The new Maple Leaf Foods Processing Plant is one of the most advanced food processing plants in North America. Bird Construction has delivered this project in three phases. The phases were delineated by production lines: wiener, deli and bologna.

The structural steel frame is clad with insulated panels and an interstitial space is located above each of the process areas to house the mechanical and electrical systems. As a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) certified meat processing facility, the building is 90% refrigeration and freezers. Only the offices, dry ingredient and packaging material areas are tempered. The facility was built to LEED® Silver certification standards.

One of the largest challenges the team faced was the phased occupancy. Each phase was delivered as construction of the additional phases continued. Maintaining the CFIA requirements for the active production line while completing the adjacent production facilities was key to the project’s success. Bird coordinated the process equipment installation to ensure all systems were fully coordinated, commissioned and certified.