CASE STUDY

BOC | Australian Dry Ice Plant Upgrades

BOC Industrial Gases in Australia secured new supply contracts for dry ice slices and blocks to major industrial users. While dry ice production sits within BOC’s broader CO₂ capability, delivering the required volumes at scale demanded significant upgrades to existing production facilities, primarily in Melbourne and Sydney.

Caliber Design was engaged to provide project management and engineering oversight, drawing on experience gained from similar dry ice plant upgrades delivered previously for BOC in New Zealand. Caliber’s role covered the coordination, integration, and delivery of complex plant upgrades across multiple sites to support new production capacity, accelerated timeframes, and strict operational requirements.

KEY TASKS

• Track project spend against budget

• Manage electrical, P&ID, and site layout drawing updates

• Prepare commissioning and fault-finding checklists

• Coordinate on-site production line installation

• Conduct safety compliance reviews and checks

• Identify workmanship and equipment defects

• Rectify machinery defects

• Source contractors and resources for site installation and modifications

• Commission and optimise production lines to achieve target outputs

• Coordinate shipping of equipment and ongoing spare parts

HOW WE DELIVERED

Caliber initially supported the programme as an offsite project manager, providing technical leadership and process understanding based on prior successful delivery of dry ice plant upgrades for BOC New Zealand. The scope involved staged reconfiguration of existing plants alongside the installation and commissioning of new production equipment across three sites.

The upgrades included the importation and installation of eleven major machines, four locally supported robotic cells, and two 50,000-litre vertical pressure vessels. Beyond the core equipment, Caliber coordinated the detailed engineering required to integrate the new systems safely and effectively into operating facilities. This included the design and approval of concrete foundations, upgrades to electrical distribution boards and cabling, revised site layouts, pressure piping and venting routes, gas extraction systems, room layouts, machine guarding, and robotic cell specifications.

As with any complex integration programme, a significant portion of the work involved learning, tuning, and stabilising the installed systems to achieve reliable production output. Caliber provided on-site support where required, covering training, documentation, and operational readiness to meet production targets.

During the upgrade programme, an additional high-priority project emerged, requiring delivery within a two-month window to support a lucrative supply contract. This project enabled BOC to become the only supplier in Australasia capable of producing the dry ice product with an automated packing system. The work was delivered from tender through to operational handover within an exceptionally compressed timeframe, achieving completion under budget by approximately 30 percent.