DSSR was appointed by Compack as the MEP designer for their new facility in Livingston. The existing building was constructed in the 1970s, with an extension to the main production / warehouse space being added in 2003.

Compack designs and manufactures high-quality carton packaging for premium and luxury brands in the food and drink, pharmaceutical, and medical device sectors, with all products made exclusively from recyclable materials.

The facility was split into a two-story office complex, providing administrative and welfare facilities, and a main factory floor zone into which the various items of printing and process equipment were located. The factory zone also accommodated a large element of warehousing to accommodate raw goods-in and finished products-out storage – all facilitated via high bay shelving.

• Thermal conditions were met via the installation of a VRF system installation
• New domestic hot & cold water services and above-ground foul and waste water drainage systems were installed to service the tea-prep and toilet facilities
• LED lighting and data service were installed throughout
• Fire and security system installations were also included

• New compressed air services were installed to hook up to the plant items
• A bespoke dust extraction system was also installed
• New LED lighting was installed throughout the factory floor, taking account of specific colour rendering requirements from the processes
• Stray ultra-violet light, from natural light was eliminated in various localised zones around specific plant items
• Fire and security systems were also installed
• High-Bay LED lighting modules were installed between racking within the materials storage zone
• EVC points were installed externally for staff vehicles and internally for the company’s forklifts.
• We liaised closely with the ‘Process Cooling’ and ‘Dust Extraction’ specialists, appointed directly by the Client to ensure all their service interface requirements were embedded within the base build contract

Phase 1 of the project featured the installation of a new, packaged substation, including a cast resin transformer into a main electrical switchroom. New lighting & ventilation were also added to the switchroom to suit. Design of new customer’s HV switchgear, louvres etc.

Phase 2 included the strip out to shell and refit of all MEP services within the building, including LV distribution, containment systems, small power, data, security systems, fire alarm, external lighting, electric vehicle charging, compressed air, heating and ventilation, above ground drainage, water, and process plant & equipment coordination.

As part of this refurbishment project, DSSR was involved in assessing the entire facility and advising on improvement measures to the existing fabric. The focus of this exercise was to both minimise energy expenditure and future-proof the main services to facilitate the future expansion of Compack’s business.

In considering the overall energy associated with the refurbishment, we considered the energy hierarchy. This process focuses on reducing the energy demand associated with operating the building before considering the application of low & zero carbon technologies.

The refurbished building in turn achieved an EPC A rating, a substantial improvement on the EPC E rating the building held pre-refurbishment.

The refurbished structure now affords Compack to meet its current operational demands whilst allowing space for future expansion, all within the footprint of the existing building.

Compack’s approach to sustainability is in line with that of Carl Elefante, former President of the American Institute of Architects: “The greenest building is the one that already exists.” 

Studies have shown that it takes between 20 and 50 years for a new building constructed to the last Part L standards to overcome, through efficient operations, the negative climate change impacts related to the construction process.

As such, applying a targeted holistic approach to the refurbishment of an existing building allows the re-use of existing resources whilst minimising the impacts of climate change.

Our Building Performance Modelling team reviewed and informed the specification of replacement building fabric elements with regard to the impact on the overall performance of the building envelope and its energy expenditure.

We also provided guidance on potential solar PV locations, support for Compack’s specific decarbonisation goals for the site, and thermal comfort modelling–including a summertime overheating risk assessment of the manufacturing space which houses large-scale printing presses.

Phase 3 saw the installation of a 188 kW roof-mounted solar PV array, adding to the sustainable credentials of the building, such as an insulated roof to improve energy performance; heat recovery technology to use waste heat to reduce energy and gas demand of the building; industry-leading in-line automated print adjustment to greatly reduce set-up waste and live carbon footprint and benchmarking information for each printing job.

‘The larger production facility and industry leading machinery gives Compack the capability to better serve the needs and growth aspirations of our key customers responsibly. Our goal is to have the most energy efficient, sustainable facility in the UK.”

– Steve Railton, Managing Director of Compack