The Lamb Weston / ConAgra Foods sweet potato processing facility in Delhi, Louisiana was named 2011 Best Industrial Project by Engineering News Record (ENR) in the Texas /Louisiana division. Designed and built by Fisher & Sons, the project was recognized for construction and design excellence and will be featured in the January issue of their magazine.
Bruce Buckley of ENR says “the jury focused on those projects that best overcame significant challenges; displayed quality design and construction; adopted innovative approaches; and were executed safely.” Projects were recognized in 16 divisions. As a winner of the
The state-of-the-art sweet potato processing plant was designed and built with sustainable business practices a top priority.
It is the first frozen food processing plant to be built to meet the US Green Building Council’s LEED® Platinum standards, which was awarded for both the sustainable practices used during construction as well as the ongoing plant operations.
The 164,000 sq. ft. processing facility with a 12,000 sq. ft. office is situated on a 100+ acre site, much of which was left as open space with protected wetland areas, ponds and restored native vegetation. A major feature, contributing to the plant’s sustainable operations, is the facility's anaerobic bio-digester which captures methane gas from processing waste and returns it to the plant as fuel for the boilers. Food processing is by nature a heavy energy consumer, so reducing energy consumption has a direct affect on the environment.
The project was designed by FSI Architects and built by Fisher & Sons, both divisions of Fisher Companies, Inc., based in Burlington, Washington.
