Critical infrastructure for a mega fulfilment centre

Electrical contractor New Edge Group was in charge of planning the power infrastructure for a major new facility in Western Sydney. The project was the first of two new fulfilment centres, with $490 million being invested across both facilities.

Spanning 80,000 square metres, the first facility has the capacity to hold up to 1.6 million items, including large products like garden equipment, furniture and televisions.

To deliver the electrical switchboards and associated infrastructure, New Edge Group selected Fuji SMBE Macquarie under a Design and Construct agreement.

“Fuji SMBE Macquarie is a reputable switchboard company with large project experience, and crucially for this project, they can handle everything from design to construction under one roof,” said New Edge Group Senior Project Manager Antony Brizgala.

The project came with various challenges, including limited switchroom space, having to modify existing equipment to meet customer requirements, and designing for future expansion.

“Fitting the boards within the switchroom required us to work closely with construction engineers to design the appropriate structural pit and operate within strict dimensional and weight constraints,” Brizgala said. “Fuji SMBE was highly responsive and proactively coordinated with us and the engineers to adjust designs accordingly.”

Fuji SMBE Macquarie’s work included designing, manufacturing and supplying three main switchboards, as well as designing and supplying three main distribution boards. It also designed and supplied 41 distribution boards servicing the fulfilment centre and completed full factory and site testing of automatic transfer schemes (ATS), power monitoring systems, photovoltaic (PV) remote control interfaces, and shunt trip control systems.

The company coordinated and executed same-day site joining works aligned with switchboard delivery to maintain program certainty and minimise disruption to the construction sequence.

Crucially, Fuji SMBE Macquarie also completed a comprehensive arc flash study in accordance with current Australian Standards and site safety requirements.

“The arc flash study was important to our customer, as a company committed to safety and Standards compliance. It ensures correct PPE is worn in areas with live switchboards, to protect people against potential dangers,” Brizgala said.

“With such complex challenges, everyone needed to work together to ensure smooth delivery, and that’s where trusted suppliers like Fuji SMBE are critical in meeting both technical requirements and project deadlines.”

New Edge Group has worked on projects with Fuji SMBE Macquarie previously, and has valued the company’s collaborative approach to finding the right solutions to deliver a successful project that the customer is happy with.

Room to grow

As part of the project brief, the customer requested a minimum of 20% spare capacity, and room to expand in the future as its needs continue to grow.

Fuji SMBE Macquarie Project Supervisor Lee Mamouzelos said the successful delivery of Stage 1 has led to continued involvement in Stage 2 works, reinforcing the company’s capability to support large-scale, mission-critical facilities across multiple phases of development.

“The completion of this project highlights Fuji SMBE Macquarie’s expertise in delivering complex electrical infrastructure for global clients, while maintaining a strong focus on quality, safety and long-term reliability,” Mamouzelos said.

Images: Supplied