From Cheshire to the Caucasus: Shrink Wrap for Pipeline Construction in Georgia

Industrial · Energy Infrastructure

Key Facts

• Client: Enka İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş. for South Caucasus Pipeline Company Ltd.
• Project: Temporary construction enclosures for compressor station build
• Scope: 134 rolls of 300 micron FR film; 5 heat guns; tape, clips and access doors
• Material: Rhino Shrink Wrap 300 micron, flame retardant to EN13501
• Delivery: Road freight UK warehouse to Georgian Caucasus
• Location: Caucasus mountains, Georgia

The Problem

Enka İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş. one of Turkey's largest construction contractors was building a compressor station for the South Caucasus Pipeline Company Ltd. in the Georgian Caucasus. The pipeline carries natural gas from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey, and the compressor station sits in exposed mountain terrain at significant altitude: cold temperatures, wind, and unpredictable weather conditions for much of the construction season.

Concrete pours and other construction activities at altitude require a controlled environment. Unprotected work in the open creates problems with curing rates, temperature consistency and quality. The site was remote a long drive from Tbilisi and far from any source of specialist materials locally. Whatever was needed for the job had to be sourced, specified correctly and transported to site in advance.

Enka contacted Rhino Shrink Wrap to supply materials for a series of temporary enclosures to protect the construction work at the compressor station.

The Solution

134 rolls of Rhino Shrink Wrap 300 micron flame retardant film, certified to EN13501, were specified for the project alongside 5 propane heat guns, 72 rolls of patch tape, clips and 6 access doors. The full specification was designed to allow Enka's team to construct multiple temporary enclosures on site using local labour with on-site technical support from Rhino.

The materials were dispatched under FCA terms from Rhino's warehouse in Sandbach, Cheshire. Enka's freight team collected by road and transported the full consignment overland to Georgia a journey through multiple countries to one of the more remote construction sites Rhino has supplied.

Each roll was individually packaged and palletised at 30 rolls per pallet for the journey, with full customs documentation and HS codes covering the film, tape, clips, doors and heat guns for export and Georgian import clearance.

Once the materials arrived on site, Rhino's team flew out to Tbilisi and drove to the compressor station to provide technical support during installation — working with Enka's local construction team to apply the shrink wrap enclosures around the structures requiring protection.

The Result

The temporary shrink wrap enclosures provided the controlled working environment required for construction activities at the compressor station. The 300 micron FR specification gave the enclosures the durability and fire certification appropriate for an energy infrastructure site, and the heat-shrunk film created structures tight enough to hold conditions for concrete pours and other work regardless of what the mountain weather was doing outside.

The project is a useful illustration of how shrink wrap materials travel. The film was manufactured in Europe, sold from Cheshire, driven overland through Europe and the Caucasus, and installed at altitude in Georgia all with the same EN13501 fire certification and standard application method used on a construction site in the UK. The specification does not change with the geography; the logistics do.

Supplying a Remote or International Construction Project?

Supplying a remote or international construction project? Talk to the Rhino team about materials specification and export supply.

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