HORNADY MANUFACTURING, INC.

The Lacy Construction team recently completed a new, 150,000-square-foot distribution center and powder blending facility for Hornady Manufacturing Company in Alda, Nebraska. Hornady Manufacturing is one of the largest independent producers of ammunition in the world, having designed and manufactured premium ammunition since 1949. Headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska, the company also manufactures components for ammunition, reloading equipment, and reloading dies. In 2017, Hornady was named Ammunition Manufacturer of the Year for the seventh time by the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers.

Known as Hornady West, the new, $16 million facilities was constructed using precast concrete wall panels, diamond polished concrete floors, and cementitious and intumescent mastic fireproofing.

Cementitious coatings are lightweight and highly heat resistant, and mastic intumescent coatings swell when engulfed in flames, which slows heating of the steel. The facility includes a shooting range to test ammunition on-site as well as a new cafeteria and open office space. It is outfitted with an acoustic wall and ceiling system. The building is also equipped with an elevator, pre-manufactured metal canopies and sunshades, loading dock levelers, seals and truck restraints, a pneumatic tube system, and office space controlled with variable air volume (VAV) units. VAV systems provide precise, reliable temperature control and use less energy than other units.

The building’s large concrete footprint proved challenging, as creating a smooth, level surface was paramount.
Screeding a 150,000-square-foot concrete floor can be a daunting task, but our team was aided by our state-of-the-art Ligchine ScreedSaver MAX. Screeding is the process of scraping off excess wet concrete to create a smooth, level surface. Our screed can smooth 200 square feet at a pass, resulting in screed rates of up to 7,000 square feet per hour, making short work of any concrete project. Our screed is guided by GPS and can be fitted to run off a laser on the interior for greater precision. We recognized the cost- and time-saving benefits for our clients and have been using our wireless, remote-controlled Ligchine screed since 2014.

We suffered from rain and sub-arctic temperatures during our Nebraska winter that left us scrambling to prevent the newly-poured concrete from freezing. Once thawed, the resulting mud made it difficult to get trucks on and off the job site. Our team overcame these challenges by installing the first four inches of the asphalt driveway and parking lot to create access to the job site as well as serve as a staging and parking area during construction.