OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILLINOIS, June 5, 2024 – One of the world’s leading suppliers of copper and copper alloy solutions, Wieland is embarking on a $500M modernization and expansion of its facility in East Alton, Illinois. Construction has mobilized on the Casting Unit 6 (CU6) project, representing the first stage in this capital investment plan to re-equip, modernize, and expand a facility initially opened in 1916. Wieland selected Graycor Construction Company and Helmkamp Construction Co. as their construction team for the multi-phase project.
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“We’re excited to commence the comprehensive modernization and expansion project in East Alton which represents Wieland’s commitment to our long-term perspective and growth initiatives in North America,” said Greg Keown, President of Wieland Rolled Products North America. “With copper having an integral role in the energy transition, this endeavor better positions Wieland as a provider of sustainable solutions for our customer’s ever-changing needs.”
The CU6 project will increase the casting capacity and quality of copper production at the facility. The phased project includes deep foundations to support new casting equipment, an overhead crane for equipment setting, a furnace, a re-cooling system, distribution switchgear, superstructure, controls, and commissioning. The building structure will have metal siding and roofing over heavy structural steel. Construction will occur adjacent to live plant operations and within a very tight site.
The overarching, multi-phase project will replace an existing hot rolling facility in East Alton that is more than 100 years old. The new facility will feature hot mill lines, milling lines, a cold rolling mill, high-bay storage with automated material handling, and overhead cranes.
“Wieland’s investment in East Alton is transformative and highlights the unique industry-leading technical knowledge and abilities of our joint construction team—Graycor and our partner Helmkamp, as well as our design partners Vestal Corporation and Salas O’Brien,” said Brian Feckler, Graycor Construction Company’s Midwest Division General Manager. “We are proud to be Wieland’s design-build partner and look forward to leveraging our 100-plus years of experience and collaborating with the entire team to successfully deliver this significant project.”
Helmkamp President and Owner, Rob Johnes, said, “It gives our team great pride that our 85 years of heavy industrial expertise will be utilized for this project in our own community. We’re looking forward to being a construction partner with Graycor and having a strong project team to help carry out the plans for this exciting project for Wieland.”
For the transformational endeavor, the Graycor I Helmkamp team, as the design-builder, has teamed with Vestal Corporation to provide civil, structural, architectural, and building MEP design services and Salas O’Brien to provide process engineering design services. The collective team is currently in preconstruction for the plant expansion phase.
“We are extremely excited to be a part of the Wieland project team,” said Mark Hubbs, Vice President-Project Development for Vestal. “Vestal has vast experience designing heavy industrial manufacturing facilities; we excel at complex projects and look forward to tackling this large and important project for Wieland.”
“We take pride in being selected to partner with the Wieland team,” said Greg O’Brien, Principal at Salas O’Brien. “Salas O’Brien’s focus is always on providing quality solutions that deliver long-term value, and we are excited to bring our metals process engineering expertise to this transformational project.”
About Wieland
Wieland is one of the world's leading suppliers of semi-finished copper and copper alloy products. With a global network of more than 80 production sites, service, and trading companies, the company offers a broad product, technology, and service portfolio. From prototype to series production, Wieland develops solutions for automotive, aerospace, electronics, refrigeration, air conditioning, and many other industries. Wieland uses high-performance copper materials to drive the success of its B2B customers in future-oriented fields such as electromobility, connectivity, and urbanization. High technical competence, customer-oriented thinking, and sustainability determine their actions and have been the basis of the company's success since 1820.
About Graycor Inc.
Graycor Inc. is a leader in managing building and interiors construction projects throughout North America. Graycor combines our local subcontractor and partner relationships with the company’s more than 100 years of national experience in the advanced facilities, cold storage, corporate, cultural/educational, energy transition, food processing, gas infrastructure, living and lodging, logistics and distribution, manufacturing, metals, retail/entertainment and shopping center markets. The combination maximizes Graycor’s capability to provide clients optimal service and product delivery. For more information, visit www.graycor.com.
About Helmkamp
Helmkamp Construction Co. is the builder of choice for professional buyers of construction in Industrial, Building, and Life Science markets, primarily serving corporate clients in the St. Louis metro area. Helmkamp offers pre-construction, construction, and design/build services, as well as out-of-state capabilities. Since 1938, Helmkamp has built relationships based on quality, integrity, and safety leadership. To learn more, visit www.helmkamp.com.
About Vestal Corporation
Vestal Corporation is an international strategic partnering firm providing specialty multi-disciplinary engineering, architecture, and construction consulting services through its Integrated Design approach since 2002. Headquartered in St. Louis, MO with offices in Houston, TX, Obregón, Mexico and Guadalajara, Mexico, Vestal and its team of more than 180 experts have mastered the latest technological design tools and possess expertise in the design of food and beverage, industrial manufacturing, commercial, government, and process wastewater facilities.
About Salas O’Brien
Salas O’Brien is an employee-owned engineering and technical services firm focused on advancing the human experience through the built environment. Our team is engineered for impact, helping clients achieve critical goals, advancing our team members through growth and opportunity, and operating at the center of important global issues, including sustainability and decarbonization. We are a top firm as ranked by Engineering News-Record and Consulting-Specifying Engineer, and we have appeared for over a decade on the Inc. 5000 list of North America’s fastest-growing private companies.
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