How to Make Your Plant Infrastructure Work Smarter, Not Harder
Here’s an outline of how to work through the infrastructure challenges, the solutions available and things to consider when building new or enhancing an existing plant.
When it comes to food processing plant infrastructure, there are several factors in play. Does the facility include any state-of-the-art machinery? Does it meet food safety standards? Does it support any energy efficient features? Does it meet all of the deliverables needed to fully operate safely and effectively for the food being produced and shipped out?
If your answer to all of the above is “yes,” then you’re working smarter, not harder. But if you answered “no,” thankfully there are solutions available to get your food processing plant up to speed.
Here’s an outline of how to work through the infrastructure challenges, the solutions available and things to consider when building new or enhancing an existing plant.
Identifying the challenges
Before building, installing, or enhancing a food processing plant, it’s important to identify and understand the challenges that lie within meeting regulations.
The 10,000 Series FoodSafe Slot drain features 3/8” stainless-steel embeds welded to the drain and tied into rebar, creating a solid, unified drain-floor structure for long term stability under heavy loads.Global Drain TechnologiesFor starters, keeping everything hygienic is a big concern, says Viking Kristjansson, VP of Sales Engineering and Channel Development at FoodSafe Drains, “especially when cracked floors and failing drains can quickly become breeding grounds for bacteria like listeria. Persistent problems with floor coatings and drainage systems often make cleaning a hassle, especially when older drains rely on buried pipes that are hard to access and prone to damage from heavy equipment, impacts, or harsh chemicals. These issues don’t just threaten food safety; they also lead to frustrating downtime, sanitation problems, and expensive repairs. Plus, with inconsistent installation standards and varying quality, even the best-designed systems sometimes fall short and complicate things further.”
What’s more, there are many reasons U.S. food plants fall behind hygienically from the rest of the world, says Scott J. Myers, President of H.I.P. Panel Co LLC.
“Fire codes and hygienic codes combat each other. Sanitary cleanup eats away current food plant infrastructure. Current infrastructure design is built for cost effectiveness, not food safety. Too many vendors for current food plant design do not fit each other to create a hygienic food plant,” Myers says.
Other areas of concern pertain to maximizing operational efficiency, managing temperature differential between spaces, maintaining energy control and savings, overseeing maintenance costs, and ensuring the safety of personnel and food, according to Alice Permigiani, Chief Editor of Hörmann North America.
Flowfresh is an HACCP International-certified antimicrobial urethane cement that comes in a range of decorative patterns, finishes, and topcoats.Key ResinWhen it comes to flooring specifically, Dan O’Connell, Sales Representative at Key Resin Company, says the top three challenges are maintaining a clean environment, upholding a non-slip environment, and minimizing downtime because of floor repairs.
For Tyler Kwasny, VP of Operations at SaniCrete, flooring challenges also involve poor floor slope and inadequate drainage, choosing the wrong flooring system, insufficient installation time, and choosing cheaper options upfront that create costly long-term problems down the road.
Implementing the solutions
Even the best-designed systems sometimes fall short and complicate things further, says Kristjansson.
That’s why companies like FoodSafe Drains offer a full lineup of solutions built for the ins and outs of food and beverage plants.
For starters, FoodSafe Slot Drain systems are designed with hygiene in mind. Using a patented no-niche design and NSF/ANSI-approved seamless stainless steel, Slot Drain systems are built to integrate into existing workflow and equipment placement for all applications.
“Plus, we offer specialized cleaning tools like the Slot Dog and Slot Hog to make it easy to keep everything spotless. These drains get rid of hidden spots where bacteria could hide, and they’re easy to clean and tough enough to handle heavy traffic and powerful cleaning chemicals,” says Chad Kaatz, VP Engineering and Product Management at FoodSafe Drains.
The FoodSafe Drain division also offers area drains, trench drains, catch basins, tamper-proof magnetic strainers, custom covers, and clean-in-place accessories, all made to integrate smoothly into floors, Kaatz says. Latest upgrades include reinforced drains, removable tabs for easy maintenance, and custom-fitted covers, all designed to save labor, cut installation downtime, and boost operational hygiene.
For its part, H.I.P. Panel Co. offers a range of fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) solutions, including seamless panels and curb systems, patented door frame systems, patent-pending hose stations with eye wash station and sink, a patent-pending door frame curb system and seamless details for pipe penetrations.
“Our system is the ‘next generation of food plant design,’” says Myers. “We have completely removed all steel, silicone and urethane sealants, and any exposed fasteners, with zero harborage areas.”
The SaniPatch DIY Program is a do-it-yourself concrete repair kit that addresses common floor failures.SaniCreteMeanwhile, SaniCrete developed SaniPatch DIY Program, a do-it-yourself concrete repair kit that addresses common floor failures, including constant repair to holes and joints, forklift damage, standing water, USDA/FDA/OSHA fines, unsafe pedestrian traffic, and eroded or spalled concrete.
“This pre-measured three-component polyurethane cement kit covers 10 square feet…. The system is ready for foot traffic in just four hours and handles forklift traffic in six hours,” Kwasny says. “We provide comprehensive training programs for maintenance crews and scalable corporate-wide programs for multi-site operations, including detailed instructions, instructional videos, hands-on demonstrations, and all necessary materials and equipment.”
SaniCrete also offers a comprehensive floor-to-drain program that coordinates complete integrated systems, including poured and coated curbs, wall systems, cove base, and all transition areas.
“We're adding drain installations to complete this single-source approach within the next five to six months, which will eliminate the coordination challenges between multiple contractors while ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance throughout the entire processing environment,” says Kwasny.
Plus, its SaniCrete STX Revolutionary Technology combines innovative polyurethane chemistry with Helix helically-twisted stainless-steel fiber technology to “create an extremely durable, seamless surface with unsurpassed crack resistance that doubles the strength of traditional flooring solutions while providing superior chemical and thermal resistance,” Kwasny adds. “We incorporate antimicrobial additives throughout our entire product line, providing built-in pathogen resistance and enhanced food safety protection as a standard feature, not an expensive upgrade.”
The ISO Speed Cold is a single-door solution for demanding refrigerated and freezer applications that helps maintain environmental control between busy temperature-controlled spaces.Hörmann North AmericaHörmann North America developed the ISO Speed Cold, specially designed as a single-door solution for demanding refrigerated and freezer applications. This insulated door helps maintain environmental control between busy temperature-controlled spaces.
The CHILLFAST insulated high-speed roll-up door system sustains temperature ranges suitable for freezers, cold rooms, and chill rooms. Fast operating speeds minimize temperature loss in cold spaces by reducing the duration of time the door is open for substantial energy savings.
Hörmann’s HPP impact traffic door is made of heavy-duty, solid, non-insulated polyethylene PE 500 panel material, making it impervious to moisture, acids and alkalis. Plus, it’s crack-resistant and USDA/FDA/EU compliant, making it ideal for any application where pedestrian, cart, or forklift traffic is common in demanding cold storage, food, and warehousing operations, Permigiani says.
Other door options like Hörmann’s SC 1400 SEL Cool-Master and the SC 1400 SEL Food-Master are able to conform with industry requirements. The Cool-Master is ideal for energy-conscious, 24/7/365 applications in agricultural, medical, and cold storage facilities, while the Food-Master design allows for the selection of the stainless-steel option, making it possible to build a Food-Master door without paying for unnecessary options.
For its part, Key Resin manufactures FlowResin products, including Flowfresh, a HACCP International-certified antimicrobial urethane cement that comes in a range of decorative patterns, finishes and topcoats to suit the requirements of the jobsite, O’Connell says.
Whether it’s to meet energy efficient standards, achieve food safety regulations, or provide a safe working environment, today’s selection of floors, drains, walls and doors help food processors work smarter, not harder.
Sidebar: Building New vs. Adding On
When it comes to building new manufacturing plants or adding on to existing ones, here are some things to consider.
“New manufacturing plants, food and beverage companies really need to focus on infrastructure design to keep everything hygienic,” says Viking Kristjansson, VP of Sales Engineering and Channel Development at FoodSafe Drains. “When expanding a facility or updating a plant, it’s crucial to make sure everything works smoothly with what’s already in place and that business isn’t disrupted too much. Retrofitting drains in older buildings can be tricky. You need to dig into the details, like finding hidden failures, checking slab depths, and locating buried utilities before making any changes. Every solution has to fit the building’s sanitary needs, any required structural upgrades, and the new process flows, all while working within tight shutdown schedules.”
When building new, “processors should ensure that they are choosing the right type of flooring for their particular environment and not under-specifying the flooring system. One size does not fit all,” says Dan O’Connell, Sales Representative at Key Resin Company.
When adding on to existing manufacturing plants, “processors should maintain the same type of flooring system, or at least the same manufacturer, for continuity of performance,” he adds.
It’s important to design “high-care rooms (washdown rooms) with the proper materials to be able to clean properly and not create harborage areas for bacteria to hide. [Make sure everything is] easily cleanable with worker flow, hygienic zones, product flow, color coding, and high-care areas are thought out using building materials that are impervious to bacteria,” says Scott J. Myers, President of H.I.P. Panel Co LLC. When adding on, “make sure [you don’t] cover up existing mold or bacteria.”
When building new manufacturing plants, food and beverage processors should consider the appropriate type of door to select for access between rooms, says Alice Permigiani, Chief Editor of Hörmann North America.
“It is recommended to consult with a door professional and complete a survey about the various environments in relation to hours of operation, material handling/traffic flow, number of cycles required, and types of traffic (personnel, pallets, fork trucks, etc.),” she adds.
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The 10,000 Series FoodSafe Slot drain features 3/8” stainless-steel embeds welded to the drain and tied into rebar, creating a solid, unified drain-floor structure for long term stability under heavy loads.Global Drain Technologies
Flowfresh is an HACCP International-certified antimicrobial urethane cement that comes in a range of decorative patterns, finishes, and topcoats.Key Resin
