Exceeding Expectations with Sikla siFramo and Unistrut Midwest Engineering

At Unistrut Midwest, we take pride in being more than just a supplier; we are a full-service partner that can design, engineer, and prefabricate your ideal solution. That end-to-end expertise was what sold our team to a mechanical partner on a recent rooftop skid project.  

About the Project 

We connected with a mechanical partner who had a project that was perfect for a Sikla solution. This partner needed rooftop skids to support air handling units for new university student housing buildings, and they needed a partner to design, engineer, and supply a solution. The project had a demanding timeline for the first of three building installations, which would benefit from prefabrication. Between its flexibility and strength, our team knew that Sikla was the right product for the job.  

Sikla Equipment Skid Prefabrication   

The mechanical partner had identified that the air handling units could not be placed directly on the rooftops of these campus buildings and instead needed to be supported by skids tied into the structural steel in the building below. We proposed building supports in place on the roof and dropping prefabricated skids onto them. The supports would be welded to the prefabricated skids to spread the load while still being able to flash around the legs to protect the roof from the connection to the structural steel beams.

In order to right-size this solution, our team worked closely with the Sikla engineering team. One of the key benefits of choosing Unistrut Midwest as a partner was that these combined teams could provide not only the optimal support solution but also identify appropriate lift points on the skid.    

Because the skids were prefabricated on the ground, they needed to be lifted into place as one large unit before being installed onto the rooftop supports. Crucially, there could not be any deflection of the skids during lifting, or the solution risked being damaged. In the past, our mechanical partner relied on a third party to analyze how to best lift a solution into place, but our team designed and engineered the solution to include designated lift points that would allow the skids to be installed without deflection. Our partner appreciated that we were able to offer that service as part of our solution instead of passing that task onto them.

With the skids designed and lift points identified, Unistrut Midwest supplied the materials and guided our mechanical partner through the initial fabrication. The mechanical partner had never worked with Sikla before, so Unistrut Midwest Sikla experts visited the site to train the partner team on assembly and answer questions. Once they were confident in their fabrication abilities, they completed the prefabrication and installation.  

Sikla Prefabrication Results 

Thanks to Unistrut Midwest's engineering and prefabrication expertise, our mechanical partner was able to set nine prefabricated equipment skids on the roof of one building in under four hours. With over 70 pieces of equipment installed, tested, insulated, and ready for final connection, it was a timeline that our partner had never experienced before. With the first building’s skids installed, our mechanical partner is prepared to complete the skid installation on the remaining two buildings. 

Find out how Sikla prefabrication and working with a full-service partner can benefit your next project. Contact our team to learn more.