Field Reports

Ingredients manufacturer keeps running during expansion

A total of 32,000 sq. ft. of KingSpan KS45 Shadowline panels serve as interior partition wall panels at the Kerry Group plant in Jackson, WI. *Source: Kingspan*.

Kerry America Inc., a division of the Ireland-based Kerry Group, produces ingredients and flavors for global food and beverage manufacturers. Headquartered in Beloit, WI, the company has more than 30 manufacturing facilities in the US. It evaluated all of them when it was deciding which to expand.

Kerry zeroed in on its 114,000-sq.-ft. ingredients manufacturing plant in Jackson, WI because of the growing demand for the specialty food ingredients it produces with a liquid drying process. The company wanted the plant to be large enough to accommodate added production, packaging and warehouse space—and to be able to expand to support future growth. Kerry’s $14.5 million expansion has added 119,000 sq. ft. to the facility, bringing the total usable area to 165,300 sq. ft.

“This project has given Kerry the necessary manufacturing and warehouse space,” says Jason Ampe, Kerry operations director.

ESI Group designed the expansion to house dry storage and processing operations. The project directive of having all the work completed without disrupting operations required a cladding and interior ceiling system that could be installed quickly, in addition to providing an improved level of thermal performance.

Approximately 87,000 sq. ft. of Kingspan insulated metal panels (IMPs) were specified for the project. Of this total were 32,000 sq. ft. of KS Shadowline panels that now provide the exterior wall cladding, while 32,000 sq. ft. of KS45 Shadowline panels were installed to serve as the interior partition wall panels. Another 24,000 sq. ft. of KS45 Shadowline panels were put in place as ceiling panels. All panels were installed by Delta T Construction Co., based in Menomonee Falls, WI.

The KS Shadowline and KS45 Shadowline interior panels are single-component IMPs that minimize construction delays and produce faster onsite installation compared to traditional built-up wall systems. Kingspan IMPs offer high R-value (resistance to heat flow) thermal performance, airtightness and low thermal bridging, resulting in energy cost savings of as much as 30 percent over traditional multi-part wall systems.

In the Midwest, IMPs are becoming increasingly popular, especially with food manufacturing and dairy producers, largely because of their energy savings. Plus, IMPS can cost less to install than other cladding materials, such as single-skin/batt insulation exterior walls.

“We are very proud of our Jackson, WI facility, which was our first manufacturing plant in the US,” says Ampe. With the new IMPs, the older building now has an overall modern appeal.