Reed City, MI

Yoplait

Design-Builder

Shambaugh & Son, L.P.

Client

General Mills

Services Provided

  • Ammonia Refrigeration
  • Automation Engineering
  • Electrical
  • Mechanical
Custom fabricated dairy processing equipment installed at Yoplait's Reed City Michigan plant

Value Delivered

The design team, from both Shambaugh and Yoplait, worked together early on to develop the entire facility in a 3D BIM. This allowed the Yoplait staff members to virtually walk through the facility prior to commencing construction.

This also made it possible for a significant amount of pipe, hangers and skid production, as well as systems for CIP and milk separation, to be built in Shambaugh’s Fort Wayne fabrication shop—significantly reducing installation time.

The Shambaugh team worked diligently on Value Engineering (VE) ideas that were submitted to General Mills. These ideas helped the team substantially reduce the overall cost of the project.

Client Objectives

The client’s objective on this project was to increase capacity at their Reed City, MI plant in order to receive and process raw milk.

Scope of Services

The project included all site work, general construction, mechanical, electrical, and process engineering for a new 9,600-square-foot dairy receiving and processing facility comprised of a 2-bay tanker receiving area, a processing area, CIP room, employee space, and pads for seven silos, along with an open pipe bridge connecting the new facility to the main building across the street.

Solutions

The New Reed City yogurt production facility was built on the same site as the main plant. In the new plant, whole milk is received into one of the bays directly from the farm. It is then separated and the skim milk is distributed to modified tanks in the existing plant via the new pipe bridge.

This new plant and its location made it possible for Yoplait to expand and enhance their yogurt production without interrupting current operations at the main facility.