Construction of 500 prefab transportable buildings using Climateline for the walls & ceilings
- ClimateLine Standard and Aqua used for lining walls and ceilings
- 145,000m2 of Climateline supplied as cut to size panels
- Delivered significant program efficiencies and reduced waste
March 2016 marked the completion of a landmark eight month project for Climate Surfaces,
supplying 145,000m2 of Climateline powder coated plasterboard sheets to ATCO Structures and Logistics in Western Australia. One of the largest producers of modular buildings in the world operating globally. The project, a workforce accommodation camp for a large natural gas project in Western Australia comprises 500 prefabricated accommodation buildings to house 2000 workers, plus support
service buildings such as dining rooms and ablution blocks.
For ATCO, it was the first time using powder coated plasterboard. General Manager Brad Tucker says that while this presented an element of risk (especially on a project of this scale) he was motivated by the significant advantages and value the product offered both ATCO and their client. A visit to Climate’s factory in Auckland gave Brad the assurance he needed.
Programme Efficiencies
A key driver for using Climateline was the speed of production it allowed says Brad. “Project time frames were tight, using the pre-finished product meant we didn’t need wet trades on the factory floor which allowed us to easily achieve an ambitious programme of four times (15m x 4.2m) buildings a
day.”
Climate delivered the ClimateLine sheets to ATCO’s plant in Perth; in house lots of cut-to-size panels ready to simply slot into place. Completed units were then transported more than
1500kms to the project site.
Cost SavingsBoard waste was less than 1% compared to the industry standard of 15%, which provided a significant
cost saving. “The price of the material (board for board) is slightly higher than standard plasterboard,” explains Brad. “By the time we added up the cost savings on labour, wastage and clean
up we actualised a cost saving.”
Superior Finish and Performance
Created by the application of Climate’s powder coating, thermally fused to a plasterboard
substrate, Climateline’s finish is consistent, VOC free and durable.
ATCO was extremely pleased to deliver such a high-performing product to the client.
“From a supplier standpoint Climate was one of the success stories of the project,” Brad says. “We are very happy to continue working with Climate and using Climateline.”



Plasterboard is the primary material of choice in New Zealand for the interior surface of walls and ceilings. Plasterboard is economic, easy to install, fire-resistant, non-toxic, long-lasting, repairable and usually manufactured locally. A limiting attribute, however, is that the finishing methodology is very laborious and slow; it requires significant downtime while waiting for the plaster and paint to dry. Clients expect monolithic walls where plasterboard is concerned, and while improvements on method and materials have been made to speed up the finishing process, it remains an inefficient process no matter the increments of advance.