Case Study: Unique Locker and Wire Partition Solution
August 4, 2026
The Unistrut Midwest Specialty Construction team’s adaptability and knowledge were crucial to helping a client as project needs evolved.
- Our team was initially engaged for a locker installation when the general contractor turned to us for an additional wire partition solution.
- We easily adapted when the wire partition changed from a standard installation to a fully customized solution.
Overview
Our team was contracted to install lockers for the new Ohio State University Waterman – Multispecies Animal Learning Complex (MALC), a center for teaching, research, and community engagement for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. We have an established relationship with the general contractor, so when a need for wire partitions arose, they knew our team could come up with an adaptable solution.
Approach
The new MALC facility is made up of an interconnected series of barns housing different species, including swine, equine, and poultry. The building needed lockers in classrooms, hallways, and locker rooms for students to store protective clothing to prevent cross-contamination from barn to barn. We installed durable, phenolic lockers on benches so that students can sit on the benches while still accessing their lockers.
During the bid process for the lockers, the MALC team learned that they were receiving a machinery donation. The donated egg-sorting machine would be located in the poultry barn and required wire partitions for the safety of the animals in the barn. The general contractor approached our team for a solution.
Solution
The egg-sorting machinery is located in an area of the poultry barn that animals can access, so wire partitions were needed for the safety and security of the animals and the machinery as well. The machinery collects eggs from the poultry and, using a conveyor system, moves the eggs to a different location in the building for research purposes.
Our team's initial plan was to install a simple, wall-to-wall wire partition on either side of the machine with cutouts for the conveyor system. However, because the machine was an in-kind donation, the MALC team was not sure of the equipment specifications or exact features. When the machine arrived, it had doors and wire caging that necessitated a rework of the wire partition plan.
Matt Boissy, the Unistrut Midwest Division 10 Project Manager, and our installer completed multiple field visits to get all the necessary measurements before designing a completely customized wire partition. This new solution adapted to the shape and features of the machinery while adhering to the tight tolerances required of a location with livestock. The standard four-foot by eight-foot wire partition panels were custom cut to keep poultry out and were galvanized so that they could be effectively cleaned.
The installation required additional coordination with the MALC team since the poultry barn was already open and populated with animals during installation. Ultimately, our installation team had the wire partition materials delivered, custom cut on site, and installed in one day.
Our team's expertise and adaptability allowed us to easily handle the pivot from straightforward wire partition installation to a customized solution. We worked with the client to not only provide additional services, but to problem-solve solutions along the way. Contact our team to find out how partnering with Unistrut Midwest can help with your Division 10 project.
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