Key Elements to Include in Your Food Processing Facility’s Business Plan

Most strategic plans begin with the development of a business plan, a methodical process where all aspects of the business are defined and analyzed against the company’s business objectives. Food processing companies develop business plans at different stages of their life cycle, especially in preparation to launch a new product line, invest in a facility expansion or to identify new growth opportunities.

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Six Key Benefits of Insulated Metal Panel Walls

Insulated metal panels (IMPs) installed on a building exterior provide an excellent thermal envelope. In contrast to other envelope assemblies, IMPs more effectively reduce thermal bridging. With the industry continually striving to build more sustainable designs, IMPs are by far the best and most thermally efficient product available today.

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Factors to Consider When Selecting Doors for Your Food Processing Plant

Selecting the proper doors for your cold storage facility is an important part of the decision process for your building envelope. Your food plant design firm will want to look at all aspects of your plant’s operations to determine the most appropriate door types and materials. Installing the proper door will have a positive impact on the facility’s energy costs and productivity, while selecting the wrong type of door can result in down time, costly damage, and unsafe conditions.

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Five Reasons Insulated Metal Panel Ducts Are the Right Choice for Your Food Plant

Insulated metal panels (IMP) are becoming the preferred material for ductwork within food plants for their efficient, hygienic and durable qualities. IMPs consist of two steel skins injected with urethane foam insulation, providing a better-insulated solution than traditional ductwork. The steel skins can be constructed of standard pre-finished metal or stainless steel to meet the required sanitary specifications. Panels are cut and fabricated to meet the specific size and space requirements of a facility, and joints are installed together with caulks, urethane spray foam, sealants, vapor barriers and fasteners for an air/vapor-tight construction.

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Five Steps to Developing the Most Effective Food Processing Emergency Response Plan

You’ve conducted the required emergency response training with your employees — but are they truly prepared for an incident? Recognizing that government-mandated training is often not enough, many food processing safety managers are going above and beyond mandated requirements and customizing training to ensure employees are prepared for a range of unexpected scenarios. Below are five key steps you can take to ensure your employees are prepared for any emergency:

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Federal Regulators Target Hazardous Chemical Safety

On August 1, 2013, President Obama signed an Executive Order on Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security designed to reduce the risks of hazardous chemicals. While many food processing plants already have controls and processes in place to ensure chemical safety, tightened regulations and increased risks have encouraged many plant owners to take a second look at their programs.

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Which Emergency Response Plan Is Right For Your Plant?

Food processing plants can do everything within their power to prevent an ammonia leak, from conducting proper maintenance and inspections to having the appropriate safety systems in place such as alarms, shut-offs, and overrides. Yet accidental leaks and spills can occur, so it’s important to be prepared with an emergency response plan.

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The Three Ps of Preparing for Natural Disasters: Plan, Partner and Prioritize

Natural disasters can wreak havoc on a food processing facility, not only causing physical damage to the building, but also resulting in a huge economic loss in product and production downtime. Planning for a natural disaster has to be strategic and should include partners from your local emergency response teams, vendors and designated employees.

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