Elyria Foundry consists of three fully-integrated foundries on a 30-acre plant site in Elyria, Ohio. On November 16, 2012 the Core Building north of Foundry 1 erupted into flames and not only damaged the Core Room and Core Storage where molds and patterns are stored but also crippled the smaller foundry BMM (British Molding Machine) area where smaller castings are produced.

 

Osborn Engineering, with its previous history with Elyria Foundry, was called in to provide engineering services to help rebuild the facility so that production could be restored. Osborn worked closely with Elyria Foundry staff and the contractor to rebuild the facility. Little to no existing drawings of the facility were available thus Osborn had to produce drawings of the fire–damaged remains and also had to measure the existing structures integral to the re-build. Osborn worked closely with the City of Elyria’s Building Department to streamline the submittals for permit so that construction could commence in phases as soon as possible but also such that the City would not be overwhelmed with a large one-time submittal.

 

The BMM Building required removal of fire damaged columns, roof purlins, girders, and roof deck in the north-east quadrant of the pre-engineered building due to the intensity of the fire. These elements were twisted, bent out-of-plane and damaged beyond repair. New members were provided by the original building manufacturer with some minor modifications from Osborn on the east side of the building.

 

The Core Room and Core Storage areas required their entire roof systems to be removed. The columns in the Core Room were completely damaged and replaced in their entirety. The columns in the Core Storage were partially damaged and steel was spliced onto the remaining columns.

 

A high-bay building is now incorporated into the Core Room to accommodate new equipment clearance requirements.