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GBS – Prefab – the first precast concrete plant in the country with EPD sustainability certificate
GBS - Prefab, part of the Glavbolgarstroy Group, is the first super-modern prestressed concrete plant in Bulgaria to provide its customers with the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Through it, the plant, located near Pazardzhik and in close proximity to Plovdiv and the Thrace Economic Zone, certifies that it has undergone a certified life cycle analysis for its entire production range.
With the EPD certificate, GBS becomes the first company in the construction sector to provide environmental declarations for the prefabricated structures it manufactures. The certificate reveals information about the product based on its life cycle assessment (LCA), as well as additional data on its environmental aspects. The declaration thus helps buyers and consumers to make relevant comparisons and make an informed decision. By relying on EPD-certified products, developers can also more easily fulfil the conditions for obtaining LEED, BREEAM or Multi Comfort certification for their buildings.
The innovative plant in Pazardzhik is an example of sustainable construction that meets the highest international standards and demonstrates the company's commitment to environmentally friendly practices and innovation. The plant relies on “Building Information Modelling” (BIM) at every stage of production. A digital technical passport for each individual element is also integrated and can be accessed by scanning a QR code printed on the element.
High-tech equipment and automated processes at GBS - Prefab enable the collection and evaluation of environmental data for each product. Thus, in practice, the declarations that are issued describe and inform the public about the degree of sustainability and environmental impact of the product range that is offered to the customer. The data is verified by an independent international organisation and provides a significant advantage for projects that need to meet green building requirements.
What is EPD and why is it important?
Through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), a manufacturer describes the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle, from raw material extraction to recycling. These declarations are based on a life cycle analysis (LCA) that measures carbon footprint, resource consumption, waste generated and other key factors.
"With the environmental product declarations, we demonstrate our commitment to sustainability and give a competitive advantage to contracting authorities looking for innovative and high-quality construction solutions," said Georgi Dikov, Executive Director - Engineering, Marketing and Sales at Glavbolgarstroy Prefab.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a process that identifies and quantifies the environmental impacts of products, including carbon footprint, depletion of resources such as energy and water, and generation of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. This method provides an objective assessment of the environmental impact throughout the product life cycle.
"GBS - Prefab provides this data to its clients, giving them a tool to better assess the sustainability of their projects, giving clients a market advantage on construction projects that need to meet green building requirements.
Sustainable building practices and innovation
Investment in new machinery and technology is at the heart of GBS - Prefab's success. The plant has high-precision automated systems from one of the market leaders in this field, Progress Group, which ensures a fast and safe production process. This allows the company to produce prefabricated structures of exceptional quality, which find application in large-scale commercial and industrial projects.
"GBS - Prefab focuses on recycling and the use of environmentally friendly building materials, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable development. With the introduction of EPD certificates, the company, which is part of the GBS construction holding, is responding to the global need for sustainable construction. Through a series of innovations in production technology, the plant demonstrates how environmental responsibility and innovation can go hand in hand, providing solutions that are both high quality and environmentally friendly.
The plant in numbers
Around 20 million leva have been invested in the plant so far. The investment has been made in two stages - the construction of the main production hall with the installation of the technological equipment, the construction of an outdoor warehouse for finished products, as well as the necessary supporting infrastructure and everything needed to start production. This stage was completed in a record time of 8 months. The plant was up and running at full speed and it was realised within the first year that the available production capacity was insufficient to meet the demand for prefabricated structures. At the end of 2023, it was decided to implement the second stage of the investment, which involved building and equipping an extension of the production area by an additional 3,000 sqm. It took 5 months to implement and by mid-2024 the plant had an increase in production capacity of 50% compared to the original capacity.
To date, the plant employs 90 people, of whom 73 are directly involved in production and 17 are responsible for the engineering and administrative support of the processes.
Over the last 2 years, more than 30 sites have been built with structures manufactured at GBS - Prefab, and several large production and warehouse facilities are currently being worked on in parallel in the country. The first stadium in Bulgaria, which is designed using the state-of-the-art technology of prefabricated reinforced concrete construction, is also being built in Sofia - that of CSKA.