Epstein's Top 100 Projects: #25: Seaboard Triumph Foods

We’re now into the Top 25 of our Centennial Year countdown of our 100 greatest projects in our history. And, coming in at #25, is one of the largest DesignBuild projects we’ve ever completed the new 925,000 square foot, $335M Pork Processing Plant for Seaboard Triumph Foods (STF) located on a 245-acre site in Bridgeport West Industrial Park within Sioux City, Iowa. Epstein was entrusted by STF to design, engineer and build a modern fresh pork plant focused on food safety and efficiency to meet the growing demands of domestic and international customers.

The STF plant produces fresh pork for the PrairieFresh® Premium Pork and Seaboard Farms® brands. These brands are part of a uniquely connected food system that is produced through a strategic partnership between Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods, and marketed and sold by Seaboard Foods. Together, the companies own Seaboard Triumph Foods and relentlessly seek a better way to produce wholesome pork by purposely connecting every step between its farms and family tables around the world ensuring the well-being of its animals, the environment, employees and the communities they call home. In addition to the STF plant, the strategic partners own Daily’s Premium Meats, and the STF Sioux City plant will process raw materials for Daily’s premium pork products, including raw and precooked bacon.

"I couldn’t be more proud of the new plant, our team and all the local and state partners that have helped bring this project to completion over the past two years."

Mark Porter, (former) Chief Operating Officer, Seaboard Triumph Foods

This STF pork processing facility uses robotics and innovative technologies to produce the most sought-after pork for diverse global consumers in several market segments, including retail, international, food service, and further processing markets.

The design of the STF facility reflects a modern food processing plant incorporating many state-of-the-art technologies. These measures are visible as soon as livestock is received, using a barn designed to reduce animal stress and improve comfort in conjunction with automated carbon dioxide (CO2) stunning to deliver a comprehensive animal welfare framework. Multiple vision systems are monitored to maintain traceability throughout the process as well as improve product yield via robotic harvesting technologies at critical production steps. Sanitation principles are implemented throughout the facility, including automated equipment and conveyor wash systems capable of delivering more than 3,000 gallons per minute of wash-down flow cumulatively. Finally, robust rendering and wastewater treatment systems work to maximize profitable waste recovery while meeting or exceeding all required environmental standards for the plant.

The STF plant also features a wide variety of refrigerated spaces including a -22° Snap Chill room, multiple 26° Equilibration Bays, 24° Fresh Product Storage space as well as a 40° dock.

In addition to the pork processing component, this STF plant includes several outbuildings including a rendering facility, a steam boiler/powerhouse building, an ammonia refrigeration engine room, a guardhouse security building and a waste water pre-treatment facility. The design, construction and operations teams worked hand in hand with the City, Fire Department and Utilities to integrate this new facility seamlessly into the Sioux City area.

This facility, which was completed on schedule on September 5, 2017, employs approximately 1,100 people and processes about 3 million market hogs annually in one shift. The facility is ramping up to two shift operation in 2018 which will add another 900 people and raise the total to about 6 million market hogs annually.

The STF plant also includes a 120,000 sf two story precast office and employee welfare area. The office includes corporate, marketing, sales and operations office functions as well as conference rooms and a central oval shaped board room. The area also includes a large two story cafeteria with full height windows and a full service cooking kitchen. Also featured in the layout are employee training rooms, QA/QC and Micro labs, maintenance and parts storage, locker rooms and restrooms. The central leg of the tee shaped area includes production and utility support rooms such as PPE supply, garment storage and disbursement, Knife storage and sharpening, mechanical, electrical and IT support spaces.