Patrick Cudahy, Inc. Expansion

In July 2009 a fire at Patrick Cudahy’s facility in Cudahy, WI caused severe damage throughout the plant. The Opus Group worked with Patrick Cudahy to determine the amount of structural damage from the fire and what plan of action needed to be taken. That assessment led to a new 55,000 SF expansion that was built on the previously fired-damage facility site.

The new facility expansion consists of a dry storage warehouse, food storage cooler, forklift charging room, connecting corridor, and employee support areas for a USDA certified food production facility. One critical portion that was built was the connecting corridor. The connecting corridor is 625 feet long and 22 feet wide, and provides for high-speed, two-way forklift travel and a protected employee walk path between four different buildings. The corridor is sized for future use of un-manned forklifts to allow for even more efficient material handling.  In addition, there are seven high-speed rapid roll doors and two large air doors to ensure climate control and quick access throughout the facility.

In addition to the new expansion Opus also overhauled Patrick Cudahy’s existing fire protection system in order to provide an ESFR fire protection system in the cooler and warehouse. This was accomplished by replacing a diesel fire pump, connecting a new water supply, and replacing sections of the fire loop. Opus was able to accomplish this all while keeping the 115+ year facility in production.