While construction is a very tedious practice and the effort time consuming to ensure a safe building, there is sometimes a little bit of leeway as far as the placement of items, like pipes.

Not so when it comes to gas stations. Every measurement has to be perfectly coordinated in order to maintain the highest safety standards possible.

“Safety is a major, major issue. Both Shell and Esso place a high value on safety,” explains Nicholas Wallington, owner of C&N Construction and C&N Contracting.

Mr. Wallington has been very busy over the last several months as his company has been selected to work on four different petrol stations, including PHC Shell in Southampton, which was completed ahead of time and under budget, and Raynor’s Shell and Esso City, which are both under construction.

The company also had the pleasure of working on Terceira’s Shell Service Station, which recently celebrated its grand re-opening.

Working with Craig Stark of Woodbourne Associates, who has been retained as the project manager by both Shell and Esso for their current projects, and Specialised Technologies, C&N served as the main contractor.

“It was a complete retro-fit,” Mr. Wallington says of the project at Terceira’s, which included gutting the original building, upgrading the interior and replacing the canopy and tanks.

“Gas tanks and pumps only last so long,” he explains, adding that the equipment at the location was due to be replaced.

Specialised Technologies focused on the intricate design and fitting of the tanks, piping and pumps to the main building, allowing the system to be controlled from inside.

“We had a fantastic team, a fantastic project manager,” Mr. Wallington asserts. “It was on time and on budget.”

The project commenced at the beginning of September 2005 and was completed by the end of January 2006. During that time, the site was also shared with HWP, which maintains a service station to the rear of the petrol station.