Lactitol Production Facility

Burns & McDonnell executed this design-build contract to design, procure, construct and start up a production facility for lactitol, an ingredient for sugar-free confectionary applications and certain pharmaceutical preparations.

• Front-end project planning (FEP)
• Engineering
• Procurement
• Design-build
• Construction
• Qualification support

Burns & McDonnell designed and constructed this facility in accordance with Kosher and pharmaceutical standards. The project constructed three new buildings: 

0. 10-story, 50,000-square-foot main production building to house the main production equipment and piping
0. 60-foot-tall, 14,000-square-foot hydrogenation production building to house hydrogenation equipment
0. 1,400-square-foot MCC and chemical building

In addition to engineering and constructing the buildings, Burns & McDonnell worked with the client to develop the initial process flow diagrams for the project. From these flow sheets, Burns & McDonnell prepared the preliminary process and instrumentation diagrams, one-line diagrams, equipment specifications, line list, equipment layouts, building specifications and instrument list.

The entire project was completed in 18 months from start of detailed design to facility startup. Burns & McDonnell used Primavera scheduling systems and Expedition tracking software to monitor and control the project.

This project consisted of complicated piping and mechanical systems that required substantial coordination with numerous pieces of custom-fabricated, owner-furnished equipment. Other obstacles requiring creative solutions included wintertime construction in Illinois, manpower shortages and long lead times on critical pieces of equipment. By successfully managing these issues, Burns & McDonnell completed the project well ahead of the scheduled startup date and returned a substantial savings to the owner upon project completion.

• Transferred technology from Europe
• Performed design for both food and pharmaceutical markets
• Completed project ahead of schedule and under budget