New Facility Under Way for Electrolab - SafeStart
One of our great pleasures at Bel-Con is starting new projects. Not simply because a new project means a new building, but because, in many cases, it is also the start of a new client relationship. Such is the case for us with the SafeStart facility at 631 College Street East, Belleville, which will be the new headquarters of Electrolab Training Systems.
Electrolab was started in 1975 by Norm Wilson to provide training services to Canadian industry and educational institutions. In 1999 the company developed its SafeStart program which has become an industry-leading workplace safety training program that is available in 30+ languages and used in over 60 countries around the world. The company, which is now owned by Norm's three children, Barb Tait, Don Wilson and Larry Wilson, came to us for help in building a new facility which will allow them to continue to expand as a company.
The new facility, at just over 28,000 sq. ft., will be triple the size of the current Electrolab HQ. It will include warehouse and office space to house the current team of 70 employees. An expansion plan has also been included in the design to increase the space by 15,000+ sq. ft., which will allow SafeStart to grow and meet future demand for their safety training products and services.
The SafeStart facility is a complete design-build project from Bel-Con using a Butler Buildings structure. We’ve also retained Cromarty Architects, RBJ Concepts, McNeely Engineering (structural) and Greer Galloway Group (civil) to form part of our design team. The exterior will be partially clad with Butler's eShadowall™ and will include architectural masonry and brick. Covering the building will be a Butler ThermaLiner™ Insulation System roof with Butler's SunLite Strip™ Daylighting System. The use of a daylighting solution will deliver both occupant comfort and energy savings by introducing natural light throughout the building.
In selecting the site for the new home of Electrolab - SafeStart, general manager Barbara Tait insisted that the site chosen for the project should not have a negative impact on their employees' lifestyle by forcing them to relocate or spend hours commuting. Electrolab worked with the City of Belleville who put together an attractive deal for the company and, according to Barbara, they are "excited to relocate and begin this next chapter in Electrolab - SafeStart history".
We're excited too! An official ground-breaking ceremony took place on April 15th and our anticipated date of completion is late 2015.
