Rubb Fabric Building News

The large working space, plentiful natural light and portability of Rubb buildings makes them a frequent favorite of major construction companies. In this application just outside of Bergen, Norway, Rubb NV buildings are used to store equipment at both ends of a tunnel under construction. These shelters protect equipment used to drill and blast through granite rock.

Four NV buildings are used on this site — one is 20m x 21m and has two large steel doors in one gable end. Another is specially designed so two attached 20ft ISO containers open up to the back of the building. This is used a ’safe storage space’ and is ideal as workers can access it from the inside of the building. These NVs will be moved on to another major construction project when this road / tunnel is complete.

For over 25 years the skyline of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, has been dominated by the Swan Hunter Shipyard buildings located in the dockyards on the banks of the river Tyne.

Originally manufactured by Rubb back in 1982, the two rail mounted liftable structures measuring 27m span x 24m long and a large 11.5m sidewall, were often moved from shipyard to shipyard along the river by barge, and were used to house the ships and frigates being built by Swan Hunter during manufacture. The structures are to be dismantled and shipped to India where they will continue to be used by the shipbuilding industry.

The Hot Dipped Galvanized steel framework of Rubb structures has proved to be long-lasting and durable — already 26 years old, the structures are still able to preform in the harshest of climates. The PVC fabric membrane is also to be rolled up and reused once the structures arrive at their new destination.

The long life and continued re-use of these structures is a further testament to the longevity, value and flexibility of Rubb structures.

Not far from Rubbestadneset, birthplace of Rubb and home of Rubb’s Norwegian division, a Rubb structure sits at a site rich with World War 2 history.

The west coast of Norway was both the last stronghold and a perilous passage for the German submarine fleet at the tail end of WW2. After D-Day, Allied forces quickly took hold of France’s submarine bases, forcing German leadership to withdraw their submarine fleets to Norway. The town of Bergen, notched in the rugged landscape of Western Norway, was an important home base, with both excellent access to Eastern Norway via railway and waterways to Britain and Europe. The large, protected bunkers of Bergen provided sufficient refuge for the retreating German fleet, but not without a long and bitter trek across the North Atlantic.

Well aware of the “Festung Norwegen,” or Fortress of Norway, as the Germans called it, the Allied command sent squadrons of air power to take out submarines, navy vessels, and supply ships on their way to or from Norway. Countering the offensive (primarily among the British Royal Air Forces) were powerful escort vessels dubbed “Flakships” by British naval and air forces.

These menacing vessels were refurbished whaling vessels armed to the brim with weapons, ranging from machine guns of all sizes, depth charges, and a rocket-based weapon that sheared wings off from opposing aircraft. Countering these vicious guard units were the nimble “Mosquito” aircraft, lead by Allied troops from bases in Northern Scotland.

The German units held out for a while, hiding among the fjords of Western Norway or sailing at night when possible, but the Allied forces persisted and eventually assaulted Bergen itself. “Bunker Bruno,” the massive submarine shelter, was several damaged by Allied bombing, leaving only three of its many submarine pens intact.

Today, the Norwegian Navy still uses these pens to house submarines, and a Rubb NV type building sits alongside the historic location. The 10 x 21 x 3m structure uses a steel folding door and is used today for stoage by SFK/UVB-Bunker. While dwarfed by the massive structure that once housed the strength of Germany’s navy, this Rubb structure is ideally suited for the harsh environment of this location in the heart of Western Norway.

The versatility and portability of Rubb structures is often the key selling point of Rubb structures, as demonstrated recently by the engineering company ABB ordering three 32.8′ (10m) wide x 78.8′ (24m) long with 11′ (3.35m) side wall THAB shelters for a major communications project in Saudi Arabia. These shelters, like many Rubb structures, are used as general warehouses in a harsh and unforgiving environment. The modular structures were delivered to the site and constructed using local labor and Rubb’s detailed assembly instructions.