Garco
Building Systems

Plum Creek MDF Plant Expansion Columbia Falls, Montana Builder: Northwest Building Systems Owner: Plum Creek Timber Company When Plum Creek Timber undertook a $100 million expansion of the company's Columbia Falls medium density fiberboard plant, it called on two proven partners for the project - Kalispell general contractor Northwest Building Systems and Garco Building Systems. The work took place over a 12-month period of time while the existing production facility continued in full operation. It included ten buildings for more than 945 tons of structural steel. Largest of these was a new 100,000 sq.ft. warehouse. Tallest was the cyclone support building, a 118 ft. high structure comprised of a series of stacked built-up columns. Plum Creek Timber is the second largest private timberland owner in the U.S. and Northwest Building Systems and Garco have been working together on projects for the company since 1988. All told, more than 3,000 tons of steel have shipped from Garco and been erected by Northwest Building Sys-tems at three different Plum Creek sites in Western Montana.

An 80-ton crane with 150 ft. boom was used to erect the new cyclone support building Production continued as the new work progressed

Arched rooflines of pre-expansion facility can be seen at far right behind the new warehouse

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• Crane (490K)
  
• Construction (470K)
  
• Full Facility (918K)