February 15, 2008

Demolition/Environmental Engineering

ProGreen Demolition Ltd. takes down former Molson Canada brewery in Barrie

Kid-glove removal of 42 fermentation tanks all in a day’s work

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

No stranger to Molson Canada sites, Concord-headquartered ProGreen Demolition Ltd. is in the midst of demolishing half of a former brewery in Barrie.

The project involves demolition of some 160,000 square feet of space. That includes removal of 42 stainless steel fermentation tanks and 2,300 tonnes of structural steel in addition to stockpiling and crushing of concrete from the building foundations.

ProGreen president Paolo Provenzano said the most challenging aspect entails removal of the tanks —some are as large as 40 feet long and eight feet high.

“The tanks are being sold,” he said. “That means that you can’t scratch or damage them.”

As part of its contract, ProGreen also is salvaging precast concrete. The material will be re-affixed to the exterior of the remaining half of the building.

Recycling of materials is also part of the equation.

“I think we’ll manage to recycle about 98 per cent,” Provenzano said. “The only materials we can’t recycle are some of the insulation and roofing materials.”

ProGreen was awarded a $2.2 million contract in late December by Fercan Developments Inc. It currently has about eight pieces of equipment on site. Work is expected to be completed in April.

Previously, the company demolished the Molson brewery on Fleet Street in downtown Toronto. The scope encompassed upwards of 400,000 square feet. The contract was valued at $3.1 million.

“That was one of the biggest demo jobs downtown,” Provenzano said. “We had to be extra careful when we were demolishing the tower that no debris fell on the street below.”

ProGreen put its high-reach equipment to work on that job. That project was completed in May of last year.

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