Story Construction looked to Proctor Mechanical Corporation to complete the HVAC portion of the renovation of this facility to a freeze dry egg processing facility.  The HVAC renovation included demolition of the existing ductwork and cleaning the ductwork that was to remain.  New ductwork included large round welded stainless steel ductwork in the production areas.  The ductwork had to be precisely installed to make connections to the production equipment.  There was no room for offsets once the duct was installed.  It was installed at the Panora facility while the equipment was still in production in Washington.  Proctor Mechanical worked with Nutriom to set the equipment when it arrived to ensure the duct fit correctly.

 

The renovation included two large energy recovery units, one outside and one inside.  The inside unit would not fit through existing openings so a new opening was cut.  This was scheduled to be one of the last pieces of equipment to arrive.  There had to be a clear pathway to set this unit when it arrived.  Sections of chilled water main had to be left out for this pathway.  Proctor Mechanical prefabbed this piping so it could be installed as soon as the unit was set.

 

The makeup air unit, rooftop unit, and chiller were all located outside the facility and had to be set on tall stands to provide the correct height for entry into the existing facility.  Proctor Mechanical worked closely with Story Construction to design and install these stands to make a seamless fit when the equipment arrived. 

 

There were five stainless steel HEPA filters on this renovation.  These filters had to be located in an accessible space, which was a difficult task on this project.  Proctor Mechanical Corporation worked with Nutriom and Story Construction to find a suitable placement for each HEPA filter.  Duct Transitions and offsets were fabricated to make each filter fit and give Nutriom easy access for future filter replacements.

 

There were four power roof ventilators on this project.  These had to be cut into an existing structure and precisely placed.  Proctor Mechanical worked with Story

Construction to place these units and cut and seal the openings in the roof.  There were three inline blowers that were brought from the existing Washington facility.  These units required stainless spiral duct.  Holes had to be cut through an existing wall to accommodate this duct.

 

The project also included steam, steam condensate piping, and steam unit heaters to heat the dock and mechanical room.  There were steam and steam condensate hookups to the process equipment.  The chilled water system included a chiller, pumps, and accessories, and a chilled water buffer tank.  Chilled water is piped to 2 large tanks for cooling of the product.  The difficult part of the chilled water was leaving large sections of pipe out to facility setting of late arriving equipment.  These sections were prefabbed to allow quick installation upon equipment arrival.

 

Other HVAC items included three mini-split systems, furnaces and condensers, office ductwork, and grilled, registers, and diffusers.

 

The renovation project was over budget at the start of the project.  Proctor Mechanical worked with Story Construction and Nutriom to reduce budget and keep the intent of the project.  Some of the suggestions were changing stainless steel duct to galvanized outside production area, changing piping materials, and changing equipment manufacturers.

 

There were several challenges on this project such as installing large stainless steel and galvanized duct in tight spaces and accurately placing the hookups to process equipment, placing equipment stands correctly for equipment that was still in use in another state, leaving out sections of pipe mains and ductwork to allow for setting of late arriving equipment.  All ductwork was leak tested to ensure it was air tight.  These were a few of the challenges.  Proctor Mechanical worked with Nutriom and Story Construction with their CP2.0 system to work through these challenges and provide the owner an on time and in budget project.

 

Proctor Mechanical had weekly safety tool box talks.  Pre-task planning was utilized to ensure that safety of everyone on site.  These were performed at a minimum daily and often more than once a day.

 

Nutriom Egg Dehydration Facility was a challenging and exciting project.  Despite it’s challenges, work progressed at a rapid pace.  The end result was a new production facility that was delivered on time and in budget.  Proctor Mechanical looks forward to working with Nutriom and Story construction for many years to come.