$45 Million Project Once `Vail Field'; North America's Largest Chemical Distribution Facility Opens On Historic L.A. Area Site.

Business Editors

CITY OF COMMERCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 2001

A historic site six miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles in City of Commerce that once provided the first commercial air service from Southern California, has been converted and officially opens this month (Jan.) as a $45 million chemical distribution facility for Van Waters and Rogers (VW&R), termed the largest complex of its kind in North America.

Built by Oltmans Construction Co. of Whittier, Calif., the 22-acre project located just north of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) at 2600 Garfield Ave., transformed a 1950s vintage former Vons grocery warehouse into a totally re-classified, state-of-the-art chemical distribution facility, according to John Schwind, project manager for Oltmans, along with Chris Bell.

The strategic site once served as "Vail Field" where the first commercial air service from Southern California was launched by Western Airlines 75 years ago.

With headquarters in Kirkland, Wash., VW&R is the leading chemical distributor in North America. A subsidiary of Holland-based Royal Vopak, the company provides more chemical products and related chemical distribution services than any other company in the marketplace, according to VW&R officials.

Mark Dobrinen, director of engineering for VW&R, said the company's new flagship chemical distribution facility represented a major re-development, construction and compliance challenge aimed at transforming the property from a former grocery distribution center into what he said is "a one-of-a-kind facility in terms of volume and variety of chemicals handled."

Noting that the massive project was accomplished in just 14 months, well under schedule by months, including nearly two months of demolition and grading, Dobrinen said:

"Early on, the people at Oltmans Construction Co. sat down with us and genuinely sought to understand our business and management. This enabled them to become part of the overall team early in the project, advising us throughout about how to better execute the project. It was the most important step in the process."

Oltmans Project Manager Schwind added that preliminary challenges included the removal of over 40,000 cubic yards of dirt, extension of existing utilities, demolition, re-grading and paving of the site, and associated hardscape and landscape improvements.

"Seventy permits were required in all, including numerous fire and safety issues. The typical distribution facility requires only one permit," said Schwind.

The new VW&R distribution center includes:

-- Remodeling and re-configuring the former grocery warehouse and 12,000 sq.
ft. of integrated office space into a 256,000 sq. ft. H-3 and H-7 rated
chemical warehouse/distribution facility under one roof.

-- Construction of more than 50,000 sq. ft. of tank farms at the rear of the
site to accommodate delivery, storage and distribution of various chemicals.
Sixty-five above ground tanks comprise the tank farm with a total storage
capacity of more than 750,000 gallons.

A noteworthy aspect of the project was Oltmans' installation of more than 36,000 linear feet of pipe to deliver product from tank farms to trucks and the warehouse. Oltmans also brought three rail spurs into the site to enable transloading of product delivery.

Concurrently, Oltmans installed a central safety component for the total facility comprising state-of-the-art Wet and ARAFFF foam fire retardant systems.

-- Remodeling of a two-story, 42,000 sq. ft. masonry office building to serve as the center's administrative hub.

Noting that VW&R has been doing business in City of Commerce for some 45 years, Dobrinen stated that "having capacity to expand right in the middle of Los Angeles is a logistics dream for connecting with our customers." VW&R has been in Commerce for some 45 years, and will employ more than 100 people at the new site.

In business for more than 70 years, Oltmans Construction Co. is ranked among the top l0 commercial and industrial contractors based in Los Angeles County, and was recently ranked the nation's number builder of distribution facilities by ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD magazine. The company has offices in Whittier, Ventura County, and Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

Hill-Pinckert of Newport Beach, Calif., was the project architect.