WinCo Foods, a Boise, Idaho-based grocery chain, constructed an 862,711-square-foot cold storage warehouse and distribution center in Phoenix, Ariz., which is considered to be largest food distribution center in Arizona to date. WinCo Foods, which stands for Winning Company, serves Arizona, Southern California and Southern Nevada.

LTI Contracting, a Phoneix, Ariz.-based leader in cold storage construction, constructed the thermally efficient, energy-saving cold storage building, installing insulated metal panels (IMPs) from Kingspan Insulated Panels, Deland, Fla., to form the exterior envelope and all interior partition walls. Kingspan IMPs were specified for an industrial-size freezer, several coolers, the dry goods warehouse and the facility’s truck maintenance area.

Meanwhile, ESI Design Group, Hartland, Wis., created a building plan that involved a streamlined construction schedule with no margins for error. The construction management team worked closely with all subcontractors and venders to create an organized communication loop. The entire approval and construction process from shop drawings, material approvals, scheduling and building installation operated seamlessly in just 12 months, from start to owner occupancy. 

Kingspan 200 Inverted Rib Series 3-, 4- and 5-inch IMPs were specified for the building’s exterior wall package. Approximately 345,000 square feet of Kingspan 300 Minor Rib Series were installed to form the interior partition and liner walls. Over 167,000 square feet of KS42 – MF was specified to meet building code compliance requirements for a 2-hour-rated assembly partition wall. This particular insulated metal panel, made from a mineral wool core bonded with metal facings, is recommended for fire-rated wall applications. And, LTI also installed Kingspan’s Hercules cold storage doors.

All Kingspan IMPs can be applied to multiple building applications, and are available in varying thicknesses. The panels provide high R-value thermal performance, superior airtightness and low thermal bridging, resulting potential energy cost savings of as much as 30% over traditional multi-part built-up systems.

“During the bidding process, Kingspan stayed involved with product and pricing options,” says Kevin Sherman, project manager for LTI. “Their product price point was also very competitive with the market comps.”

One of the primary benefits of using Kingspan IMPs is that installation can occur faster than with typical multi-part cladding systems.

“Kingspan offered a good business plan to assist the LTI team with a solid project method,” says Sherman. “That helped us to keep on point and meet the client’s fast-track schedule.”

Day-to-day work flowed easily because Kingspan provided a single point of contact, an assigned representative who had accountability and authority to work within the project’s network of managers.

Plus, Kingspan committed to a 10-week product fabrication and delivery schedule that included manufacturing and shipping a total order of 512,866 square feet of product. It took 91 semi truckloads, each delivering an average weekly load of 51,280 square feet of Kingspan product to the project site to complete the order.

“Our decision to align with Kingspan as the WinCo IMP product vender proved to be the right choice,” adds Sherman. “We are very thankful for the service we received from all the personnel involved at Kingspan.”