Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative (VPGC), headquartered in Hinton, Virginia, produces conventional, antibiotic free and organic raw turkey products. They process 30,000 turkeys per day. To accommodate new technology and equipment, it was determined that a building expansion was necessary.
The Austin Company provided architectural design, building engineering, process engineering and construction for the project.
The new 92,000 square-foot layout includes expanded processing areas, offices and employee welfare areas. To accommodate the new process solution, certain plant areas were demolished and rebuilt in new areas added to the existing facility.
Challenges, such as the aggressive schedule, were met head-on and the project was delivered in just 11 months. Lean Design & Construction practices, including Pull Planning, were instrumental in keeping the project’s time frame and budget.
Austin, working closely with Virginia Poultry, developed a floorplan that optimizes equipment layout and meets the New Poultry Inspection System regulations to allow for efficient operations within each area of the expanded plant. Utilizing the latest technological advances, the new layout eliminates extremely difficult work positions and makes them more efficient for all workers.
The project team worked cohesively throughout the project and reached substantial completion one month ahead of schedule. The project was also completed with zero safety incidents.
