Case Study
A Vertical Solution: Medical Facility Mezzanine
How Three Custom Mezzanines Solved Alcon’s Expansion Problem
You see this a lot. A good company, growing fast, is out of space. That was the situation for a medical facility down in Irvine. They were launching a new product line and needed more room, but building an addition wasn’t an option. The cost and disruption of traditional construction were non-starters for a sensitive medical environment.
When you can’t build out, you build up. The most valuable real estate in their building was the empty air above everyone’s head. Our job was to turn that vertical space into solid, usable square footage with an industrial mezzanine system.
The Blueprint for Growth: A Mezzanine-First Approach
This wasn’t about putting in a few shelves. This was about fundamentally changing the building’s footprint from the inside. When a client is landlocked, a structural mezzanine is often the smartest, most cost-effective path forward.
We partnered with the engineers at Western Pacific Storage Solutions to ensure every platform was custom-designed for its intended load and purpose, resulting in a coordinated system across the facility.
The final design included distinct platforms for Shipping, Receiving, and a specialized Photonics work area, giving them the room they needed with a fraction of the downtime of a major construction project.
Project Highlights
You don’t solve a space problem like this with an off-the-shelf product. A successful mezzanine project requires careful planning and the right components. Here are the key pieces of the solution:
Three Custom Structural Mezzanines
The core of the project was designing three independent steel mezzanines. This created thousands of square feet of new, usable floor space dedicated to specific operational needs.
Engineered Steel Structures
To guarantee a safe and durable mezzanine, the structures were professionally engineered by our partners to meet all code requirements and last in a demanding environment.
Full Facility and Safety Integration
Safety and workflow are everything. Each platform was fully integrated with industrial staircases and a complete safety railing system. To handle the flow of goods, we incorporated a pallet drop gate, which is critical for maintaining a safe and efficient transfer point for palletized products.
The Bottom Line
The client gained a massive amount of new, functional square footage without the headache and expense of a traditional building expansion. They got their new product line up and running in a space that was custom-built for their workflow.
We didn’t just sell them a steel mezzanine; we delivered a smarter, more efficient use of the building they already had.
