GM Cooling Project
Wentzville, MO
Challenge
The General Motors facility in Wentzville, MO had undergone multiple building and process expansions over many years. As a result, the site was left short on process cooling, threatening paint shop production in the hot summer conditions. And given the critical deficit in cooling capacity, this project required a quick turnaround time to reduce any threats to production in the paint shop.
Solution
To address this shortfall, General Motors directly engaged Epsilon to provide 4,500 tons of cooling – using the Off Site Construction (OSC) approach – that would supply all necessary cooling for the paint shop, relieving the central powerhouse cooling systems, and improving overall building comfort to the assembly plant. The full system included three (3) 1,500 ton chillers, along with all ancillary equipment (pumps, cooling towers, etc.), supported by a modular substation with two (2) 2.5 MVa lineups.
To help expedite the process, the design for this plant was based on the Epsilon packaged plants utilized at other General Motor sites; once on-site, the plant modules were installed in less than 21 days. This enabled the plant to be fully operational two weeks ahead of an already aggressive schedule.
An internal General Motors analysis determined that the total project schedule – from initiation to completion – took only eight months using the modular OSC approach; this was half of the expected 16 months estimated to complete the project utilizing traditional construction methods.
Project Overview
Client: General Motors
System Type: Central Utility Plant (CUP) – Cooling / Substation
Market Sector: Industrial
