About De Bortoli
Winemakers know their craft- understanding the terrain, the varieties, maintaining vines, the seasons and the all-important sugar levels known as brix; but when it comes to producing world-class wines DeBortoli knows that building industrial sheds isn’t part of their wheelhouse. With an annual crushing capacity of approximately 100,000 tonnes of grapes, De Bortoli Riverina Vineyard is a significant heritage site for this fourth-generation family company.
Undergoing steady growth, Asset Building Systems were contracted by De Bortoli to project manage two major warehouse extensions to their existing storage sheds. At the core of project was the overarching goal to engineer, fabricate and construct a premium structural steel extension that would future-proof De Bortoli’s operations – offering excellent return-on-investment.
These warehouse extensions were deemed critical for meeting the growing demands of the winery operations, more than doubling their existing onsite storage capacity for bottle stock and equipment storage. A circular economy begins to emerge when some of the Asset Building Team are partial to enjoying a glass of fine vino at home, after a week of building sheds!
Why were Asset Building Systems chosen?
Seeking a single contractor who could manage the entire project from start to finish was important to De Bortoli during their selection process. Running an active and busy winery, having one point of contact and accountability was non-negotiable when selecting the best fit for the job – and that’s where Asset Building Systems nailed the first prerequisite.
Not only were Asset Building Systems (ABS) quick to produce a fixed-price quote for the shed extensions, we offered certainty in the project delivery timeline and affirmed client confidence in presenting the superior WHS and compliance advantages of our crane lift building method.
A Superior Building Methodology
Using our crane-lift method means that entire roof structure and columns are constructed on the ground including insulation, roofing, electrical, skylight installation and engineering checks, before being crane lifted into place.
Compared to the conventional practices of shed building, ABS’s crane assisted building methodology is uniquely better, offering unmatched safety outcomes by removing the dangers of working at heights and securing construction efficiencies by building from the ground – meaning less defects and greater certainty through our systematic Quality Assurance controls.
Beyond the integral importance of engineering, ABS designed the warehouse addition to match the profile of the existing sheds. With roof insulation to decrease the harsh impact of temperature variation to the bottle stock; the installation of skylights serves to increase the filtration of natural light into the warehouse and simultaneously reducing the costs of unnecessary energy consumption.
De Bortoli: A Rich History
Established in 1928, De Bortoli’s Bilbul Winery is where the fourth-generation family company started. The flat plains and fertile red earth of the Riverina proved prosperous for Vittorio De Bortoli who arrived in the region after migrating to Australia from Northern Italy.
Today, this iconic Riverina region winery remains the home and heart of the company – where visitors can enjoy country hospitality and sample the locally made wines straight from the vineyard cellar door.
