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In early 2018, Toms Group commenced construction of a 22,000 sqm manufacturing facility in Nowa Sol in Western Poland. This would be its third investment outside its home market and the first greenfield project. In the first of our series, we look at how we helped Toms Group to choose the right site and navigate the complexities of site selection and master planning.

Strategic Growth

Founded in 1924, Danish company, Toms Group is a leading manufacturer of chocolate, liquorice and sugar confectionery in Denmark and Sweden. The facility is a key part of the company's ambitious growth strategy and an important step in increasing their market share globally.

The plant produces the full range of Toms Group’s products including the popular Anthon Berg confectionery range. With a reputation for high quality, the plant needed to be built to the highest standards and safely incorporating the latest, state-of-the-art technology. 

Safety first

Safety was paramount during design and construction. The goal was to build a facility that can be operated and maintained safely over its lifetime.

Exceptional team

PM Group was chosen by Toms Group to provide engineering design and construction management services for this exceptional project. We began by working on the site selection and due diligence in parallel with the development of the concept design and site master-plan.  Once the Nowa Sol site was selected and concept design completed, work continued through the project life cycle phases. This included basic and detailed engineering design, permitting, procurement, construction management, commissioning and start up assistance to deliver product in October 2019. Over 65 personnel from PM Group’s Wrocław office worked together in a multi-disciplined design team. 

Food manufacturing site selection and masterplanning in Poland

Site selection and due diligence

The main challenge at the initial stage was to identify an appropriate site. Topography, soil conditions, permit status, availability of utilities, labour and land costs were all reviewed as part of the site selection exercise.

Over 24 sites were evaluated prior to choosing the strategically located site in Nowa Sol, Western Poland.

This site scored highly due to its location adjacent to the city of Nowa Sol with availability of all required utilities. It also has easy access to the national highway network for on-shipment of goods to key markets in Denmark and Germany.

Future proof

The Site Master Planning and Building Concept Design (CD) allowed Tom’s Group to plan for complete site utilisation and to “Future Proof” the proposed site. The CD became the baseline for the project budget, scope and schedule.

The 20 ha site was master planned to accommodate a production building including the following areas: raw materials storage, tank farm, kitchen process, production lines, packing hall and production warehouse for finished and semi-finished product and packaging materials. The site has a central utility building which facilitates heating, cooling, steam, compressed air etc. Offices, staff and ancillary facilities were also part of the scope.

 

About the author

Michal Pawlaczyk is a Senior Project Manager and Senior Architect with PM Group. He has 20 years' experience providing architectural design and project management services for a variety of clients and sectors. Michał is a certified LEED AP and supervises LEED certification for projects carried out by PM Group.

 

Next in the series:

Sustainability, Process and GMP Design

High standard European production requirements, complex ingredients and the need for sustainable energy reduction was central to the process and GMP design phase of the new Toms Group facility in Poland. Read more

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