ARCO Tapped for $4.2 Million Columbia Lab

Analytical Bio-Chemistry (ABC) Laboratories has tapped ARCO Construction Company, Inc. for a $4.2 million laboratory renovation and expansion for its chemical division at its original campus in Columbia, Mo. The project is slated for completion this June.

The project is the second major assignment ABC Laboratories has awarded the design/build firm in three years. In 2008, ARCO completed a new 90,000-square-foot pharmaceutical development facility at the University of Missouri's Discovery Ridge Research Park for ABC's pharmaceutical division.

ARCO is updating the exterior finish of the 25-year-old building, redesigning and modernizing 27,000 square feet of laboratory and office space, and crafting a 10,000-square-foot addition, which includes a 2,000-square-foot walk-in freezer and a 5,000-square-foot sample prep area. The sample area uses durable clean room finishes with walk-in exhaust chambers for the testing and analysis of chemical compounds. From the lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and electrical systems, the entire facility is being designed to be more energy efficient.

All laboratory space is being completed to the highest regulatory standards for drug and chemical analysis. The sample prep lab will circulate 100 percent outside air and have six walk-in exhaust chambers with high-efficiency particulate-absorbing (HEPA) bag-in/bag-out filtration systems as well as four exhaust wash-down stations.

Additionally, ARCO is installing new fire protection, communication and building management systems; bringing underground plumbing up to code; modifying the existing heat pump system; adding new high-efficiency chiller and boiler systems; expanding the electrical system and adding back-up generators; and renovating the IT area and computer room air conditioning units.

Together, ARCO and ABC Laboratories have planned and sequenced the construction work to allow ABC to operate at full capacity throughout the entire project. "Our ability to dig deep and understand ABC's day-to-day operations gave us the capability to aggressively meet completion deadlines by multi-sequencing the work flow, which allowed ABC to occupy and resume work much sooner than expected," said Hank Bellina, director of ARCO's Technology Division.

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