Yates Construction group visits boardroom

Representatives with Yates Construction, that has the contract to build the battery plant, presented an overview of the project’s construction.

Melanie Gay, diversity coordinator/ project accountant with Yates, led off the discussion by saying Yates wants involvement with the local community.

She said the company is gauging the interest of the local community and players who can partner with the other subcontractors.

The project is broken up into sections and will engage as many local contractors as possible. She said getting the word out by word of mouth is helping.

Examples of some jobs for local small contractors include cleaning, putting up dry wall, and painting.

Beau Yarbro, division manager, operations, said there is lots of work to be done. Yates does not hire directly, but has a process whereby local vendors can be hired. He said Yates will hire a company to get local contractors work.

Gay said there are a lot of contractors working on the project, dubbed Project Poppy.

Justin Hall, executive director of the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority, said there are a lot of small contractors in Marshall County.

“Small businesses in our county, we’ve got to support them,” said District 5 supervisor Ronnie O’Neil Bennett.

“We are not publicly traded,” Yarbro said. “We operate like a team.”

“We want to stay engaged in the community,” Gay said. “We will kick off a bike drive for vendors companies to drop off bikes. People are ready to donate. All bikes go to Zinn’s group. We’re excited about it.”

Gay was referring to the non-profit established by District 4 supervisor George Zinn III.

Norris Chesser, with Yates, said test pilings and augurs will be run on the north side of the project. Pilings are 45 feet and augers are 20 inches.

District 2 supervisor Johnny Walker said more cement will go into the piers than in the slab.

“It’s a big job,” Chesser said.

Two batch concrete plants will be located onsite and 3.4 million yards of dirt will go into the foundation.

Safety is of the highest priority, Chesser said. Every meeting on site starts with a safety discussion. The company has no injuries.

Every eight inches of dirt used in the foundation is compacted to assure that the foundation will hold the weight of the building.

Test pilings was begun a month ago. The project is ahead of schedule and the facility will be in full production in March 2027.

District 3 supervisor Keith Taylor asked if the company will offer bus tours during construction.

Chesser said the company gives tours for police departments and emergency medical services to familiarize them with the pathways.

Project engineer Jessie Thompson said a sample will be made, not for sale, by March 2027 after substantial completion. Production will be refined to make a salable battery product after that.

Every eight inches, the compaction in pounds per square inch on the foundation will be checked.

Hall said that when the building is completed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment and machinery will go in the building.

Chesser said rebar will be placed on the foundation and left for 28 days to see if any movement has taken place.

“What would make a rod sink?” asked Zinn.

Yarbro said it is to check for normal earth movement.

Chesser said a trailer city will be set up for orientation.

Yarbro said the building will be 2.5 million square feet under the roof and 3,000 feet long.

Chesser said 4,000 olympic swimming pools or 58 football fields would fit in the footprint.

Thompson said procurement is a huge part of project and that a procurement team will do that.

“Everything that happens on site, somebody has to purchase it,” he said.

Chesser said consumables can be bid locally.

The building construction will go up vertically in February, he said.

Walker asked if food trucks would be allowed on site.

Chesser said 1,500 people will be working at the site and food trucks will be on site.