Easy Foods Inc., one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of corn and flour tortillas, engaged Walker Design to plan, develop and implement their new 110,000 SF state of the art food manufacturing facility in Kissimmee, Florida.
The design process began with the field verification of the antiquated Easy Foods Inc. facility in Doral, Florida and understanding the ways that the original production facility has failed to meet the functionality and expansion requirements of the owner. Overcoming these deficiencies became a primary consideration when designing the new facility, perfectly tailored to the meet the specific requirements of Easy Foods Inc. To achieve a successful project delivery, it was critical that Walker Design have an intimate understanding of the manufacturing process to yield a design that not only accommodated the owners of Easy Foods, but also the employees that are so vital to the production process. The new facility is quite complex in the way product is received, transformed, and distributed. The building is strategically divided into four independent zones arranged in a sequential order to create a fluid flow of product. Each of these zones require specific control of environmental conditions including temperature, humidity, air exchange rates, airborne dust collection, negative and positive pressure, wash down accommodations, etc. These four zones are Receiving / Raw Goods Storage, Production, Packaging and Distribution.
In the design of a manufacturing facility in an industrial park, the challenges do not necessarily lie in contextual response, massing, material selection or building details, but instead lie in the immense coordination between owner, architect, engineer, general contractor and equipment vendors. Countless hours of meetings and site walks went into this project to accurately coordinate items as simple as oven exhaust penetrations to equipment as large as 60’-0” tall grain silos.
Although the design process was demanding, Walker Design succeeded in providing a new facility for Easy Foods Inc. that met their expectations and created a significant economic and employment boost to the city of Kissimmee. With the new facility, Easy Foods Inc. will be able to continue to grow their already successful company in a building that will serve their needs for many years to come.