
The New Way to Look at Construction: Continuous Flow
Many industry insiders will quietly tell you that the U.S. lags behind European countries on construction innovation and quality. They point to poor procurement, siloed and sub-optimized collaboration, and disjointed work as the reason for this inefficiency. But a principle …
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Granular Level Planning Identifies Construction Bottlenecks
ESI Group is using the Takt planning solution on a 250,000 sq. ft. design/build greenfield project for a Midwest beef packer. Takt creates what-if scenarios and maps them in a quick and efficient manner for the project plan. This helps …
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3 Ways to Manage D/B Projects Amid Shortages
Manage Projects with Rising costs. Transportation backlogs. Labor shortages. Time delays. Supply chain troubles. All of which are plaguing the design/build industry, and ultimately trickle down to food facility owners looking to build or expand facilities. “Product availability, lead times …
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ESI Navigates Rising Costs for PFG Expansion
Performance Food Group (PFG) selected ESI to design and construct a 152,623-foot expansion to its Reinhart facility in Mount Pleasant, PA. This includes freezer space, cooler space, refrigerated dock, dry warehouse, a truck maintenance facility, and related site improvements. The …
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Speculative Cold Storage is Hot
Growing demand for refrigerated cold storage space, along with increasing investor interest and better understanding of how to build these facilities, is spurring speculative cold storage development. Today, retrofitting traditional warehouses may be an advantageous way to capitalize on the …
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Converting Dry Storage to a Cold DC
Grocery supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers of Troutdale, OR, tasked ESI Group USA with converting an existing 75,908 sq. ft. of speculative dry storage into a refrigerated distribution center, with a refrigerated dock, both of which needed to operate at 35℉. …
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Automation Systems Promote Safety And Improved Performance
Food processing plants, warehouses, and distribution centers see the value in robotics and automation and are expected to invest $14.3 billion by 2025 in automation and technology. Driving this spend is the need to address a shrinking labor force, accommodate …
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Coca Cola Is Expanding Production: The Only Place To Go Is Up
Reyes Holdings, L.L.C., the parent company of Great Lakes Coca Cola, is expanding production and needs additional finished product storage at its existing distribution center in Alsip, Illinois. The only place to add storage space was on a parcel of …
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New Processing Site Ensures Safety to Workers, Jobs to Community
Earlier this year, Meat + Poultry Magazine reported that meat processors and food distributors were investing from under $1 million to almost $400 million into renovating existing operations or building new facilities. For meat and poultry processing more than 20 …
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Design Improves Supply Chains for Processors & Distributors
The COVID-19 pandemic created bottlenecks and backlogs in protein processing supply chains. As processors look to meet demand in 2021, possibly on the other side of the pandemic, they have an opportunity to re-imagine their business models and make necessary …
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Designing and Building in the Midst of a Pandemic
As COVID-19 continues to disrupt daily life, food plants must continue working to figure out a way to keep producing safely. COVID-19 poses the biggest threat to workers whose jobs require close contact, creating new challenges that the food industry …
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Organic meat processor incorporates sanitary design into Wisconsin facility
A Midwest meat processor has outgrown its current meat production plant and is looking to invest $60 million to develop a 150,000 square-foot facility on a 30-acre parcel in Wisconsin, with the potential to expand up to 300,000 square feet. …
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Integrating “Smart” Technologies into Your Design-Build is a Must
Smart technologies that address the growing desire for decreased operating costs, a reduction in energy consumption, and improved equipment life cycles are essential as food processors pursue LEED-certification. Partnering with a design-build engineering firm can bring energy-efficiency options and alternatives …
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Building Management Systems Keeps Operating at Peak Efficiency for US Foods
An HVAC system can account for 44% of a commercial office building’s energy consumption.1 So, the potential of saving an average of 30%1 was part of the reason US Foods (USF)-Manassas chose to integrate its HVAC system with a Building …
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Project Planning for the Uncontrollable
Project Planning for the Uncontrollable The promise of shorter timelines and lower costs has made design-build the dominant model in industrial construction. But both time and budget are subject to uncontrollable circumstances like extreme weather, labor shortages, and trade war …
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The Great Mississippi Doesn’t Deter ESI From Completing New Facility
The Great Mississippi Doesn’t Deter ESI From Completing New Facility ESI broke ground on a new food facility in Marrero, Louisiana in January 2019, but the project was quickly delayed until after Labor Day because of an unprecedented level of …
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Cut overhead costs
A siphonic roof drainage system is less expensive, more effective. The best money-saving ideas don’t have to be new – they just have to be new to your operation. In fact, ESI Design is introducing U.S. food plant and warehouse …
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Ben E. Keith’s New Award-Winning Foodservice Distribution Center
Photo by Erick Richter / www.CustomAerialImages.com With more than a century-long legacy in the food and beverage distribution industry, Ben E. Keith is known as the leader in delivering premium, high-quality products. Headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, the company’s food …
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Going the Extra Mile in the Design-Build of a Food Facility
How special efforts in the planning phases of a food facility project can help control costs down the line. Today’s design-build projects go beyond steel-and-beam projects. With consumers wanting more transparency and more accountability from food and beverage companies, sustainable …
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Managing Food Facility Project Costs
Whether building a greenfield project or renovating an existing food facility, construction costs can skyrocket. While some extra expenses can be completely out of a business’ control, there are many aspects of a design-build project to be aware of that …
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