Kerry America Inc., a division of Ireland-based Kerry Group, conducted a company-wide evaluation of its many facilities to decide which was the best candidate for expansion. Headquartered in Beloit, Wis., Kerry produces ingredients and flavors for global food, beverage, and pharmaceutical markets. The company now has more than 30 manufacturing facilities in the United States.

Kerry had initially purchased a 114,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Jackson, Wis., in 1987 for its Kerry Ingredients division. Because of the growing demand for the specialty food ingredients it produces with a liquid drying process, the company finally chose to expand the Jackson facilities to meet projected business needs. The company zeroed in on its Jackson facility because it was looking to streamline operations and consolidate facilities.

The plant had to become large enough to accommodate added production, packaging and warehouse space, plus it would maintain the ability to expand to support future growth. “This project has given Kerry needed manufacturing and warehouse space,” said Jason Ampe, Kerry operations director. “We are very proud of our Jackson, Wis., facility, which was our first manufacturing plant in the U.S.”

The Cladding Selection

Kerry’s $14.5 million expansion program was centered on adding 119,000 square-feet to the existing Jackson production facility. This would bring the total usable area to 165,300 square-feet and allow the company to create up to 60 jobs in manufacturing, clerical, and administrative positions.

Construction began in October 2013 with completion targeted for fall of 2014. All installation work had to be completed while the plant remained running so there would be no lost production time. This new area, designed by ESI Group, was built to house dry storage and processing operations. The project directive to have all work completed without disrupting current operations required a cladding and interior ceiling system that could be installed quickly, in addition to providing an improved high level of thermal performance.

Approximately 87,000 square-feet of Kingspan’s insulated metal panels (IMPs) were specified for this project. 32,000 square-feet of KS Shadowline panels provided the exterior wall cladding. 32,000 square-feet of KS45 Shadowline panels were installed as the interior partition wall panels. Along with 24,000 square-feet of KS45 Shadowline utilized as ceiling panels. All 87,000 square-feet of panels were installed by Delta T Construction Co., based in Menomonee Falls, Wis. “We were very pleased with the quality of panels provided by Kingspan for this project,” said Pat Dohogne, P.E.,V.P. of Operations for Delta T. “The KS45 Shadowline Interior partition panels provide superior performance and precise thermal control through its castellated joint configuration.”

The company’s panel systems, both interior and exterior, are a type of IMP that provides design flexibility and can be used in multiple applications. Insulated metal panels are a perfect fit with new and retrofit applications across the commercial and industrial sectors. And another added benefit of this metal wall panel is its complete ease of use as it can be installed both vertically and horizontally.

Both the KS Shadowline & KS45 Shadowline interior are single component IMPs, which minimize construction delays and produce faster on-site installation compared to traditional built-up wall systems. The insulated panels provide thermal performance of high R-value, superior airtightness, and low thermal bridging, resulting in energy cost savings of as much as 30 percent over traditional multi-part wall systems. All of these benefits are in addition to the fact that they greatly increase a building's overall modern appeal.

Looking Ahead

According to Steven Mauro, National Sales Director for the company’s Cold Storage division, IMPs continue to grow as an increasingly popular commercial cladding material on commercial buildings in this Midwest region. “Insulated metal panels are becoming the standard for use as cladding in many types of commercial facilities,” said Mauro. “Wisconsin supports many food manufacturing and dairy producers for which IMP’s are suitable for use.”

Pat Dohogne agreed with Mauro’s assessment about the future for insulated metal panels. “I would say that competitive pricing, availability and length of lead-time, and most importantly, quality were the three primary benefits of Kingspan insulated metal panels,” he said. “Because the Kingspan panels installed so precisely, we did not encounter any design or construction challenges.”

Dohogne also believes that these products will continue to be the preferred standard cladding material on commercial buildings in this region in the future. “We could foresee more insulated metal panels like the Kingspan KS Shadowline panels being used on pre-engineered buildings in lieu of ‘standard’ single skin/batt insulation exterior walls,” he said. “Kingspan panels that are supplied with the Azteco or Granitstone finishes may also become more commonly used on warehouses and other buildings that would typically utilize precast or concrete tilt wall panels.”  

Dohogne said other reasons for insulated panels becoming more common on these types of buildings include their higher R-values and the resulting energy savings, plus, in some cases, lower installation costs than other traditional cladding materials.