New England Construction was selected to design and build AFC Cable Systems' new corporate headquarters in New Bedford, MA. AFC Cable Systems, Inc., a division of Tyco Flow Control, is a leading designer, manufacturer and supplier of electrical distribution products, so industrial and usability concerns were of utmost importance in approaching the project.
The new building was constructed on land adjacent to AFC's existing facility in the New Bedford Industrial Park. The new corporate headquarters include a 24,000 square-foot, three-story office building and a 51,000 square-foot warehouse building. New England Construction was selected over three other builders to design and construct the new facility because of the firm's ability to meet goals and objectives of AFC Cable and track-record on past projects.
Adopting a unique team approach, New England Construction designed and built the project for a guaranteed maximum price (GMP). All materials and subcontracts would be competitively bid and any savings were to be returned to AFC Cable. Sub-contractors were pre-selected based on their experience and ability to meet the required schedule.
The buildings were constructed on a fast-track schedule because AFC had a limited amount of time allocated for the construction and the productivity, and therefore profitability of the company demanded a rapid, four-month timeline. AFC Cable elected to use a team approach for the project in order to meet their occupancy requirements.
In order to meet the extremely aggressive schedule, New England Construction had to place orders for the long lead-time items within two weeks of being awarded the project. In addition to the construction issues, obtaining the necessary local permits was also a key to meeting the project schedule. Tibbett's Engineering of Taunton, MA was selected for site design and permitting because of its track-record of timely and responsive service to AFC Cable and New England Construction.
