The Macallan civil engineering infrastructure

• earthworks;

• deep excavations;

• cofferdams;

• effluent, storm and foul drainage;

• pump mains;

• steam mains;

• ducting.

Supporting design development, we carried out an extensive value engineering exercise, bringing approximately £1.5 million of savings to the project. Solutions included reducing volumes of excavations, fewer temporary works and changing hard engineering storage solutions (tanks) to soft storage solutions (ponds).

A key customer requirement was to keep the Easter Elchies estate – where The Macallan is produced and bottled – operational during the ongoing works. To maintain ‘business as usual’, our works were programmed and managed so there was no negative effect on operations within the estate, and creating temporary road infrastructure was key to this.

This was vital as the estate is a top-tier COMAH site (Control of Major Accident Hazards), and in the event of an incident, good access for emergency vehicles must be evident.

As the project was so close to the River Spey, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), we worked closely with agencies to develop a bespoke water management system that would ensure zero environmental impact on the neighbouring watercourse. We retained 100% of the excavated material on site, which required specialist lime stabilisation work. We also preserved the sands and gravels, which were screened and graded to be used as backfill and in the final landscaping.