The Project
Established in 1915, Haigh’s Chocolates is an Australian family-owned chocolate maker with over 21 retail stores across Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, producing 1,000 tonnes of chocolate each year.
To meet rising demand and national expansion, Haigh’s initiated plans for its largest-ever infrastructure investment—a new manufacturing facility in Salisbury South, Adelaide. The facility would include a state-of-the-art refrigerated warehousing and online fulfilment centre, enabling Haigh’s to double their chocolate production capacity.
WGA was engaged by Bell Architects as a project partner, providing Civil, Geotechnical and Structural engineering design services. Following novation to the design and construct contractor, CIP Constructions, WGA continued as a key project partner, delivering detailed design under an accelerated program.
Technical Solutions
WGA delivered a suite of engineering design services tailored to meet the operational, structural, and environmental demands of Haigh’s new temperature-controlled manufacturing and fulfilment centre. Key solutions included:
- Comprehensive Facility Design: WGA engineered the full scope of the facility, including a temperature-controlled warehouse for production, fulfilment, and storage, administration levels, an entry annex, a dock office, and a suspended floor above a 295-space car park.
- Structural & Cladding Solutions: The warehouse envelope featured a combination of insulated wall panels, compressed fibre cement sheeting, and precast concrete walls. These precast elements served dual roles as fire compartment walls and load-bearing shear walls, providing essential lateral stability to the structure.
- Service Integration & Future Flexibility: The structural design allowed for seamless service routing across roof, ceiling, and in-ground zones, providing flexibility for future modifications and alterations. A secondary steel framing system was also incorporated to support heavyweight services in the roof space, ensuring long-term operational flexibility.
Client Focus
Operational since September 2025, the state-of-the-art facility’s design accommodates up to 400 employees, allowing Haigh’s to double their chocolate production capacity, meeting increased demand.
This project showcased WGA’s expertise in seamless client and partner coordination, delivering a detailed structural design within just two months while fabrication drawings progressed in parallel. The team’s proactive approach minimised defects and ensured the builder was aware of any drawing gaps, enabling timely allowances and the achievement of critical program milestones.
Image Credits: Haigh’s Chocolates
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