On September 6th, 2017, Hurricane Irma ripped through the British Virgin Islands as a Category 5 hurricane causing devastating effects to the population and infrastructure. Two weeks after, Hurricane Maria passed through with lesser, but still damaging, effects.
SUEZ Water sustained damages to it’s existing facility buildings in both Tortola and Virgin Gorda. In the aftermath, the company made do with what they had to keep their reverse osmosis machines providing fresh water to the islands.
That same summer of 2017, TMC Engineering Ltd. was contracted by SUEZ (then GE Water) to provide and install a metal building for their reverse osmosis plant being constructed in North Eleuthera, an island in the Bahamas. The new plant was designed from the ground up to exceed the Bahamas Building Code and provide for 180mph wind resistance. The fully galvanized building utilizes a 22ga standing seam roof to ensure long term weather resistance. After a brief hold, the Star Building System started installation in 2019.
In January of 2019, SUEZ invited TMC Engineering down to the BVI to inspect the existing buildings and to provide a long-term solution for their new building structures. TMC’s President, Lee McCoy, visited both the Capoons Bay and Handsome Bay sites with the local SUEZ team and their international Senior Project Manager. Working together, they designed the two new structures to replace the destroyed buildings.
The two new Star Building Systems will feature:
- 200 mph wind-rating
- Exposure D (due to their proximity to the coast)
- Portal Frame, Fixed Base Cantilever and Angle Bracing
- 22ga PBR Screw-Down Roof with stainless steel screws
- Fully galvanized main frames and secondary framing
- Open for Masonry & Reinforced Concrete Wall Construction
TMC has been contracted to supply the building, as well as to send a small team to lead the installation of the metal structure in coordination with the local general contractor. Both buildings have been manufactured by Star Buildings and are at Tropical Shipping awaiting transhipment to the BVI. The two buildings will be installed within a one month period this summer.
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