Warehouse 3 – Somerville Road Estate

The Challenge

In creating the vision for Warehouse 3 of the Somerville Road Estate, Aliro Group, on behalf of the Aliro Group Industrial Vehicle (AGIV), teamed up with Texco Construction to design a large-scale transport and logistics cold store facility to accommodate major supermarket chains or logistics companies.

Aliro Group speculatively developed the 22,163m2 state-of-the-art facility to address market demand for high-quality, flexible cold storage and logistics facilities. Unlike traditional builds tailored for a specific tenant, this project was designed to high specifications and with flexible features to attract a wide range of potential tenants.

The team was committed to delivering a highly energy-efficient and environmentally friendly facility, with a 5 Star Green Star sustainability rating a key priority. This required careful planning and execution, adding complexity to the design and construction phases.

Fire safety was also another major consideration for this project.

Aliro Group selected Bondor Metecno’s MetecnoPanel® PIR insulated wall panels for the internal cold rooms, the staging area, the negative 24-degree cold storage area, and most of the exterior walls of the facility.

The Solution

Warehouse 3 marks completion of Stage 2 of the Aliro Group’s Somerville Road Estate and the successful realisation of a premium industrial precinct in Melbourne’s inner west.

Designed for flexibility and capable of being configured into two tenancies, the project features four independent temperature-controlled chambers. Each chamber is fully fitted with premium, Australian-made double-deep racking, offering 33,563 pallet spaces and ensuring the facility is ready for immediate high-capacity operations.

This state-of-the-art freezer facility includes a 500kW rooftop solar system to reduce electricity costs and targets a 5 Star Green Star – Design & As Built v1.3 rating, reinforcing Aliro Group’s commitment to sustainable, high-performance industrial spaces.

MetecnoPanel® PIR insulated wall panels were used extensively throughout the facility and were integral to achieving the facility’s high standards for energy efficiency, fire safety and functionality.

The panels were installed internally for all the cold rooms, forming the primary lining for these temperature-controlled spaces. The panels were also used in the staging area, which is maintained at four degrees, as well as in the negative 24-degree cold storage area, ensuring optimal thermal performance across different zones.

The panels help to reduce overall energy consumption, supporting the project’s goal of achieving a 5 Star Green Star and contributing to lower operating costs for tenants

The panels’ PIR fire-resistant core also provided a higher level of fire resistance, especially important with cold storage facilities facing high insurance premiums due to the risks associated with less fire-resistant panels. By choosing high-quality, fire-resistant MetecnoPanel® panelling, Aliro Group aimed to reduce both energy and insurance costs, making the facility more attractive to potential tenants.

MetecnoPanel® was also used extensively for the exterior walls, providing both insulation and structural integrity, which was augmented on the loading dock side where steel and aluminium sheeting was used for added weather protection.

The result is a high-specification, energy-efficient cold storage facility designed for flexibility and ready to accommodate a range of tenants seeking modern, energy-efficient cold storage solutions.

MetecnoPanel® PIR insulated wall panels with a PIR fire-resistant core are manufactured in Australia exclusively with BlueScope® steel to suit Australia’s harsh conditions. MetecnoPanel® is GreenRate certified and FM approved to FM 4880 & 4881 – No Height Restriction and is suitable for all insulated panel applications, from cold storage to exterior warehouse walling. 

Regional Shopping Complex – Tasmania

The Challenge

It isn’t every day that Bondor Metecno Tasmania are approached to supply product for a ‘ground up’ shopping complex build, but when the opportunity came up in regional Tasmania in 2024 it was a challenge the team were ready to tackle.

The shopping complex was centred around a supermarket with additional tenants to include a bakery, a takeaway, and a bottle shop, with concrete tilt-up walls and an exposed roof structure.

The brief that came across State Manager – Tasmania, Ashley Moore’s desk was to supply panelling that was not only thermally effective but commercially and aesthetically pleasing.

As with any project involving food and produce storage, not just any product would do.

The project needed to deliver in three key areas—thermal performance, ease of installation, and aesthetic qualities.

MetecnoSpan® roofing, MetecnoInspire walling, and MetecnoPanel® for the cool rooms and freezers provided the perfect combination.

The Solution

“This project is a great example of the wide range of panelling Bondor Metecno can offer for various commercial and industrial applications in a single project,” Ashley said.

“The roof, walls, and cool room show how our products work together for quick installation, strong thermal performance, and a consistent, functional design.

“Although we’ve done several projects with cool rooms with food safety requirements, what is unique about this project is the choice of Monument dark panelling for the internal roof and wall finishes.

“The architect selected the colour scheme not only to complement the supermarket anchor tenant, but also because it helped camouflage exposed services like cable trays, electrical work, and ductwork that are visible on the underside of the roof.

“The uniform, dark appearance not only helped conceal internal building services but also offered visual simplicity and a clean, streamlined look to the building’s interior.

“In fact, the colour scheme has become a recurring design choice for the supermarket chain,” he said.

The final building features:

  • Roof: MetecnoSpan® Surfmist over Matt Monument x 2815m2

  • Perimeter lining internally: MetecnoInspire 60mm Monument over White x 840m2

  • Cool rooms: MetecnoPanel® 100mm Monument over Monument x 274m2

  • Freezer: MetecnoPanel® 150mm Monument over Monument x 108m2

The outcome of the project proving that the client and complex truly could have it all: form and function.

Today, the regional shopping complex is visited daily by hundreds of locals stocking up on essentials who get to enjoy the ‘cool’ aesthetics and even cooler internal temperature with the application of the MetecnoPIR product.

MetecnoSpan®, MetecnoInspire, and MetecnoPanel® all feature a polyisocyanurate (PIR) rigid core between layers of BlueScope® COLORBOND® steel. They deliver extreme thermal efficiency and are fire retardant, CodeMark™ accredited, GreenRate certified and FM Approved to FM 4880 and FM 4471.

Mickleham Distribution Centre

The Challenges

The Mickleham Distribution Centre, Australia’s biggest distribution centre, was a landmark project, consisting of insulated panelling for a separate freezer cold store with multiple refrigeration zones (sized at 10,500m2) and a thermally controlled distribution warehouse (73,200m2), all on an expansive 28-hectare site.

The freezer and chiller refrigeration plant was not completely designed when Bondor was engaged, with the design of the refrigeration penthouse only a prototype for each zone. As such, there were many challenges in perfecting the design of the penthouses in order to provide bespoke panelling solutions.

To meet this challenge, Bondor sat down with Vaughan Constructions and the refrigeration contractor to work through ideas and come up with solutions for the design of these penthouses. Bondor shared product design data, including doors and heat-trace, so this could be incorporated into the overall design.

Vaughan Constructions chose MetecnoPanel® and MetecnoInspire® to create a well-designed and insulated large-scale distribution centre.

The Solution

This world-class facility saw Bondor install over 73,000m2 of MetecnoPanel® and MetecnoInspire®.

Vaughan Constructions Project Engineer Adrian Elderhurst said the team reached out to Bondor to help on this project due to their known reliability from past projects.

“Bondor has an extensive library of panel, door and heat-trace details that the Vaughan Constructions consultants could work with to incorporate into the design, making them the best choice for this project,” Mr Elderhurst said.

Bondor worked with Vaughan Constructions on the high-pressure freezer penthouse units to modify their doors and hatches so they would function effectively and without fault in this low temperature environment.

All panelling provided in the freezer area had to provide stringent thermal control with varying temperature zones throughout the facility, which is what MetecnoPanel® with high thermal performance provided. 

Both systems offer a superb finish with shorter construction times and reduced labour periods on site, allowing the Mickleham Distribution Centre to be completed quicker than otherwise possible.

Mr Elderhurst said the collaborative partnership with the Bondor team made the project easier, despite the challenges and restrictions posed by COVID-19.

“Bondor’s team was always available for Vaughan Constructions to approach and query, flesh ideas out and to meet with the contractors and consultants,” Mr Elderhurst said.

“We could rely on the Bondor team’s knowledge and proactive approach.”

The work done alongside each other, demonstrating the determination and hard work of both teams, ensured a distribution centre was created like no other. This collaborative partnership has been highly successful, with Bondor and Vaughan Constructions also working together on an upcoming project in Clayton.