XLERPLATE® Airwalk For The Illawarra

02 October 2007

A tourist viewing platform made from XLERPLATE®steel is being built in the New South Wales Illawarra region.

A tourist viewing platform made from XLERPLATE® steel is being built in the New South Wales Illawarra region.

Tasmanian based fabricator Crisp Bros is drawing, fabricating and erecting the 500 metre elevated tree top walk 'Illawarra Fly' on the escarpment at Knights Hill above Wollongong.

The structure, commissioned by developer Canopy 01 for the MFS Living and Leisure Group, will sit 20 metres above the ground.

Crisp Bros has successfully carried out a similar project for Canopy 01 in Victoria, the 'Otway Fly' tourist viewing platform, and has also fabricated and erected Tasmania's Tahune Airwalk.

"We excel in environmentally sensitive projects," Director Peter Acheson said. "The Illawarra Fly platform is being built to bring tourists closer to the trees and the views, so we can't rush in with cranes and machinery."

"This makes the erection period three times longer, about three months, but we're ensuring the environment remains safe."

Crisp Bros began fabrication in August and expects to start delivering sections in September, ahead of a December completion date.

"Our last delivery will arrive mid November, and we'll have eight workers on site to ensure we meet our erection deadline," Mr Acheson said.

Crisp Bros has done the Illawarra Fly drawings in house to ensure the erection phase runs smoothly.

"We can't make changes on site because of environmental constraints," Mr Acheson said.

"Walkway angles and gradients need to be correct, as do the joints on the walkway and tower structure."

A viewing tower structure stands 40 metres above the ground and is accessed via a spiral staircase. It will be fabricated from rolled XLERPLATE® steel sections, and XLERPLATE® steel will also be used for the deck.

"Distributor OneSteel Steel and Tube has supplied us with about 40 tonnes of Grade 350 XLERPLATE® steel in 6mm and 8mm thicknesses for the project," Mr Acheson said.

Crisp Bros, a member of the STEEL BY™ Brand Partnership Program, was established in the late 1950s and has occupied its present 3,500 square metre workshop site at Kings Meadows in Launceston since 1962.

Privately owned, Crisp Bros specialises in architectural, residential and commercial fabrication. Its partners also operate Tasmanian heavy fabrication company Haywards Steel Fabrication and Construction.