Dennis Group was brought in shortly after a catastrophic series of explosions destroyed much of Imperial Sugar’s refinery & packaging facilities. Following investigations conducted by OSHA and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), Dennis Group was released to begin management of site/facility demolition while simultaneously planning for the design-build reconstruction of the site and facilities with “world class” vision.
Project Highlights
11 months following project release and commencement of construction, key operations for Imperial Sugar were back on line.
Scope included 185,000 SF of new building construction plus 40,000 SF of damaged facility renovations and new production and packaging equipment.
300 tons/hour of sugar was distributed via dense phase systems (with dilute phase systems for powder & starch conveyance), three large storage silos constructed & fit up, truck and rail load out reconstructed with updated technologies, and eleven high volume packaging lines (granulated, brown and powder) all with the most current NFPA, OSHA and CSB recommendations, guidelines & requirements. Extensive wet and dry dust collection systems were incorporated into the design.
Maintaining schedule and cost while incorporating design innovations and working around existing site constraints were major challenges overcome during this fast-track project. Once key elements of production were on line construction of facilities and installation of process equipment were performed without interruption to ongoing operations. This required close coordination with plant personnel, 24 hour per day construction activities and managing over 600 contractors per day during peak installation & commissioning periods.
HJ Heinz European Frozen and Chilled Foods invested $9 MM to establish a strategic headquarters in Dublin and expand its frozen ready-meals production facility.
Project Highlights
Dennis Group provided facility and process design-build services for the expansion of an Heinz’s existing facility located in Dundalk, Ireland. The facility design included renovation of 5,000 m2 of internal production space and the construction of 3,000 m2 of new food manufacturing and utility areas.
This project involved the installation of two high-speed fully automated frozen-ready meal production lines.
A state of the art sauce manufacturing system utilizing vacuum cooling and a flexible batch management and control system supported the production lines.
Additional process equipment included pasta blanching, high shear slurry blending, and potato and fish handling.
Installation of completely new utility systems and a wastewater treatment plant was also incorporated into the project.
When global demand for Ocean Spray dried cranberries doubled within three years and was projected to double once again, the company made its largest capital investment in a manufacturing facility to date with a 130,000 SF expansion that doubled the plant’s size to 440,000 SF. The plant produces both sweetened dried cranberries and cranberry juice concentrates.
Project Highlights
The facility incorporated some of the latest technologies in energy and environmental efficiency, including a wastewater treatment facility, energy-efficient lighting, and an expansion of a system that converts methane from the Veolia Cranberry Creek Landfill into clean energy to power the plant.
A new fully-racked warehouse for both ingredients and finished goods increased storage capacity. The expansion enabled the plant to produce more than 30 million pounds of sweetened dried cranberries per year.
Major accomplishments of the project included design and implementation of 5S standards in creating state-of-the-art maintenance shop and quality control lab spaces.
Dennis Group provided consulting services for the development of a greenfield site in Osaka, Japan for Baskin Robbins.
Project Highlights
The project consisted of a new ice cream production facility for producing 3 gallon (13.6 L) bulk containers and novelty ice cream cakes for this global manufacturer of ice cream products.
Dennis Group provided site, facility, process, and packaging development in order to generate a cost estimate for capital approval.
The project required collaboration with the client’s local consulting engineers for process and facility designs. Development of a final cost estimate required an extensive value engineering phase in order to deliver the preliminary project plan at desired capital level.
Maidstone Bakeries was a joint venture between Tim Hortons and Cuisine de France to commercialize a cutting-edge technique that “flash freezes” par-baked donuts, fritters and crullers as soon as they leave the fryer. The facility supplied sweet baked goods and baguettes to the network of popular Tim Hortons franchises across Canada and North America.
Project Highlights
This fast-track design-build project went from planning to completion in less than 12 months.
A 31-acre site was developed as well as a 230,000 SF facility which included a 40,000 SF storage freezer and 40,000 SF office space.
Site preparation, adjoining caissons/foundations, expandable building design, and mechanical/electrical system sizing all provided flexibility to allow for future expansion.
Dennis Group was involved in two subsequent expansions which increased the size of the facility to 400,000 SF.
In order to comply with new Massachusetts regulations preventing the disposal of food waste in landfills, Ahold sought a way to beneficially reuse unsalable organic material from their grocery stores throughout the New England region, resulting in the development of an anaerobic digester.
Project Highlights
Dennis Group designed and built a Product Recovery Operation (PRO) at Ahold’s distribution center. The PRO facility consists of equipment capable of processing 130 tons of food waste daily, converting the waste into feedstock for a 1.3 MM gallon anaerobic digester.
Biogas produced for the anaerobic digestion process powers a 1.1 MW generator, providing renewable energy to power the distribution center.
The facility reduces Ahold’s food waste to landfill by 25,000 tons annually.
The PRO plan produces 30% of the distribution center’s electricity.
Dennis Group was able to secure $1.3 MM in energy efficiency rebates and grants for the project.
Dennis Group completed a master planning study for the layout of a grass roots facility to be built in Las Vegas. The scope of the project included:
Developing a design basis for the new facility in terms of production and process system capacities
Determination of building size to meet current and future needs
Layout of the employee, process and utility areas of the facility including bulk liquid receiving by rail/truck
Layout of rocess areas for batch and continuous emulsion systems, starch preparation, cooking operations for sauces, dry ingredient blending and line layouts for high speed retail glass, food service, bulk tub and portion control lines
During the implementation phase of the project, Dennis Group provided complete building mechanical and electrical design, environmental design and permitting and coordination of architect, structural engineer, civil engineer activities for a 140,000 SF salad dressing plant.
Segregated waste systems and stringent sanitary design requirements were key features of this project.
Dennis Group teamed with Dole to develop the design for a forward processing plant in the Midwest. Dennis Group worked with Dole to develop the process and then designed the facility around the needs of that process.
Project Highlights
Dennis Group assisted Dole with site selection, and once the site selection was finalized, developed the site, executed preliminary and detailed engineering of the building, erected the building, designed the process and process utilities, installed the process equipment, and commissioned the facility to operate all in under one year.
In addition to the original facility, the Dennis Group executed two expansions to the Dole Springfield facility. The Dennis Group provided design/build services for a 30,000 SF warehouse expansion, and for a 25,000 SF expansion to house processing and packaging of fresh cut fruit.
