Sugar Silo & Automation Installation

Pepperidge Farms

Bloomfield, CT

Contract Value:

>$500K

Total Man Hours:

7,148

Recordable Injuries:

0

Completion Date:

2017

Project Overview

Notch Mechanical Constructors was contracted by Pepperidge Farm directly to install an

automated Sugar Silo system. The system was developed to deliver cane sugar from bulk storage

to the production mixers in place of high fructose corn syrup.

Highlights & Challenges
  • The Notch crew worked around the bakery’s production schedule. Every weekend during the six-month span, Notch coordinated installation during the plant’s scheduled production down time.
  • The pre-made sugar automation system was designed by a third party. When parts did not align, Notch was quick to come up with a practical solution to keep the project moving forward.
  • Working in a food manufacturing facility, Notch was dedicated to guaranteeing that the plant encountered no contamination from beginning to end. This was a long project with many other contractors on site but Notch was able to keep it contained.
Scope Summary

Notch installed two Bulk Storage Sugar Silo’s, and all the support equipment and convey piping for automated delivery to five mixing stations within the facility. With the new system, cane sugar is bulk delivered to the site and blown from tanker to silo. A dry sugar dosing system then conveys the sugar directly from the silo to precision weighing stations at each mixer. The conveyor piping and weighing system was not designed to work within the existing infrastructure constraints of the existing plant. Part of Notch’s challenge was to lay out a pathway for conveyor piping through multiple rooms within the plant while maintaining a very tight tolerance of turns and using a maximum of three sweeps. This was all completed while ensuring minimal disruption to the ongoing product production.

Project Accolades

Winner of three construction industry mechanical awards from Associated Builders and Contractors:

  • Excellence Award from the Connecticut Chapter
  • Excellence Award from the Rhode Island Chapter