Gray Construction Wins National Design-Build Award for Champion Petfoods DogStar®
Gray Construction is pleased to announce it has recently received a distinguished National Design-Build award. The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) announced that Champion Petfoods Kentucky DogStar® Kitchens, designed and built by Gray, is the recipient of a National Design-Build award in the Industrial, Process and/or Research Facilities category.
In Numbers
- Auburn, KYLocation
- 371,100 s.f.Square Footage
- 14 monthsOperational
Canadian-based Champion Petfoods LP selected Gray to design and build its first kitchen in the United States with the purpose of advancing its Biologically Appropriate™, Fresh Regional Ingredients, Never Outsourced (BAFRINO) mandate.
Situated on 85 acres of farmland, the 371,000 s.f. facility named DogStar®, is located in Auburn, Kentucky and was purpose built from the ground up. The DogStar® Kitchens were designed to make the best and safest dog and cat foods on earth, exceeding the regulatory requirements of a human food facility.
DogStar®, which also includes a distribution center, offices, and meeting spaces to support kitchen operations, was designed, constructed and commissioned within 14 months—from 0 percent design to 100 percent testing of new innovative foods.
“We feel honored to receive this national award,” said Stephen Gray, President and CEO of Gray. “The Champion Petfoods project has been exciting from day one based on our strong relationship with Champion, the way the team came together to ensure success, and the innovation that was developed and integrated specifically for this project.”
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with Champion as it furthers its vision to be trusted by pet lovers worldwide,” he added.
According to DBIA, the 2016 competition was the most rigorous to date. All project submissions were evaluated by a distinguished panel of industry experts tasked with selecting winners that showcased exemplary collaboration and integration in design-build project delivery.
“The Champion Petfoods Kentucky DogStar® Kitchens is an excellent example of Design-Build done right in the industrial sector,” said Lisa Washington, CAE, Executive Director/CEO of DBIA. “The design-build team worked hard to blend the owner’s personality and brand into the kitchen to lessen the industrial feel. This was only achieved because design-build allowed owner participation and streamlined communication between all of the co-located team members.”
About Champion Petfoods
Champion Petfoods is an independent, award-winning Canadian pet food maker with a tradition of innovation and leadership that spans over a quarter century. Known and trusted by pet lovers everywhere, Champion makes ACANA and ORIJEN Biologically Appropriate™ foods which mirror the evolutionary diets of dogs and cats, feature unmatched inclusions of fresh regional ingredients, and are prepared exclusively in the company’s own award-winning kitchens.
To learn more about Champion Petfoods and its award-winning pet foods, visit www.championpetfoods.com
About Gray Construction
Gray Construction, is a nationally ranked engineering, architecture and construction firm with over 56 years of experience in manufacturing, automotive, food and beverage, distribution, hospitality and retail facility construction. Currently, Gray has several large projects that are underway or recently completed including: a Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility in Vance, Ala.; a fresh pork processing facility in Coldwater, Michigan for Clemens Food Group; a utility vehicle manufacturing facility for Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation in Gainesville, Ga.; an expansion to Wrigley’s Yorkville, Ill. campus; and a manufacturing facility for Weber Metals in Paramount, Calif.
If you have food and beverage plant construction needs, please contact Phil Seale, executive vice president, Manufacturing/Food & Beverage Groups at pseale@gray.com. Or, contact Tyler Cundiff, director, Business Development at tcundiff@gray.com.