Food & Beverage Processing
A food or beverage plant is a regulated production environment first and a building second. Air has to cascade from clean to dirty, every surface has to survive caustic washdown, and the process loads — refrigeration, glycol, steam, CIP — dwarf the comfort systems. We deliver construction-ready sanitary MEP coordinated tight to your process and equipment vendors.
Sanitary Zoning, Washdown Power, and Process-Driven Utilities.
In this sector the MEP either protects the product or contaminates it. Pressure cascades and filtered, dew-point-controlled air keep allergens and microbes out of open product; NEMA 4X fixtures and sloped, high-volume drainage survive daily caustic washdown; and the refrigeration, glycol, steam, and CIP loads set the real design basis. Ammonia machinery rooms and PSM-covered systems carry their own safety standards. We engineer all of it around your process vendors, sealed by the licensed engineer of record on your project.
Sanitary HVAC & Hygienic Zoning
Air engineered to protect open product, not just condition the room.
- Clean-to-dirty pressure cascades mapped zone by zone to block cross-contamination
- Dew-point and surface-temperature control to stop condensation on product-contact surfaces
- HEPA/high-MERV filtration and positive pressure over open-product and packaging areas
- Allergen and SKU segregation airflow for shared multi-product lines
- Washdown-rated, cleanable air handlers with sealed wall and pipe penetrations
- Sanitation purge cycles with heated make-up air to clear fog and dry surfaces
Process Refrigeration & Cooling
The load that defines the plant — designed to the right refrigerant standard.
- Ammonia/CO2 refrigeration plant to ANSI/IIAR 2 by the refrigeration engineer — we design the building MEP around it
- Machinery-room detection, ventilation, and emergency exhaust sequenced to the ammonia alarm setpoints
- Glycol process loops and chillers for fermentation, wort, and tank cooling
- Blast-freeze, cooler, and refrigerated-envelope loads with dock-infiltration and freeze protection
- Refrigerant detection and alarm coordination with the PSM/RMP program where it applies
- Heat recovery from refrigeration and CO2 plants reintegrated into process heating
Washdown Electrical & Process Power
Power and controls built to survive daily caustic sanitation.
- NEMA 4X / washdown-rated devices, panels, and fittings in wet and sanitation zones
- Process power, motor schedules, and VFDs coordinated line by line with equipment vendors
- Sanitary, sealed, washdown-durable lighting at code illuminance for inspection
- Service and standby capacity sized to real process demand, not connected nameplate
- Equipment grounding, bonding, and control-pathway rough-in for line automation
- Classified flammable-liquid and high-proof spirit areas designed by a hazardous-area specialist
Process Water, CIP & Plumbing
Clean utilities in, high-volume sanitation waste out.
- RO/DI, softened, and food-grade process water sized to line and CIP demand
- Clean-in-place (CIP) supply, return, and chemical-feed coordination with the skid vendor
- High-volume trench, hub, and area drains sloped for washdown with sanitary detailing
- Steam, condensate, and food-grade compressed-air distribution for process and heating
- Backflow prevention and air-gap separation on every process and chemical connection
- pH neutralization and FOG pretreatment to meet EPA 40 CFR 403 and the local sewer authority
Compliance, Vendor & Scope Coordination
The regulatory and vendor coordination that keeps the set buildable.
- FDA cGMP (21 CFR 117), FSMA, and USDA sanitary-design intent carried through the documents
- 3-A Sanitary Standards and hygienic detailing reflected in MEP material and finish selections
- Process flow, utility matrix, and connection points reconciled with equipment vendors
- Refrigeration safety to IIAR 2 / ASHRAE 15 coordinated with the PSM/RMP scope where required
- Classified-area, fire-protection, and process-safety specialty scope clearly bounded as by-others
- Phasing for operating plants so tie-ins and shutdowns land around production windows
Quick answers about how we deliver design support for this sector.
We map pressure relationships zone by zone so air always moves from clean, high-care areas toward dirtier ones, never the reverse. Open-product and packaging rooms get filtration, positive pressure, and dew-point control to keep condensation off product-contact surfaces. For multi-SKU lines we design allergen and product segregation into the airflow. It is a hygienic-zoning problem, documented to FDA cGMP and USDA sanitary-design intent, not a comfort problem.
The ammonia (R-717) or CO2 (R-744) refrigeration plant itself is a hazardous specialty designed to ANSI/IIAR 2 by the refrigeration engineer. We design the building systems around it — machinery-room detection, normal and emergency ventilation sequenced to the ammonia alarm setpoints per ASHRAE 15 and IIAR 2, emergency power, and drainage — plus the conventional glycol secondary loops on the process side. Where the charge puts the system under OSHA PSM or EPA RMP, we coordinate our MEP with that process-safety scope. The refrigeration load usually sets the real electrical and mechanical basis for the whole plant.
Yes. In wet-process and sanitation zones we specify NEMA 4X / washdown-rated devices, enclosures, fittings, and sealed sanitary lighting that hold up to caustic, high-pressure cleaning. Process power, VFDs, and motor schedules are coordinated line by line with your equipment vendors so what we draw matches what gets installed. Standard commercial-grade gear fails fast in this environment, so we never default to it in the wet areas.
Yes. We size RO/DI, softened, and food-grade process water to line and CIP demand, and coordinate CIP supply, return, and chemical feed with the skid vendor. Floors get high-volume trench and hub drains, sloped and sanitary-detailed for washdown, with pH neutralization and FOG pretreatment so discharge meets EPA 40 CFR 403 pretreatment limits and the local sewer authority. Backflow and air-gap separation protect every process and chemical connection.
High-proof spirit, flammable-liquid, and other classified (hazardous-location) areas are a specialty scope handled by a hazardous-area designer, and the refrigeration process-safety (PSM/RMP) scope is bounded separately. We design the conventional, sanitary MEP — hygienic HVAC, washdown power, process water, CIP, and drainage — around that classified scope and coordinate clean connection points, all behind the seal of the licensed engineer of record on your project.
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