Southern Foods Opens Facility with Stonhard Seamless Urethane Flooring
Investing in the Future
Southern Foods, a Cheney Brothers, Inc. (CBI) affiliate, started in 1954 as a meat home-delivery service in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company was one of the first licensed to sell Certified Angus Beef. In 2016, CBI, which had grown to become a southeast-based broadline food distributor, purchased Southern Foods and began the process of upgrading facilities.
An 88,000 sq. ft. vacant spec shell warehouse in Greensboro has now been transformed into a modern facility for Southern Foods with Stonhard seamless and sanitary urethane flooring installed to support its processing operations. Southern Foods now functions as a full-service premium meats, seafood, artisanal cheese and global specialty goods supplier and custom processor that services North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia.
Southern Foods Builds New Facility to Expand Offerings and Support Long-Term Growth
In their new facility, Southern Foods can handle a greater volume of business than ever before. When embarking on the creation of their food processing spaces, CBI and Design-Builder, A M King, knew it was important to install a flooring system that would not only respond to the hygienic and slip-resistant requirements of a food manufacturing space, but would be highly durable, surviving hot water washdowns and lasting for the long-term.
In a Groundbreak Carolinas February 2020 article, Warren Newell, CBI’s Director of Development remarked, “With today’s highly regulated food industry, we are extremely pleased to be able to showcase this modern facility to our present and new customers. Every time a restaurant owner or chef comes by to take a tour, they cannot stop providing accolades.”
Stonhard’s flooring specialists presented the many benefits of a urethane flooring system, Stonclad UT, as well as the details of the installation process. A M King’s prior positive experiences with Stonhard were also discussed and all factors considered, Stonhard won out over the competition.
A state-of-the-art, USDA-grade food processing facility needs high-performance floors. Stonhard sanitary, seamless floors for the food industry meet every challenge and are formulated and installed to last
Southern Foods' modern facility in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Creating a sanitary food processing environment begins with its structure. Stonclad UT is a non-porous, poured-in-place, seamless flooring system that is easy to clean and naturally antibacterial
The Balance Between Slip-Resistance and Cleanability
USDA-grade food environments like Southern Foods are aggressive environments for floors. They are exposed to abrasive equipment, high temperatures, spills, chemicals, and organic acids. The flooring system must stand up to all of these elements and be kept in sanitary condition. In such an environment, a floor that is easy to clean is key, but so is slip resistance.
One of the biggest challenges for a food processing facility is finding a floor that offers an easy-cleaning surface while it also provides the crucial slip resistance needed for the safety of employees. Stonhard is an expert in food and beverage flooring systems and installations throughout the world and so providing exactly what Southern Foods would need would not be an issue. Decision-makers were provided large samples with varying texture options to review and the perfect solution to support both a safe and clean environment was selected for the new Southern Foods facility.
Stonhard Flooring Meets the Requirements of Highly Regulated Food Industry
Stonhard was able to provide flexible scheduling to accommodate the aggressive construction schedule of the facility. The Stonclad UT with Texture 3 flooring system was installed in approximately 12,500 sq. ft. of Southern Food’s facility including the cheese aging room, meat processing room, meat department office, meat gowning space, seafood processing area, seafood gowning space, and seafood department office.
“The new facility allows our company to handle larger volumes, and save money in repairs, maintenance and overall cost of production, thereby bringing even more competitive pricing to our marketplaces. The move also facilitates prolonged long-term growth and provides our employees opportunity for advancement,” says Bill Mutton, President, Southern Foods.
About Southern Foods
Southern Foods, an affiliate of Cheney Brothers, Inc., is a full-service provider of premium meats, fresh seafood, artisanal cheese and specialty goods.
About A M King
A M King is an integrated Design-Build firm based in Charlotte, NC with offices in Greenville, SC and Chicago, IL. The firm consistently and successfully delivers quality projects throughout the United States. With an experienced team committed to protecting clients’ assets, the company provides property consulting, design and engineering, construction and facility services in the sectors of food processing, food distribution, industrial manufacturing, and commercial properties.
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