'Implementing W installations was a military operation'

"We had several clients on this project," says BLR-Bimon director Jan Paul Birkhoff. "We took care of the W-installations of 31 storefronts: 15 for construction company To Build, which built on behalf of engineering and project management firm NewArmstrong, and 16 on the direct instructions of the store owners. In addition, we had to deal with the preconditions from owner Neinver and The Project Office, the party responsible for the entire shopping center as the builder."

Sustainable installations

An important precondition concerned sustainability, which is reflected in, among other things, The Style Outlets' BREEAM-NL certification. Birkhoff: "The specifications stipulated that the outlet center must be gas-free, including heat pumps and an energy-efficient VRF system. For cost reasons, we recommended and installed a number of alternative solutions, including split units instead of VRF." BLR-Bimon installed the heat pumps, climate systems and air curtains, including the control technology. The W installer also installed the plumbing and the ventilation system with heat recovery.

31 stores in 6 weeks

"The execution of the W-installations was a military operation," Birkhoff looks back. "We had six weeks to realize all the stores. And that on a construction site with a total of about 600 men walking around, all of whom were using the elevator and the two construction cranes. Our team, with experienced professionals, worked incredibly hard to get this done. In doing so, we relied on our experience and pioneering mentality, with which we have relieved our clients for more than 50 years. To keep everything running smoothly, we stationed our warehouse man at the construction site 3 days a week. We also benefited greatly from our project manager, who has 32 years of experience in retail projects." Birkhoff is proud: "With the whole team, and in cooperation with our suppliers and partners, we delivered a top performance."