Tight schedule for the setup of a production plant at Ken's Foods

If you’ve ever enjoyed the taste of Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce, you’re not alone. The award-winning sauce developed such a dedicated following that manufacturer Ken’s Foods, Inc., decided to open a production line just for Sweet Baby Ray’s. Because of the tight schedule, Notch Mechanical Contractors chose to install Viega ProPress® systems for utilities including non-potable hot and cold water, sanitizing solution, acid solution and a compressed air system. 

“We needed to have a dedicated production line for Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce in order to keep up with the growth in customer demands,” said Mark Shaye, Senior Project Engineer at Ken’s Foods. “The main reason I wanted to have Viega ProPress installed was because we were on a very tight schedule.” 

Ken’s Foods, Inc., incorporated in 1958, is a family-owned retail grocery producer of salad dressings, sauces and marinades. The company manufactures more than 400 varieties under the Ken’s Steak House name and other brands, including Sweet Baby Ray’s award-winning barbeque sauce. 

Ken’s Foods decided to use an existing warehouse in their flagship plant in Marlborough, MA, instead of building a new factory. To convert the warehouse space into manufacturing space, Notch Mechanical’s team installed more than 1,200 feet of copper tubing with more than 75 Viega ProPress copper fittings in sizes ranging from ½" to 2" and more than 3,500 feet of Viega 304 and 316 stainless steel piping with more than 500 Viega ProPress for stainless fittings in sizes ranging from ¾" to 3".

Time savings with the Viega systems

“The main deciding factor in using Viega ProPress materials for this installation was speed,” said Nicholas Morin, Project Manager at Notch Mechanical. “Not only how fast the new systems could be installed but how quickly we could get the materials from our distributor,

the F.W. Webb Company, as well as the speed in receiving approval from Viega to use the EDPM sealing element for the specific applications.”

According to Morin, the Viega ProPress materials his team needed that weren’t already in stock were available the next day. Viega’s dedication to quality service as well as quality products provides for quick delivery and application approval. For unique applications, Viega Technical Services will determine if the system is suited for the specific application and typically returns approvals within 24 to 48 hours.

Shaye, who oversees corporate-level capital projects for all of the Ken’s Foods facilities, was familiar with Viega ProPress systems prior to the installation at the Marlborough plant due to a project that was completed more than a year earlier at the company’s plant in Las Vegas.

“When the compressed air and central sanitizer solution systems needed to be extended in the Las Vegas facility, we trusted the contractor who built the building when he recommended using Viega ProPress. He had completely switched to pressing with Viega and installed both copper and stainless in those systems,” said Shaye. “Because of the project in Las Vegas, I knew that the systems provide savings on labor costs, don’t require hot permits and are quick to install. Also, there hasn’t been a single leak there.”

Founded in 1972, Notch Mechanical specializes in the installation of pipe systems for industrial and institutional facilities in the southern New England area. The installers from Notch Mechanical had previously used Viega ProPress on copper, making the transition to installing Viega ProPress for stainless steel on this project an easy one.

“If we hadn’t been using Viega ProPress for this installation, we would have soldered the copper and welded the stainless,” Morin said. “By pressing, we were able to provide a 25 percent time savings.”

Maintenance made easy

“Since we have the system now,” Shaye said, “I expect that we’ll continue using Viega ProPress, so we wanted our maintenance crew to be able to work with the system in the future. We know we can get the materials quickly and that our own team can work on them, so any maintenance or small-scale projects will be able to be done quickly.” The maintenance department at Ken’s Foods invested in two press tools and scheduled training on the press technology with Viega.

“The installation was completed on our schedule,” Shaye said. “We would never have been able to get this finished in our time frame with the same amount of labor using traditional pipe joining methods.”