvanizing of all welded components provides the best corrosion protection in the industry with the truss frame construction creating the platform for the clear span and high vertical walls. The exterior has been built with a combination of brick, goosewing gray, steel clad walls (Kingspan material) and high strength architectural fabric. To maintain the external appearance of the building, a system of rainwater gutters were included along the 145m sidewalls.

The use of white semi translucent roof fabric provides a light, bright airy atmosphere to the building. All services are fully integrated with the lighting, ventilation and demudification system providing the perfect sports environment.

The arena features a traditional three level brick and block built amenities facility, comprising of changing rooms, bar, reception, simple storage and a viewing gallery located on the top floor completed by the main contractor FP McCann. The centre is also fully accessible to wheelchair users and special needs groups.

Outdoors, the new arena offers a 400m, 6 lane synthetic athletics track, facilities for associated field events, sand based soccer and gaelic/rugby pitches; outdoor Astroturf/2 tennis courts, children’s play area and pavilion along with additional car parking. All outdoor facilities are floodlit and offer a secure setting with excellent provision for spectators and visitors.

In addition to providing this impressive array of sporting activities, the arena provides Magherafelt City Council with a multi-functional building which has the flexibility to host exhibitions, regional sports competitions, national tournaments and other events.

A recent salt shed installation in Derry, New Hampshire showcases the effectiveness of Rubb buildings for covering salt in cold climates with heavy snow and wind loads.

The Town of Derry was looking for a salt shed that would support a storage capacity of 4,000 plus tons of salt. Rubb, designed, manufactured and installed a 70′(21.3m) x 116′(35.4m) BVE type building, with the important structural requirement for the facility to have adequate height clearance to lift a 40’ dump trailer inside the structure.

Other requests included the construction of the building without a front gable end, and of the different foundation options available, the Town of Derry felt that the traditional poured concrete design best fitted their needs. This helped to ensure that the building was able to withstand 65psf ground snow and 100mph wind with 3-second gust, Exp. C. To help secure the site, the Town installed a gated chain link fence at the entrance of the facility.

The high flexibility of Rubb buildings makes them a perfect match for salt storage applications, where adaptability to environmental regulations and long-term integrity is essential. Rubb structures are ideal for saline environments, as the PVC-coated polyester fabric cover does not rust and post-production hot-dipped galvanized steel frame ensures years of trouble-free service without rust and structural degradation.

Industrial storage is a familiar and common use of Rubb buildings, with flexibility and interior climate and working conditions being favored features by our clients. These reasons and more are why Nexans AS, a worldwide leader in the electrical cable industry, chose a Rubb building for an electrical cable storage site on an island on the west coast of Norway.

The building in use by Nexans AS is a Rubb NV-type (Norwegian version) that is 24m x 42m x 4m. The building is completely secure, while being easily accessible by loading/lift equipment and personnel as required.

Wärtsila Norway AS, the Norwegian-division of The Wärtsila Group, recently ordered two Rubb buildings (or Rubb halls, as they are still commonly called in Norway) for the storage of gears and other engine parts. Since their first purchase of a Rubb building in the 1970s, Wärtsila Norway has been a loyal Rubb customer and relies on our buildings for secure and reliable storage in the harsh climate of Norway. Wärtsila is conveniently based in Rubbestadneset, Bømlo, the home town of Rubb (and Rubb Marine).

Both buildings are Rubb NV-type (Norwegian Version), 20m x 30m x4m (WxLx wall H). They have have double (innerskin) PVC layers and use automatically operated Crawford doors to make it easy for lift equipment and personnel to come and go. While the first building was delivered in 2006, the second joined it this past January, expanding the storage facilities significantly.

Wärtsila Norway is a leader in the ship-repair market, and one of Europe’s largest manufacturer and supplier of large ship marine gears. Their parent company, The Wärtsila Group (based in Finland), is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of marine diesel engines world wide for heavy vessels, as well as a specialist in providing power solutions to remote areas of the world.

The recent relocation of a Rubb building in New England is a statement to our structure’s convenient and easy relocation with minimal loss.

Boccard USA, a Houston, Texas-based firm that specializes in pip fabrication, was looking for a building for pipe welding and assembly for a Londonderry, New Hampshire worksite. This lead to their purchase of a used 39.4′ (12m) x 40′ (12m) THA shelter from us.

The building, 7 years young, had been in use at the Rubb factory in Sanford, Maine as a storage shelter. Rubb technicians disassembled the structure, cleaned and repacked the fabric membrane and reassembled the shelter on site in a matter of two weeks!

The Boccard building is just a recent example of the many times that Rubb shelters and buildings have been relocated after many years of service with minimal downtime, material loss, or expense.