Greenfield Bakery Production Facility

George Weston Bakeries (now part of Bimbo Bakeries USA) was experiencing increased demand for their Thomas’ English Muffins® product and needed to build a new bakery facility to help increase their capacity.

The greenfield location was selected to support George Weston’s distribution goals for the increased product capacity. Austin designed the 146,500 SF bakery to accommodate up to four production lines and incorporated elements to support George Weston’s strategy for a more automated and efficient bakery with upgraded food quality and sanitary standards.

Austin’s design, engineering and construction included: process areas; mechanical systems, including plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and fire protection; and electrical systems, including service entrance, electrical room and lighting. In addition, the architectural design included interior insulated walls, vertical lift doors, coiling doors and rapid roll-up doors, in addition to exterior and interior masonry sill walls in the warehouse areas, dry and liquid ingredient rooms, sanitation rooms and maintenance shop.

When the original building was built, two production lines were installed. Space was designed between the two production lines to provide for later installation of a third bun line. When the time came for the third production line, George Weston (Bimbo Bakeries USA) again awarded Austin the design-build project, in addition to services for a 23,000 SF expansion to the facility packaging area and shipping dock.