Carlson Construction

Scope Of Work

Carlson provided design/build construction services for a new 150,000 square foot USDA food production plant and corporate headquarters for Great Kitchens, Inc., an international manufacturer of frozen foods.

The precast reinforced concrete, glass, masonry, and steel structure was designed and constructed utilizing a fast-tracked phased scheduling system project to meet the owner’s occupancy needs.  The complete facility program included 35,000 square feet of Class A office and support space, a 50,000 square foot freezer, 30,000 square feet of production line space, 20,000 square feet of cooler space, 10,000 square feet of freezer shipping/receiving docks, and 5,000 square feet of mechanical space.

The USDA monitored facility needed to meet all of the security requirements of the Department of Homeland Security.  A sophisticated access control system monitored each ingress/egress point to the building with differing levels of privilege based upon the specific employee.  A CCTV system digitally monitored all areas of the building as well.

The production space within the building included 5 high speed production lines capable of producing 110 pizzas per minute per line (33,000/hour).  The automated assembly lines culminate with the pizzas being shrink wrapped, blast frozen utilizing a nitrogen system, boxed and case packed.  The cases are then palletized and stored within the 32,000 pallet position freezer with high speed automatic doors.  The freezer’s temperature control system is tied into the facility’s energy management system that enables remote monitoring as well as an electronic notification system if the temperature moves outside of a predetermined range