Sweet, Starchy Success: Building an Award-Winning Processing Plant

Leading process controls integration for a greenfield sweet potato processing facility.

 

Building an Award Winning Plant with Process Controls

As consumer demand for frozen sweet potato fries grew, a food manufacturer invested in a greenfield processing facility to expand production capacity. Concept Systems served as lead integrator, coordinating the food processing automation and process controls required to bring the facility from design through production.

This showcase plant – LEED Platinum certified – is internationally renowned for its environmentally friendly design and construction, as well as operational efficiency that set a new bar for the industry. It is a premier example of process control engineering and production automation.

The Problem: Expansion Pains

The manufacturer needed a greenfield facility capable of significantly expanding production while integrating processes from receiving through frozen grading. The natural variation in sweet potato size and shape added complexity, requiring flexible automation and coordinated process control throughout the line.

The Solution: Process Controls Planning

As lead integrator for the greenfield facility, Concept Systems developed an integrated control system for the plant’s processing equipment, support systems, and utilities. Our team coordinated process control development across the facility while managing schedules, standards, documentation, costs, and commissioning activities.

Concept also served as OEM coordinator, managing controls requirements, system interfaces, installation, and commissioning across equipment suppliers. This approach helped ensure individual systems came together as one coordinated production process.

Early planning and coordination were critical to the greenfield project’s success. This same approach is reflected in Concept Systems’ Automation Roadmaps and consulting services today, helping manufacturers define requirements, coordinate technologies, identify risks, and establish a clear path from concept through implementation.

The Results

The completed greenfield facility became the first frozen food processing plant in the world to achieve LEED Platinum certification and was named Food Processing magazine’s 2011 Green Plant of the Year. More importantly, the integrated approach delivered an efficient, forward-looking production facility designed around the manufacturer’s growth.

The project’s success led to continued work with the customer, who later selected Concept Systems as lead integrator for an expansion of its Northwest processing facility.

 

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Project Details