CETATE PRODUCTION / ZINGERLE GROUP WAREHOUSE FACILITY
About the project
The storage capacity of Cetate Production's tent manufacturing facility could no longer keep up with its growing order volume. Partway through the project, it became clear that the building had to be handed over 2 months ahead of the contractual deadline — because shipments arriving from abroad in the first week of December were scheduled to go directly to this facility.
BILT's roles on this project
General contracting: BILT took on full responsibility for delivering the project — from subcontractor agreements and material procurement through to turnkey handover, on schedule.
Reinforced concrete structures: The foundation work was carried out by our own dedicated reinforced concrete team — without involving a subcontractor.
Challenges
Deadline compressed mid-project
Halfway through the project, it emerged that the building was needed by the end of November instead of the contractual end of January — due to the client's growing order volume and incoming foreign shipments with fixed delivery dates. This meant a construction window shortened by 2 months.
Site preparation obstacles
A 1.5-meter-wide ditch ran across the building site and had to be diverted before construction could begin. In addition, the waterlogged area required a complete soil replacement — involving nearly 13,000 m³ of earthworks and fill.
Complex MEP works within a tight timeframe
Coordinating the sprinkler and internal hydrant system, the 6-meter firewall, and the regulatory approvals (fire department, urban planning) all had to be managed within the compressed schedule.
Parallel coordination across many trades
Steel structure, mechanical, electrical, cladding, and site works could not be run sequentially — they had to be carried out partly in parallel in order to keep the final deadline achievable.
Works completed
- Foundation and earthworks
- Construction of a new embankment
- Steel structure erection
- Sandwich panel installation
- PVC waterproofing
- Industrial flooring
- Complex building services (internal hydrant, sprinkler system)
- Construction of a 6-meter-high firewall
- Doors and windows
- Electrical installations
- Site works (asphalt paving, paving stones)
How we worked
Owner-level control. Project oversight happens at the owner level, not delegated. Quality and technical decisions are made exactly where and when they're needed. Large general contractors rarely reach this level of involvement — for us, it's the baseline.
Rolling 4-week schedule, broken down daily. As soon as the new deadline was set, we switched to intensive planning: tracking the schedule in our own ERP system, updated weekly with daily-level detail. Every subcontractor and supplier was kept under constant pressure — slippage was not an option.
In-house reinforced concrete team on foundation work. The soil replacement and foundation work proceeded quickly and flexibly — with no need to wait on subcontractor coordination. This was one of the key factors in recovering lost time.
Weekly cooperation with the client and internal teams. We briefed the client weekly on project status, emerging issues, and proposed solutions. Internally, coordination among teams working in parallel was maintained through weekly cooperation meetings.
BILT quality control system maintained even under tight deadlines. A checklist-based internal inspection system covering 42 work phases ensured that speeding up the schedule never came at the expense of quality. Every completed work phase was documented and verified.
Full monthly project report for the client. Not just a financial summary, but a complete management report giving the client an accurate picture of the entire project every month.
Outcomes
- Handover 2 months ahead of the contractual deadline — including regulatory sign-off
- Ditch diversion and 13,000 m³ of earthworks handled without delay
- Foreign shipments received in the first week of December
- Complex MEP systems (sprinklers, hydrants) delivered on schedule
- High quality, zero warranty issues
- Cetate Production remains an active partner to this day