• 2017 Design/Build Awards: Cold Beer, Comfortable People

    Oct. 5, 2017
    This beverage distribution center project required Wiegmann Associates to engineer and then supervise installation of new and existing refrigeration and comfort systems, with no facility downtime.

    The value of having an established relationship with a quality Design/Build mechanical contractor is evident in this winning project by Wiegmann Associates, based in St. Louis, Mo.

    Wiegmann Associates — a repeat Design/Build Award winner — has over the years enjoyed a fine working relationship with ARCO Beverage Group. When ARCO needed to begin an $18 million expansion its Hoffman Beverage Distribution Center in Chesapeake, Va., Wiegmann won the bid for the mechanical work.


    This was a multi-phase, mixed temperature project, which required the teams to:

    • provide heating, air conditioning and ventilation for a new, 115,000 sq.ft. controlled environment warehouse
    • provide refrigeration for a new, 32,000 sq.ft. draught cooler.
    • provide HVAC mechanical systems for 5,594 sq.ft. of renovated office space as well as for a new, 20,715 sq.ft. two-story office
    • condition a renovated 81,237 sq.ft. warehouse.

    Craig Ross served as Wiegmann’s design engineer. The project manager was Bryan Kenkel. Both were instrumental in the placement of equipment and scheduling. The systems were installed under Wiegmann’s supervision by Atlantic Air Corp., Virginia Beach, Va.

    Jacob Randolph, account manager, provided oversight for the project’s pre-construction engineering. He said the first challenge was to engineer and phase-in construction in a way that allowed the Hoffman team to continue
    operations throughout construction, with minimal downtime.

    “Typically that’s not too big of a deal, because we’re in our own space in the new building while the old one is operating,” Randolph said. “But here, some of the mechanical equipment that was serving the existing facility was located where we were planning to build the new warehouse. So we tried to minimize the length of time the system was down. We relocated equipment multiple times, to enable them to continue their operations. The existing beverage refrigeration equipment had to be moved twice, while we built a new warehouse pad and the builders assembled the
    structural steel.”

    It was essential to establish clear and regular communication between all parties, to determine when equipment could be moved.

    Temperature Monitoring
    Ross had to design the proper arrangement of HVAC systems to condition the air in very diverse environments: refrigeration at 38F, warehouse at 70F, and the two-story office space, at 73F to 75F. Beer distributors are required to monitor and report all temperatures as product moves through warehouse and draught cooler spaces. It was therefore essential that correct temperatures be maintained, in both the 32-ft. clear height warehouse and the draught cooler, as varying amounts of product move through those spaces.

    A building automation system by Delta Controls was installed to provide constant temperature data to Hoffman’s staff as well as to Wiegmann in its remote, St. Louis office.
    Craig Ross designed energy-efficient and lower maintenance upgrades: variable frequency drives, variable air volume boxes and fan terminal units for zone control. The main directive, says Randolph, was efficiency.
    “It was important to the owner that it be an efficient system, with operational costs at a minimum.”

    The project was started in late 2015 and fully completed in early 2017.

    Hoffman Beverage Distribution Center

    Designed and supervised by Wiegmann Associates, St. Louis, Mo. Installed by Atlantic Air Corp., Virginia Beach, Va.

    Design Engineer– Craig Ross
    Project Manager – Bryan Kenkel
    Account Manager – Jacob Randolph


    EQUIPMENT SELECTIONS
    Rooftop units – Trane
    Louvers – Ruskin
    Refrigeration equipment – Krack
    Fan terminal, variable air volume boxes – Titus
    Ductless split systems – Friedrich
    Exhaust fans, makeup air units – Greenheck
    Building Automation System – Delta Controls