The construction of the approximately 50,000 sqm manufacturing building took 9 months. The completion of the industrial facility consolidates Notus Developers’ chosen business direction – focus on manufacturing and logistics projects.
The company’s already developed projects in the SBA Industrial Innovation Valley cover an area of 100,000 sqm.
„Construction has been taking place at a more stressful time than ever before – at the height of the pandemic and during the war in Ukraine. Challenges abounded, ranging from spikes in raw material prices to unprecedented shortages. After overcoming these challenges and building one of the largest manufacturing complexes in Lithuania, the team decided to concentrate its efforts and energy on the development and construction management of industrial facilities. With the country’s industry demonstrating long-term resilience and development, we see this segment of the construction market as a very promising one, which, alongside our existing areas of expertise – office and residential construction – will take up an increasingly significant part of the portfolio,“ says Giedrius Cvilikas, head of Notus Developers at SBA.
The construction of the Inno Line factory building, the equivalent of 7 football pitches, used almost 25,000 tonnes of concrete – the same weight as Vilnius TV tower. 2,800 lorries of sand, gravel, and crushed stone, as well as 1,100 tonnes of metal were transported to the construction site. 250 lorry journeys were needed to bring the reinforced concrete structures to the site. The roof of the building is covered with a modern coating which, unlike conventional bitumen, prevents the sun from overheating it. The plant has a car park with 180 parking spaces, including 20 spaces for electric vehicles.
According to Mr Cvilikas, the building of this size – almost five hectares – was constructed in a relatively short period of time thanks to meticulous planning. Notus Developers, on behalf of the client, assisted in acquiring the land plot, organised the preparation of the detailed plan, managed the design and construction works. Building materials were ordered as soon as the project was approved and the reliable supply partners delivered them within the agreed timeframe, which provided for significant time savings. Due to the huge scale of the construction and to manage risks, the work on the building was split up and a total of more than a dozen contractors were hired. Two Notus Developers project managers managed all processes on site, while the rest of the team organised the provision of materials, coordinated documents, and negotiated with partners.
„The construction and installation of the building has been completed on schedule and we are now able to concentrate our efforts on the installation and trial production of equipment, furniture production lines, robotic and automated systems. We are committed to delivering the maximum agreed quantity to the client by the end of the year. To achieve this, we need to fine-tune our processes and achieve the right scale of production. Employees will be provided with particularly favourable conditions in their workplaces and comfortable rest areas,“ says Rolandas Baltuonis, Inno Line factory head.
The new Inno Line building meets the A++ energy class and the highest sustainability requirements, with environmentally friendly technologies. An information system allows you to change various parameters (heating, cooling intensity, etc.) from any point on-demand, thus saving energy. The intelligent control system regulates lighting and saves energy depending on the amount of natural light and the presence of people in the room. An efficient heat generation system has been installed: hot water will be produced using the heat generated by the production equipment and thermal energy will be generated from production residue, which is compliant with biofuel requirements and will therefore not go to landfills.
The Notus Developers team has also developed other industrial facilities in the SBA Industrial Innovation Valley over the past few years, such as the Innovo Logistika logistics centre and the Laminn furniture production plant, the buildings of which have since been sold to the Estonian fund management company EfTEN. These buildings have been awarded the BREEAM international sustainability certificate and a Very good rating in the In-Use category.
Notus Developers is currently managing the construction processes of the new Kauno Baldai factory, the residential block Nemunaičiai in Kaunas, and the business centre Verde in Riga. The company is also managing the preparation of the technical design of Urban Hub Kaunas, a 60,000 sqm e-commerce campus being developed by SBA Urban, as well as the selection of designers for Urban Hub Vilnius, and in the future, it will also manage these projects themselves.