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| Mezzanine structures from Porta-King by Carol Felzien  Companies needing to expand and organize their usable work space are "looking up" rather than "out" by installing premanufactured mezzanine structures. Mezzanine solutions give facilities the opportunity to expand quickly and affordably, with very little time or capital lost during the installation process. Businesses are also recognizing the opportunity to maximize their usable space without the hassles of on-site construction. That's exactly what happened in Orange County, NY when the Department of Public Works (DPW) was in search of a unique workspace solution. "They were looking for a way to take their existing garage and office space and utilize it to capacity without having to expand the building," said Gregg Pearlstone, Porta-King vice president. "Since the facility houses an automotive center complete with road equipment, tools and tires, DPW needed an efficient, cost-effective way to utilize square footage to capacity. Our mezzanine proposal provided a custom solution that fit the bill for the client's specific needs." According to Pearlstone, mezzanines are especially popular in warehouses and manufacturing facilities with high ceilings that allow for upward growth. "They give companies and government entities like DPW the opportunity to turn existing, unused 'air' space into a usable, secure environment for office expansion, production or storage," he said. In the case of DPW, the mezzanine unit provides a secure, safe storage area for tires with the inclusion of a specially adapted tire lift. "The key here being, " added Pearlstone, "that they now have the infrastructure in place to manage other related functions in the future including heavy equipment such as motors." Pearlstone indicated Porta-King's pre-engineered mezzanines are designed with the customer's schedule in mind, with an installation process up to 40% faster than competitive mezzanine systems. Porta-King's mezzanine products come with a number of unique features, including a single piece panelized guard rail system that installs directly onto the deck of the mezzanine, as well as fully pre-assembled stairs. Porta-King mezzanines feature pre-installed beam to column and purlin connections. The beam to column mezzanine connections are AISC Type 1 and Type 3. In addition to the traditional indoor mezzanines, Porta-King also offers outdoor models for use as guard towers, observation towers and elevated platforms. All Porta-King mezzanines meet the 2006 compliance specifications of the International Building Code. "We're a solutions provider for our customers," concluded Pearlstone. "From conception to application installation, our projects are solution-oriented and are custom designed to meet the specific needs and applications of the business at hand. From an economy of scale perspective, we also give business owners the opportunity to better utilize their square footage allocations without the high cost of new building construction or expansion." write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Construction News :: home page |