THE CHALLENGE
Three years ago, the Raber family business was destroyed in a fire. Following the fire, the community rallied around the Rabers and plans to rebuild the facility began. The new facility was uniquely designed, not only to include the full slaughterhouse for meat packaging, but also retail shopping, wholesale shopping, and a banquet hall for events. However, with this wide range of amenities under one roof, comes unique challenges in engineering design, as there are very different needs for each space. When designing meat processing facilities, there are also very specific equipment needs, utility needs, and government code requirements to ensure cleanliness and safety for all involved.

KED SOLUTION : Designing for a Historic Structure
We familiarized ourselves with the specialized meat processing equipment needs and facility code requirements to ensure safety and accuracy in our system designs. We coordinated with the owner and suggested economical solutions, when possible, to help save on overall cost of the project. We designed rooftop units (RTUs) and exhaust fans that would meet the facility’s needs and provide proper air exchange. We designed a specialized washing system that reaches very high temperatures for cleaning purposes, helping to satisfy USDA requirements for the meat processing spaces. We also designed a heavy drainage system to meet the facility’s needs. This innovative, state-of-the-art meat processing facility is now open and serving its community once again, offering even more services than before.