1000-tonne slab done in a day

Perth Concrete led the co-ordinated concrete pour at Open Country yesterday. Photo/Bevan Conley

The biggest single concrete pour in Wanganui history was carried out yesterday.

In a mammoth co-ordinated effort, three local concrete firms spent the day creating the foundation for the construction of a second spray dryer at Open Country dairy's milk powder plant on Heads Rd.

The day-long concrete pour was led by Perth Concrete and director Barry Hudson was on hand to watch as a hundred truckloads of concrete went in and out of the site.

Mr Hudson said the size of the project meant it was the first time the three Wanganui concrete firms - Perth, Allied and Bullocks - had worked on a job together.

Rather than being done in sections, yesterday's mission was one continuous pour creating one piece.

"It's just one great concrete slab," Mr Hudson said, adding that that made for a much stronger foundation.

He reckoned it would be one of the biggest conrete jobs in the North Island this year, possibly only topped by the Christchurch rebuild.

The pour started about 7am and - at eight minutes to empty each truck - the pour was expected to take seven to eight hours.

The slab was about 900mm deep and more than 500 cubic metres in total.

Much of the metal used to make the concrete had come from the Rangitikei River and the finished slab would weigh about 1000 tonnes, Mr Hudson estimated.

He said it was great for the city to be able to support a project of such magnitude.

The co-ordination and planning had taken a couple of months.

Open Country chief executive Steve Koekemoer said the second spray dryer would start production from August 2015 and would allow the plant to double its output.