The dairy industry is undergoing a transformative shift in construction and renovation practices, driven by sustainability, efficiency and stricter food safety. Therefore, innovative building techniques and modern designs are becoming essential.

Michael Grochowski, design manager for Jacksonville, Fla.-based Stellar, noted the company has successfully executed numerous projects for clients who produce various dairy products, including cream cheese, yogurt and milk.

“Our portfolio includes facility expansions and new construction projects, all delivered through the design-build method to ensure efficiency and quality,” he said. “As food and beverage industry specialists, we adhere to the highest sanitary standards required for dairy facility design and construction. Hygienic best practices serve as the foundation of our work, ensuring compliance with stringent industry regulations.”

Operational needs

Beyond regulatory requirements, Stellar collaborates closely with its clients to incorporate their specific operational needs and concerns, creating a tailored approach to facility design and construction.

Facility layout plays a critical role in maximizing operational efficiency. With that in mind, Stellar’s design process begins with thoroughly understanding the production workflow to ensure seamless process flow.

“We then incorporate essential support spaces, followed by secondary spaces, to create a functional and efficient general arrangement within the site’s constraints,” Grochowski said. “This strategic approach ensures that the facility layout enhances productivity and operational effectiveness.”

Big-D Construction has been working on dairy facility construction and renovation projects for more than five decades, whether it has been a greenfield project, renovation, expansion or a service/maintenance project involving the fluid milk industry or one of its many byproducts.

Through the years, the company helped build the first vertically integrated class 1 and class 2 dairy processing plant in Idaho; the largest mozzarella cheese plant in the world, in Lemoore, Calif.; and the largest fluid milk processing facility in the US, in Industry, Calif.

“From day one of a project in the design/preconstruction phase, a thorough and transparent dialogue must exist among the team to work through all the ‘what-ifs’ of the plant,” said Forrest McNabb, president at Salt Lake City-based Big-D Construction.

Questions to consider are: What is the current size, and what is the long-term growth plan? Will expansion occur; and if so, how will that affect operations? How do the layout and logistics of the building and site work with the original opening and use of the facility? And how will they accommodate future expansion through the full build-out of the project site?

“Meetings during the design/preconstruction phase should be held consistently on a weekly basis,” McNabb said. “All vested parties — including the owner’s team, the design team, the process team and the construction team — should be included to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the project from concept to keys.”

As the project moves along, it’s vital the team asks questions, listens carefully and holds itself accountable during the various critical phases of the project.

“The success of any project is a credit to all team members being present throughout each step of the process and creating relationships that thrive on honesty, trust and respect — qualities that are earned through actions, not simply given,” McNabb said.

Photo: Kraemer Brothers

Kyle Kraemer, vice president of Plain, Wis.-based Kraemer Brothers, has 67 years of experience, including building and design work with Klondike Cheese Company, Schreiber Foods, Decatur Dairy, Freshpack, and Cedar Grove Cheese.

“Over the years, we have constructed many dairy production facilities and continuously expanding and renovating those facilities to keep up with changing demand and new technology [is part of the work],” he said. “We have extensive experience constructing climate-controlled storage facilities, production make rooms and packaging and shipping stations.”

When approaching the unique requirements and regulations in constructing dairy facilities, such as sanitation, biosecurity and food safety standards, while adding on to or renovating facilities, food safety standards are at the top of Kraemer Brothers’ list.

“We understand the cleanliness of facilities is needed to ensure contaminants do not intermix with the ingredients,” Kraemer said. “To combat any chance of disruption, we follow good manufacturing practices. We utilize clean-room partition panels and actively track humidity, temperature, pressure, etc. Our goal is to create a negative pressure environment when working inside these facilities.”

Often the company’s crews and superintendents undergo food safety standard training where gowning and other PPE is required when constructing in an occupied space.

“In order to complete a project without disturbing dairy production, we include the production and engineering staff as an integral member of the planning team,” Kraemer said.

Buzzworthy trends

Kraemer Brothers made note of an industry trend to implement specialized mechanical systems.

“In terms of a long-lasting structural solution, many firms are utilizing precast panels,” Kraemer said. “These precast panels are relatively low maintenance, long-lasting, have better thermal performance and limit sound transmission compared to metal panels or pre-engineered buildings.”

Stellar also sees a stronger emphasis on cost-effective and energy-efficient building solutions in its new construction projects.

“Clients increasingly prioritize utility efficiency, particularly in water and wastewater management, to optimize operational sustainability while reducing long-term costs,” Grochowski said. “We continually explore and integrate cutting-edge technologies to enhance the efficiency of our design and construction processes. We leverage AI and 4D scheduling to improve communication, streamline project management and mitigate schedule risks. These technologies enable us to deliver projects with greater precision and efficiency.”

Many dairy facilities are moving toward a lean manufacturing model, which minimizes waste and results in significant time and financial savings.

“Automation and robotic machines have been utilized as part of the lean manufacturing,” Kraemer said. “In turn, the facility needs to have enough space to house the equipment, and its components used to run it. From a construction standpoint, we develop detailed schedules with specific time frames for each activity. When connecting into existing MEP systems, many times shutdowns need to occur. We schedule this in off-hours and when it least affects the processes inside the building.”

Renovation challenges

When renovating an existing project, there are numerous considerations. For instance, food safety assurance is one of the biggest and most critical challenges for dairy industry facilities.

“When renovations are underway, plants typically remain operational, which means the risk of food safety issues is heightened throughout the entire project,” McNabb said. “There are no ‘undo buttons,’ so the entire team must understand the exposure undertaken on a renovation project from day one.”

Additional critical components include the logistics, planning and execution of the renovation. Because facilities expect to maintain production levels during a project, the team must effectively discuss, plan and execute with minimal to no impact on existing operations.

“Communication must remain at the highest level throughout the entire project to avoid frustrations and surprises for the operations team,” McNabb said. “These projects are more challenging and complex than greenfield builds, so the A team must bring their A game to prevent situations that could negatively impact the plant and its operators.”

Another significant challenge in dairy facility renovations is the presence of unforeseen conditions that are not immediately visible. These often emerge during the demolition phase, potentially impacting the project scope.

“To mitigate this risk, we proactively assess potential problem areas early in the design phase, developing hypotheses and contingency plans to address possible discoveries,” Grochowski said. “Open communication between the design and construction teams ensures that any unexpected conditions are swiftly evaluated and resolved, minimizing disruptions to the project timeline.”

Aaron Lipman, owner of Two Brothers Foundation Repair in Houston, has often been called to fix problems in dairy facilities years after they were built.

“One job I remember was at a milking parlor where the concrete had settled unevenly, throwing off the entire drainage system,” he said. “Water was pooling in the wrong spots, which wasn’t just a sanitation issue but also a major slip hazard for workers. Instead of tearing everything out, we used helical piers to stabilize the foundation, then re-sloped the floors so water drained properly. It was a fix that kept everything running without shutting down operations.”

He explained that floors and foundations are more important for sanitation than people realize, because if the concrete is not finished properly or begins to crack, there are places where bacteria can develop — and that is a tremendous problem for food safety.

Automation and data tracking also are relevant in dairy production facilities and must be considered in the design and construction phase.

“Many facilities need to increase square footage of production rooms to accommodate the added technology,” Kraemer said. “In turn, the electrical requirements of these production rooms are extremely advanced. Process piping and plumbing systems also have a high level of coordination in these areas. In climate-controlled facilities, the HVAC systems need to be fine-tuned to ensure the goods are at the correct temperature.”

The future of the dairy industry lies in innovative construction practices that prioritize sustainability, efficiency and safety, ensuring facilities are well-equipped to meet evolving consumer demands and regulatory standards.