Heber Gateway Plaza – Project Spotlight
Explore how Western Steel brought to life the Gateway Office Center, showcasing innovative design in a pre-engineered metal building.
Project Spotlight
RISU America Manufacturing Campus
A Four-Building Campus for Japan's First U.S. Plastics Manufacturing Plant
Gifu Plastic Industry Co., Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer with more than 30 years of experience in recycled plastics, chose Shelbyville, Indiana as the site for its first manufacturing base outside Japan. Operating under its new subsidiary, RISU AMERICA, INC., the company broke ground on a facility that will produce plastic pallets and other logistics materials for customers across North America, backed by an investment of approximately 60 million dollars over six years. Western Steel Buildings engineered and supplied the structural steel package for the project’s four buildings, delivered through general contractor Runnebohm Construction.
The campus is built around a 92′ x 260′ Molding building with a 43′ eave height, engineered with crane support for a 30/5 metric ton top running double girder crane, a future 15 metric ton crane, and a 2 metric ton single girder crane. A 185′ x 260′ Warehouse building at a 28′ eave height, a 60′ x 121′-4″ Office building, and a 59′-6″ x 57′-8″ Electrical/Mechanical building round out the site. The Molding and Warehouse buildings both include an expandable east endwall, positioning RISU for the phased growth outlined in its own site plan.
Project Scope & Scale
- Use: Plastics manufacturing campus, molding, warehouse, office, and electrical/mechanical buildings
- Client: RISU AMERICA, INC., a subsidiary of Gifu Plastic Industry Co., Ltd.
- Delivered Through: General contractor Runnebohm Construction, Shelbyville, Indiana
- Buildings Delivered: Molding, Warehouse, Office, and Electrical/Mechanical (4 total)
- Molding Building: 92′ x 260′, 43′ low eave height, crane-equipped
- Warehouse Building: 185′ x 260′, 28′ low eave height
- Office Building: 60′ x 121′-4″, 15′-5″ to 16′-9″ eave/ridge height
- Electrical/Mechanical Building: 59′-6″ x 57′-8″, 14′ eave height
- Frame Type: Rigid frames with purlin roof framing
- Products Manufactured On Site: Plastic pallets and other logistics materials
Key Challenges
- Engineering four separate buildings with different uses, eave heights, and structural demands as one coordinated steel package.
- Designing the Molding building’s frame to carry a 30/5 metric ton crane system today, with support for a future 15 metric ton crane and an additional 2 metric ton crane, well beyond typical warehouse loading.
- Building in expandable east endwalls on both the Molding and Warehouse buildings to support RISU’s plans for phased growth on its 29-acre site.
- Coordinating roof-framed openings for eleven total rooftop HVAC units across the three largest buildings without disrupting the primary framing.
- Meeting Indiana’s 115 mph wind speed, Seismic Design Category C, and Indiana Building Code requirements across a multi-building campus for a first-time U.S. manufacturer.
Solution / Approach
- Engineered rigid frame structures with purlin roof framing across all four buildings, sized individually to each building’s use and eave height.
- Designed the Molding building’s primary framing and crane beams to carry its 30/5 metric ton crane system, with crane rails furnished by others, and built in capacity for a future 15 metric ton crane.
- Incorporated expandable east endwalls on the Molding and Warehouse buildings so RISU can extend the campus as production volume grows.
- Framed roof openings for five rooftop units on the Warehouse building, four on the Molding building, and two on the Electrical/Mechanical building.
- Specified 22-gauge galvanized 1.5 B deck roof panels and 24-gauge 7.2 Mega Rib wall panels with a Kynar finish across the campus, with grey primer on primary framing and galvanized secondary framing.
- Delivered the steel package through general contractor Runnebohm Construction to keep fabrication and delivery aligned with the site’s construction schedule.
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Unique Features
- Four-building campus, Molding, Warehouse, Office, and Electrical/Mechanical, delivered as one coordinated steel package.
● Molding building crane system rated for a 30/5 metric ton top running double girder crane, with future capacity for a 15 metric ton crane and a 2 metric ton single girder crane.
● Expandable east endwalls on the Molding and Warehouse buildings, built to support RISU’s phased site plan.
● 43′ eave height on the Molding building, well above typical single-story industrial space, suited to the process equipment inside.
● Eleven total roof-framed openings for rooftop HVAC units across the campus.
● Western Steel’s first project supporting a Japanese manufacturer’s first production base outside Japan.
Building Specifications
- Molding Building: 92′ x 260′, 43′ low eave height, .25/12 single slope
- Warehouse Building: 185′ x 260′, 28′ low eave height, .25/12 single slope, multiple sheeted partitions
- Office Building: 60′ x 121′-4″, 15′-5″ to 16′-9″ eave/ridge height
- Electrical/Mechanical Building: 59′-6″ x 57′-8″, 14′ eave height, .25/12 single slope
- Frame Type: Rigid frames, purlin roof framing
- Crane Loads (Molding): 30/5 MT top running double girder crane, future 15 MT crane, 2 MT single girder crane
- Roof Panel: 1.5 B deck, 22-gauge galvanized
- Wall Panel: 7.2 Mega Rib, 24-gauge, Kynar finish
- Framing Finish: Grey primer on primary framing, galvanized secondary framing
Sustainability / Compliance
- Galvanized secondary framing and primed primary steel support long-term corrosion resistance across the campus.
- Wall and ceiling liner panels support a heated, enclosed structure suited to consistent manufacturing conditions.
- Expandable endwalls allow RISU to grow the facility without rebuilding existing structures, reducing future material waste.
- The completed campus supports RISU’s broader business of manufacturing products from recycled plastics.
Results & Benefits
- Delivered a coordinated four-building steel package supporting Gifu Plastic Industry’s first manufacturing base outside Japan.
- Engineered crane-ready structural capacity in the Molding building to support current and future material handling needs.
- Built-in expandable endwalls on two buildings, positioning RISU for phased growth on its 29-acre Shelbyville site.
- Supported general contractor Runnebohm Construction with a steel package engineered to Indiana’s wind, snow, and seismic requirements.
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