Last month, Firestone Pacific Foods completed the most recent phase of its temperature-controlled warehouse on Fruit Valley Road in Vancouver. The $12.6 million project included expansion of cold storage along with a new processing space and offices. Burlington, Wash., based design-build contractor Fisher Construction Group, which also has an office in Vancouver, is planning and constructing the project.
Energy efficiency is a key element of the expansion overall.
“All parts of the building envelope and equipment have been designed and installed to maximize efficiency,” said Fisher Project Manager Kevin Watkins, in an email. “More specifically, some of the items that contribute to the energy efficiencies are the roof insulation being above and beyond what is required by code along with the wall thermal values. The walls are constructed with insulated metal panels which act as both the finish and insulating factors.”
The refrigeration and HVAC equipment are also operated and controlled with high energy efficiency, and efficient doors play a pivotal role.
“Other areas of efficiency include the high-speed doors and personnel doors in the freezer and throughout the plant. These doors operate at rapid speeds as well as being insulated to the most possible amount and still allow desired function. The loading dock truck bays are also part of this in that the doors to the refrigerated trailers do not open until they are backed up to the dock shelters which seal off any outside air.”
This 60,000-square-foot expansion phase includes the first bay of state-of-the-art processing lines, which are also temperature controlled and positive pressure controlled. The processing bay was designed and built with an emphasis on exceeding sanitation requirements.
One or two additional phases will add roughly 160,000 square feet to the two existing phases, which total 100,000 square feet. The next phase could begin within the next one to two years, said Watkins. When completed, the overall expansion will consist of 10 million cubic feet of cold storage and will hold around 100 million pounds of product.
Firestone Pacific Foods grows fruit and berries on 300 acres, and processes, freezes and stores roughly 100,000,000 pounds of fruit grown on the West Coast. Firestone ships worldwide.
Fisher Construction Group itself is currently building a new office building and shop with equipment yard in the Port of Vancouver that the company is planning to move into by the end of the year. Fisher specializes in industrial process and cold storage projects like the Firestone Pacific Foods expansion.
Learn more about exciting projects like these in September’s special magazine, Southwest Washington’s Top Projects 2020. It will be released in conjunction with our annual Top Projects reception and awards ceremony. Visit www.vbjusa.com/top-projects-awards/ to learn more!
