Summit Brewing Company, an award-winning craft brewery in St. Paul, Minnesota, was running out of capacity to meet the demand of thirsty customers across the upper Midwest United States. It was a good problem to have, but it still required a solution.

With PCL’s expertise and experience in manufacturing plant construction, we were able to help Summit fulfill the needs of their customers through a functional expansion of their facility. More than 7,600 square feet of cellar space was added, which housed 12 new fermentation tanks and gave enough room to add 12 more through a removable hatch in the roof. This allowed Summit to increase their production capacity to more than 7.4 million gallons of beer each year.

We used innovative materials and the latest technology in plant construction during this build, including precast panels for the building’s exterior and high-strength vitrified tiles for the floor. These anti-slip ceramic tiles are designed specifically for chemical resistance and hygienic properties. Stainless steel drains were incorporated into the floor for fermentation tank clean-in-place (CIP) drainage.

We used our full-service approach to manufacturing plant construction with Summit Brewing Company. Prior to construction, our team members — who are trained on the latest Good Manufacturing Practice protocols — helped Summit establish a conceptual budget and schedule to meet their ROI goals.  Other preconstruction services we provided included a constructability analysis and the development of a bidding and procurement strategy.

Communication between our team and the client was also key during this build. When issues cropped up, the lines of communication were always open, and solutions were found through productive dialogue.

Through our innovation and lean construction processes, this build progressed from start to finish in just seven months.